San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area (called the “Inland Empire”). It serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County. As one of the Inland Empire’s anchor cities, San Bernardino spans 81 square miles (210 km²) on the floor of the San Bernardino Valley, and has a population of 210,000. San Bernardino is the 17th-largest city in California, and the 100th-largest city in the United States. San Bernardino is home to numerous diplomatic missions for the Inland Empire, being one of four cities in California with numerous consulates (the other three being Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco). The governments of Guatemala and Mexico have established their consulates in the downtown area of the city. The city lies in the San Bernardino foothills and the eastern portion of the San Bernardino Valley, roughly 60 miles (97 km) east of Los Angeles. Some major geographical features of the city include the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Bernardino National Forest, in which the city’s northernmost neighborhood, Arrowhead Springs, is located; the Cajon Pass adjacent to the northwest border; City Creek, Lytle Creek, San Timoteo Creek, Twin Creek, Warm Creek (as modified through flood control channels) feed the Santa Ana River, which forms part of the city’s southern border south of San Bernardino International Airport. San Bernardino is unique among Southern Californian cities because of its wealth of water, which is mostly contained in underground aquifers. A large part of the city is over the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin, including downtown. This fact accounts for an historically high water table in portions of the city, including at the former Urbita Springs, a lake which no longer exists and is now the site of the Inland Center. Seccombe Lake, named after a former mayor, is a manmade lake at Sierra Way and 5th Street. The San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (“Muni”) has plans to build two more large, multi-acre lakes north and south of historic downtown in order to reduce groundwater, mitigate the risks of liquefaction in a future earthquake, and sell the valuable water to neighboring agencies.
The neighborhoods of San Bernardino are not commonly named. Some reflect geographical regions that existed before annexation, and others originated with specific housing developments. Arrowhead Springs extends from the historic Arrowhead Springs Hotel and Spa in the north to I-210 in the south and from Shandin Hills in the west to east Twin Creek in the east. Del Rosa is the area generally between the foothills and Highland, Mountain and Arden Avenues. Delmann Heights is the area north of Highland Avenue, west of I-215, and east of the unincorporated area of Muscoy, California (which is within the city’s sphere of influence for annexation). Some portions of Highland are within the city of San Bernardino, generally consistent with the portions of historical “West Highlands” north of Highland Avenue. The city also contains the post office for Patton, California, the area coextensive with Patton Hospital. Mountain Shadows is the development name for the area between Palm Avenue and Highland Avenue to State Route 330. The “West Side” is used generically to refer to the areas West of I-215. North Loma Linda is the area west of Mountain View Acres (the border with Redlands), south of the Santa Ana River, north of the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10), and east of Tippecanoe Avenue. The area north of Northpark Boulevard from University Parkway to Electric Avenue, and the area north of 40th Street from Electric Avenue to Harrison Street is called Arrowhead Farms. The area west of University Parkway, and north of Kendall Drive to the north city area is called Verdemont. The “Bench” or “Rialto Bench” refers to the area with Rialto mailing addresses between Foothill Boulevard and Base Line Street. San Bernardino is divided into several districts. Many hotels, restaurants, and retail establishments have been built around Hospitality Lane in the southern part of the city, creating an informal business district. Downtown is its own district with shopping and government buildings. In the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains lies the University District, which is a commercial area designed to support the California State University with shopping, dining, and high-density residential space. On the southern side of I-215 and the University District is the Cajon Pass light-industrial district where warehouses are situated to take advantage of this important connection between Southern California and the rest of the United States. On the opposite side of the city is the San Bernardino International Gateway, which encompasses the San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) and the Alliance California Logistics campus (air cargo hub). Nearby is the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail hub. The combination of these assets (airport; rail hub; extensive freeway system; and, Cajon Pass) makes the city important in the movement of goods and people between Southern California and the rest of the United States. San Bernardino has communities known for residences of millionaires and increasingly affluent sections of town: Del Rosa, University Heights (Kendall Farms) and University Hills, and Verdemont.
San Bernardino hosts several major annual events, including: Route 66 Rendezvous, a four-day celebration of America’s “Mother Road” that is held in downtown San Bernardino each September; the Berdoo Bikes & Blues Rendezvous, held in the spring; the National Orange Show Festival, a citrus exposition founded in 1911 and also held in the spring; and, the Western Regional Little League Championships held each August, as well as the annual anniversary of the birth of the Mother Charter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, Berdoo California Chapter.
The Robert V. Fullerton Museum of Art, located on the campus of California State University, San Bernardino, contains a collection of Egyptian antiquities, ancient pottery from present-day Italy, and funerary art from ancient China. In addition to the extensive antiquities on display, the museum presents contemporary art and changing exhibitions. The Heritage House holds the collection of the San Bernardino Historic and Pioneer Society, while the San Bernardino County Museum of regional history, in Redlands, has exhibits relating to the city of San Bernardino, as well. The San Bernardino Railroad and History Museum is located inside the historic Santa Fe Depot. A Route 66 museum is located on the historic site of the original McDonald’s restaurant. It is at 1398 North E Street and West 14th Street. Specialty museums include the Inland Empire Military Museum, the American Sports Museum, and the adjacent WBC Legends of Boxing Museum. The 1928 California Theatre (California Theater of the Performing Arts) in downtown San Bernardino hosts an array of events, including concerts by the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra, as well as touring Broadway theater productions presented by Theatrical Arts International, the Inland Empire’s largest theater company. San Manuel Amphitheater, originally Glen Helen Pavilion at the Cajon Pass is the largest amphitheater in the United States.
