About Lafayette
About Lafayette
For Living. For business. For you.
The best of any condition is the seamless combination of form and function. Lafayette’s beauty and quiet rural atmosphere is never overshadowed by the variety of services, products, activities, resources and recreations offered. They combine exquisitely into the best condition for living, working and owning a business.
For Living
Forget about Lafayette having some of California’s top primary educational institutions. Even forget about the theaters, the Lafayette reservoir, the Iron Horse walking trail… those are icing on an already tasty cake. Lafayette is so much more. For instance, look at the wide range of clubs and organizations in the community. From Little Leagues to Rotary Clubs; from drama groups to an archery club, there is something to peak everyone’s interest in being a participant in the community. The Lafayette Community Center offers a myriad of activities for all Lafayette residents from preschoolers through older adults and seniors. The City Council and City Commissions also meet at the Community Center. Living here means enjoying being a daily part of the community and having a say in what matters. Lafayette understands that your hometown is for living.
THE ARTS…….ALIVE AND WELL IN LAFAYETTE
Theater, music, art and literary events……….all contribute to the vibrant cultural landscape that exists in Lafayette today.
Lafayette Town Hall
The historic Lafayette Town Hall which opened in 1914 hosts several of the performing arts groups that add brilliance to the local arts scene:
- The Town Hall Theatre Company of Lafayette
- Town Hall Kids
- Gold Coast Chamber Players
- Lafayette Jazz Festival (Generations in Jazz)
- Town Hall Theatre Company
Established in 1944 as The Dramateurs and reorganized in 1992 as The Town Hall Theatre Company of Lafayette, it is the oldest continuously active live theater in Contra Costa County. Over the years the group has earned more than its share of “Shellie Awards”, the County’s equivalent of Oscars, for productions as varied as M. Butterfly, Little Shop of Horrors and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged). Each season brings six new productions to the friendly and intimate environs of Town Hall.
Town Hall Kids
The Town Hall Kids program introduces children ages 7-16 to the magic of musical theater. The young participants delight in the zany plots of musicals written by Barrett Lindsay-Steiner and directed by the talented Cynthia Myers, both well known professionals within the Bay Area theatrical world. Town Hall Kids is a fun theater program created “to develop children’s self esteem, confidence, leadership and team-building skills.”
Gold Coast Chamber Players
Since its inception in 1987, the Gold Coast Chamber Players has become synonymous with the Bay Area’s best in classical music. Performers, drawn from such distinguished groups as the San Francisco Opera and Symphony orchestras, Los Angeles Philharmonic and some of Europe’s finest ensembles, create performances with diverse and dynamic programming. Since moving to Town Hall in 1999, they continue to present an eclectic musical feast in the theater’s friendly, intimate setting.
Lafayette Jazz Festival
This weeklong community festival features “students and stars” from the local middle and high school music programs playing alongside some of the best jazz musicians in the country.. Professionals who have appeared in past sold-out performances include Hall of Fame Jazz singer Countess Felder, Tower of Power’s Mic Gillete and a Dave Brubeck group.
Produced by the Generations in Jazz Foundation, the Festival is one of many activities organized by this group. Others include the Jazz in the Park concerts held each week during the month of September, the Lafayette Summer Music Workshop, and Jazz Outreach, a program designed to aid underfunded schools with resources, information and opportunities in jazz music.
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Another world renowned orchestra arrived in Lafayette in Fall 2003 when the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, a San Francisco based ensemble, took up residence at the Lafayette Orinda Presbyterian Church. In 2004, the Orchestra was honored by Musical America, an east coast organization that recognizes outstanding contributors to America’s musical landscape. This was their first award to a period-instrument ensemble and the first to a California orchestra. .
The Visual Arts
The appreciation of fine arts in Lafayette is evident everywhere – in prestigious galleries such as the Barclay Simpson or Witherspoon; in one of the many shops committed to helping residents best display – or add to – their treasured collections including The Print Gallery/P & L Framing, Keenan Heinz or Fastframe; or in one of the many businesses in town that hang the impressive work of local artists.
