Indigenous culture

The area is inhabited by a tribe of Native Americans called the Wintu. At their height, the Wintu had as many as 239 villages in the Shasta County area.^[7]

Spanish and Mexican eras

Although Europeans had been to California as early as 1542, when Juan Cabrillo sailed to what is now the San Diego Bay, the indigenous natives were probably the only inhabitants of far Northern California region until Russian fur trappers came through the area in 1815.

The first European settlement in the area was established in 1844 by Pierson B. Reading, an early California pioneer who received a Rancho Buena Ventura Mexican land grant for 26,632 acres (10,778 ha) that is now covered by Redding and Cottonwood, California. At the time, it was the northernmost nonnative settlement in California.

Gold Rush era

During the Gold Rush, 49ers found gold to the north on Rock, Middle and Salt creeks, near Shasta, California, and to the south along Oregon and Olney creeks but the area that is now Redding was poor placer gold ground and called Poverty Flats. In 1868 the first land agent for the Central Pacific Railroad, a former Sacramento politician named Benjamin B. Redding, bought property in Poverty Flats on behalf of the railroad for a northern terminus, which the tracks reached in 1872. In the process of building the terminus, the railroad also built the town of Redding which was officially incorporated on October 4, 1887. In 1888, Redding won the county seat from Shasta.^[8]

20th century

Hotel Lorenz in the early 20th century

In the early twentieth century the town's economic growth was spurred by the significant copper and iron mineral extraction industry nearby. The mining industry eventually declined, causing the economy and population to falter by 1920. It recovered in the thirties as the economy boomed due to the construction of Shasta Dam to the northwest. The building of the dam, which was completed in 1945, caused Redding's population to nearly double, also spurring the growth and development of other towns in the area.^[9]

The Cascade Theatre in 1942

Redding continued to grow steadily in the 1950s due to the region's growing lumber industry and tourism brought about by the newly completed dam. The constructions of Whiskeytown and Keswick dams also helped boost the economy by bringing new workers to the area. Interstate 5 was built during the sixties and seventies, which added to development and tourism in the region.

Growth in Redding during the 1960s and 1970s was further spurred by the annexation of an area east of the Sacramento River that included the unincorporated community of Enterprise; the residents voted to support the annexation primarily to acquire less expensive electricity via Redding's municipal utility, which receives power from the dam.

During the 1970s, the lumber industry suffered from decline. In the early 1990s Lumber mills in the area closed down due to the preservation of the living habitat of the Spotted Owl. This heavily impacted the Redding area. The economy picked up, due to a retail and housing boom in the late 1980s that continued until the mid-1990s.

Also in the 1970s, the Market Street Redevelopment Project, established in 1968, began the development of the Midtown Mall. The mall was established to prevent further property deterioration and to restore and maintain the economic health of the downtown area's commercial and retail activity. The mall suffered multiple difficulties. The passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 reduced the mall's property valuation and consequently, the city had to continuously loan money to keep the bonds for the mall's parking structure from going into default; the bonds completely repaid in 2003 and Midtown began to pay off its more than $1.5 million debt to the City of Redding. By the 1980s, the properties around the mall and along the old State Highway 99/273 corridor continued to suffer urban blight, including deteriorating and dilapidated utilities and structures and inappropriate mixed land uses; this required further public intervention in the form of another Market Street Redevelopment Project with significant changes to Midtown in 1990 to include a mix of residential and commercial land around the original project.^[10]

21st century

Following redevelopment of Midtown, property values within the Market Street Redevelopment Project area improved; further redevelopment continued. A plan for the downtown area adopted in January 2001 led to the renovation of the historic Cascade Theatre, the removal of the Midtown Mall roof creating an open air pedestrian street, the installation of a visitor way-finding system, the completion of a Health Sciences and University Center with partnership with Shasta College, and the renovation of various buildings along California Street with the help of a private developer.^[10]

In 2017, the city adopted a new flag after holding a redesign contest.^[11]

The 21st century has also seen a number of devastating wildfires near and in Redding. In 1999, the Jones Fire destroyed over 100 structures, followed by the Bear Fire in 2004. In late July 2018, the Carr Fire in Shasta County seriously impacted the Redding area with the destruction of at least 1,100^[12] buildings, with several thousand more threatened, 38,000 people instructed to evacuate and 6 deaths.^[13] Most recently, the Fawn Fire in 2021 also resulted in the evacuation of over 4,000 people and the destruction of 185 buildings.

Climate

The Sacramento River passes through Redding.

