Did You Know?

South Gate Fast Facts

• South Gate is also referred to as the Azalea City. On October 26, 2006, the Azalea Society of America certified the City of South Gate as an ASA Azalea City. The award is reserved for those municipalities that have shown by example their commitment to displaying and making azaleas a key focus in the lifestyle of the city through festivals, public and private gardens, beautification, and landscape awards.
• Amelia Earhart learned to fly at Kinner Field, a dirt field located on Century Boulevard at Long Beach Boulevard located in the City of South Gate. Earhart became the first woman to fly solo around the Atlantic Ocean in 1932.
• Glenn Seaborg’s childhood home was located in South Gate. Seaborg won the Noble Prize in Chemistry in 1951. He was also the first living person to have an element (Seaborgium, 106Sg) named in their honor. Seaborg’s home is still intact; the city plans to create a permanent place for the house in the near future.
• Former NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle was born in South Gate and grew up in neighboring Lynwood. Rozelle was commissioner for 30 years (1960-1989) and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
• Tweedy Boulevard and “Tweedy Mile” get its names after the Tweedy family. Originally from Illinois, R.D. Tweedy and his family purchased 2,000 acres of land on which much of South Gate was built after moving to California in 1852.