|
|
Cypress, located in Orange County, is a charming community with homes that range from vintage to newly constructed. It is a bedroom community with large office parks and a community college. It is also close to a race track. Housing is mixed, but generally middle-class plus. It is also a clean and well-kept city.
|
|
Cypress Education
|
Children attend schools in several districts: Cypress Elementary, Garden Grove Unified, Los Alamitos Unified and Anaheim High School District. Several schools run year-round programs. New junior-senior high school, grades 7-12, opened in 1998. Called Oxford Academy, the public school stresses academics, offers no electives and requires students to wear uniforms.
The town is also close to California State University at Long Beach, a nice cultural ornament. In ways hard to detect, colleges and universities improve the quality of community life.
|
|
Cypress Housing
|
Incorporated as a city in 1956, Cypress in 1960 had fewer than 1,200 homes and apartments. In the 1960s, the town built 6,759 residential units and, in the following decade, 5,154 units. In the 1980s, construction dropped to about 1,200 units and in the last decade to about 1 ,000 units. Cypress is still building but the dominant style was set between 1960 and 1980, when the town built about three-fourths of its housing stock.
In single homes, this style can be described as almost equal parts three-and four-bedroom, with a good chunk of five or more bedrooms. Many homes are two-story. Two-car garages. The great majority of homes have been fleshed out with shrubs and trees or brickwork or wood shingles.
Sorrento subdivision uses favorite modem design: two-story stucco, tile roofs. Along Katella Avenue and Valley View avenues, the city has set aside a large swath of land for a business park and has been successful in attracting Japanese firms. They include, Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi Electric and Matsushita Electric (Panasonic). Yamaha, Sony, Fuji and Minolta have offices or distribution centers or both in Cypress. Other firms include Pacific Care, Secure Horizons, Arthur Andersen. Bandai (toy manufacturing) set up its U.S. headquarters in 1997. Striking building: atrium and plenty of glass.
Near this section is the Los Alamitos Race Course (trotters and quarter horses). Residential tracts can be found above and below Katella.
|
|
Cypress Nature
|
Cypress in 2000 was named a "Tree City USA," an award that says, Thanks for planting and maintaining many trees.
|
|
Cypress Recreation
|
All in all, a nice-looking, fairly new-looking town. About 17 parks. Community center. Seniors center. Cultural arts center. Many activities and classes at the community college are open to the public. Golf course. Usual sports: baseball, soccer, exercise classes, miscellaneous activities for adults and kids. City is looking for a site to build a skateboard park.
Cypress borders Los Angeles County and two large regional parks, one with a golf course.
|
|
Cypress Transportation
|
Short drives to several freeways, including Interstate 405, serving Orange and Los Angeles counties.
|
|