View of Redding

Redding has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), with very hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Redding is known for very high summer temperatures, despite being located just north of the 40th Parallel North. Winter (October–April) provides the most precipitation of any season in Redding—the weather tends to be either rainy or foggy and at times, snow occurs. While summers are mostly hot and dry, thunderstorms are not uncommon. The average daily maximum temperature in July stays near 100 °F (37.8 °C). The highest official recorded temperature in Redding is 118 °F (48 °C) on August 10, 1971, August 7, 1981, and July 20, 1988.^[16] Redding has an average possible sunshine of 88%, the second-highest percentage (after Yuma, Arizona) of any US city.^[17]

Summer overnight lows are unusually warm by Sacramento Valley standards and average warmer than coastal towns' daytime highs. The warmest night annually averages 79 °F (26 °C).^[16] Since the station opened in 1986, the hottest night was 86 °F (30 °C) in June 2004.^[16] Redding's warm summer days and nights compared to areas further south are a result of a greater distance to maritime influences than the lower end of the valley.

Redding occasionally receives snow, though it has received as much as 23 inches (58 centimeters) of snow in a single storm, occurring on December 4–7, 1909 and December 22–24, 1968, including 16 in (41 cm) on December 23, 1968, the most in any calendar day on record.^[16] It rarely gets sleet or freezing rain. Frost occurs commonly in December through February, less often in March or November. In spring, rain is common. The city is located near the foothills of the Cascade and Klamath mountain ranges and it therefore gets much more rain than most places in the Sacramento Valley; temperature differentials between land and sea cause moist air from the latter to flow over the southern Sacramento valley during the summer months, producing intense heat in Redding. The direction of this winds switches from the north and east in the summer, as hot, high-pressure air flows from land to sea, making the area very dry. Tornadoes are extremely rare; flooding occurs only around the area near the Sacramento River. The coldest temperature recorded in Redding was 16 °F (−9 °C) on January 17, 2012, and December 9, 2009.^[16] The coldest daytime high of the year is averaging 41 °F (5 °C) and the lowest on record is 29 °F (−2 °C) in 1990, which remains the latest year to record an ice day.^[16]

Top employers

According to the city's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[24] the top employers in Redding are:

State and federal representation

In the California State Legislature, Redding is in the 1st Senate District, represented by Republican Brian Dahle,^[25] and the 1st Assembly District, represented by Republican Megan Dahle.^[26]

In the United States House of Representatives, Redding is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.^[27]

Municipal government

The city council is composed of Mayor Tenessa Audette, Vice Mayor Jack Munns, Julie Winter, Mark Mezzano and Michael Dacquisto.^[28] The city manager is Barry Tippin.^[29]

Redding is a general law city operating under the council-manager form of government.^[30]

Museums and public art

• Sculpture park at City Hall
• Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, by Santiago Calatrava
• Santiago Calatrava sculpture, at Domke Plaza^[31]
• Shasta Historical Society

Architecture

• Hotel Lorenz
• Pilgrim Congregational Church

Venues

• Cascade Theatre
• The Dip
• Riverfront Amphitheater
• Old City Hall
• Redding Civic Auditorium^[32]
• Axiom Repertory Theatre^[33]

Performing arts

• Riverfront Playhouse
• Axiom Repertory Theater

Higher education

High schools

Charter schools

• Chrysalis Charter School
• Monarch Learning Center
• Stellar Charter School
• Phoenix Charter Academy
• Redding Collegiate Academy
• Redding School of the Arts
• Rocky Point Charter School
• Shasta Charter Academy

Trade schools

• Redding Institute of Technology
• Shasta School of Cosmetology
• CloudWise Academy

Print

• Redding Record Searchlight
• After Five

Television

KRCR News Channel 7. The Northstate's News

Radio

Major highways

• Interstate 5 runs through the east central portion of Redding.
• CA 299, formerly U.S. 299, runs through the western, central, and northeastern parts of the city.
• CA 44 runs through the middle and eastern part of town. Its western terminus is at Market Street (California 273) in downtown Redding.
• CA 273, formerly the Interstate 5 Business Route and also formerly U.S. 99, runs through the city.

Rail and bus transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Redding station, operating its Coast Starlight daily in both directions between Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California via Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; Oakland, California; San Jose, California; Santa Barbara, California and all Intermediate station stops. Amtrak Thruway also provides service to Stockton or Sacramento for connections to the San Joaquins, which serve the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles area via bus connections.

Redding provides a city bus transportation system called RABA (Redding Area Bus Authority). RABA provides routes throughout the City of Redding and also provides transportation throughout Redding's suburbs. Transportation is also available by RABA to Burney, by Sage Stage to Alturas and by Trinity Transit to Weaverville.^[34] Redding is also served by the intercity bus companies Greyhound and Fronteras del Norte.

Shasta Regional Transportation Agency is developing a weekday commuter bus from Redding to the Sacramento Valley Station.^[35]

Air transportation

Air transportation for the Redding area is provided by two general aviation airports. Redding Regional Airport, located south of Redding, has scheduled flights from SkyWest (United Express) and Avelo Airlines. There is also planned service by Core Airlines around 2024 to other cities in Northern California, Southern Oregon, and Western Nevada. The smaller Benton Airpark is located on the western side of Redding.