Lafayette Gallery and The Art Room
The passion for art is clearly evident at the Lafayette Gallery. Opened in 1999, the Gallery is a cooperative of local artists with new exhibits mounted every eight weeks. Collaboration with The Gold Coast Chamber Players has resulted in striking new work developed to complement the musical group’s performances throughout the year. The members’ work can also be seen in a special “Local Artists” section of the annual Lafayette Art & Wine Festival held each year in September.
Lafayette Gallery is housed with The Art Room, a private art school and studio offering a variety of art classes for children, teens and adults.
Literary Events
Voted the Best Independent Book Store in the East Bay by readers of Diablo Magazine, Lafayette Book Store hosts a multitude of literary events throughout the year. Authors such as Michael Chabon, Gail Tsukiyama, and James Patterson have appeared either at the store or another local site. In addition, Literary Luncheons are held at local restaurants throughout the year to give book fans an opportunity to meet and talk with famous writers. More than 160 book clubs are registered with Lafayette Book Store, attesting to the locals’ voracious reading appetites.
Opportunities for “bookish” events will expand when the new Lafayette Library, now in design stage, is completed within the next few years. The library will be built on a new site at the corner of Mt. Diablo Blvd. and First Street.
With so many existing cultural activities already established in and supported by the community, Lafayette is attracting new artists and organizations who want to establish a presence in this dynamic and hospitable environment.
For Business
The Chamber of Commerce in Lafayette is one of the Bay Area’s hardest working and most effective organizations of its kind. With a mission statement that directs their efforts towards enhancing the business community as well as the quality of life in Lafayette, this is a Chamber of Commerce that works as hard for its residents as for its businesses. With annual events such as the Lamorinda Business Fair, the Reservoir Run, the Community Thanksgiving Breakfast and the wildly popular Lafayette Art & Wine Festival, the Chamber of Commerce helps put the business community together with the residential to create a seamless combination of success, respect, and enjoyment for all. A Chamber that understands business combined with a community that understands loyalty creates an atmosphere of excitement and longevity for savvy business owners. Lafayette is, indeed, for business.
For You
Stretching along the Mt. Diablo Boulevard corridor from the Orinda border on the West to the Walnut Creek border at the East, a well-balanced distribution of services and products is available in downtown Lafayette for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.
From the quaint to the unusual, to the necessary, Lafayette boasts of distinctive specialty shops, an antiques district, drug stores, clothing, jewelry, art galleries, groceries, toys and a wide range of dining experiences. A pleasant, practical place to shop, Lafayette is for you.
Lafayette Demographics
Click here for additional demographic information
The 2006 edition of McCormack’s Guide to Contra Costa & Solano describes Lafayette as a “Prestige town”……School scores very high, crime low. Good commute. Built over hills and valleys.
Demographic Data
Elevation: 200 to 1,136 feetSize: 12.89 square miles
Average temperature: 69.7 high; 45.5 low
Annual rainfall: 28 inches
Miles to Oakland: 17 miles west
Miles to San Francisco: 24 miles west
Driving miles to Bay Bridge ($4 toll) 13 miles
BART commute time to San Francisco 30 minutes
Form of Government:
Council/City Manager
Date of Incorporation: 1968
Population: 24,400
Average Household Income: $132,300
Education Level of Population 18 & Older
No Diploma 2%
High School 9%
Some College 16%
Associate’s Degree 5%
Bachelor’s Degree 38%
Graduate Degree 30%
Number of Registered Voters: 15,229
Republican: 6,387
Democrat: 6,195
Non-partisan: 2,441
Employed in Lafayette: 12,803
Executives & Managers 26%
Professionals 26%
Technicians 4%
Sales 15%
Clerical 12%
Service occupations 8%
Agriculture 1%
Total Number of Residences 9,477
Single Homes: 7,583
Single-Family Attached 303
Multiples: 1,586
Average Price Single Family Home:
Detached housing: $ 1,023,193
Condominium $ 502,247
Average Rental Price:
1 Bedroom $ 1,400
2 Bedroom $ 1,950
Demographic data is based on the 2000 census, Association of Bay Area Governments, and the 2006 McCormack’s Guide.
