Covina

Sister cities

• Xalapa

History

Present-day Covina was originally within the homelands of the indigenous Tongva people for 5,000 to 8,000 years. In the 19th century it became part of Rancho La Puente: an 1842 Mexican land grant in Alta California. In 1876, Costa Rican brothers Pedro and Julián Badilla purchased a tract of land in Rancho La Puente, where Julián and younger brother Antonio intended to establish a coffee plantation. In 1879, after the Badillas defaulted on a mortgage, J. Edward Hollenbeck acquired their tract by foreclosure. In 1881, real estate investor Joseph Swift Phillips entered into an agreement with Hollenbeck to purchase a tract of former Badilla land, where Phillips subsequently founded Covina in 1884. Covina was incorporated in 1901. and in newspapers in December, 1884. Covina's extensive orange and lemon groves of the first half of the 20th century brought prosperity and fame to the city. After World War II, however, the citrus groves were increasingly replaced by housing, eventually turning Covina into the suburban bedroom community it is today. Opened in 1997, the Covina AMC 30 located at Arrow Highway and Azusa Avenue is one of the busiest theatres in the United States. The movie theater was built on the site of a former Sears building and claims to have the largest movie multiplex in Los Angeles County. 2008 marked both the opening and the charter season of the Covina Center for the Performing Arts, a newly remodeled multimillion-dollar theatrical venue in downtown Covina. On December 24, 2008, a shooting and arson occurred. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed in a Santa Claus costume, entered a Christmas party at his ex-wife's residence and opened fire. When he left, nine family members were dead and the house was engulfed in flames. After the massacre, Pardo drove his…

Geography

The only freeway that passes through the area is a very small stretch of Interstate 10. Covina is centered in the midst of Interstate 210 (Foothill Freeway) to the north, Interstate 605 (San Gabriel River Freeway) to the west, State Route 57 (Orange Freeway) to the east, and Interstate 10 to the south. The Southern Pacific Railroad, which reached Covina in 1895, and the Metrolink San Bernardino Line pass through the city just north of the downtown area. The city is served by Covina station.The town is located at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley. |date=June 2020}}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  41,147
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,956
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  31,637
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  31,500
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  31,241
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  30,002
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,951
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

  Setophaga coronata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  25,706

Largest nearby schools

• Arcadia High
  High · Arcadia · 3,022 students · 25:1 ratio
• Diamond Bar High
  High · Diamond Bar · 2,557 students · 26.6:1 ratio
• Options For Youth - Duarte Inc
  High · City Of Industry · 2,354 students · 28:1 ratio
• Glendora High
  High · Glendora · 2,273 students · 25:1 ratio
• Claremont High
  High · Claremont · 2,256 students · 24.8:1 ratio
• Walnut High
  High · Walnut · 2,158 students · 23.2:1 ratio
• John A. Rowland High
  High · Rowland Heights · 2,025 students · 24.4:1 ratio
• West Covina High
  High · West Covina · 1,887 students · 21.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.82 — 2026-06-09
  7 km SE of Loma Linda, CA
• M 3.18 — 2026-06-09
  7 km SE of Loma Linda, CA
• M 2.54 — 2026-06-03
  1 km E of San Jacinto, CA
• M 2.93 — 2026-05-26
  8 km S of Malibu Beach, CA
• M 2.66 — 2026-05-19
  4 km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
• M 3.29 — 2026-05-09
  1 km SE of Muscoy, CA