Stockton Population 2010: 291,707, #65 in U.S., #13 in California 1950: 70,853, #160 in U.S. 2010
Metropolitan Area: 685,306, #77 in U.S. 1950 Metropolitan Area: 200,750, #92 in U.S. Setting Stockton was founded in 1849 on the Stockton Slough, an arm of the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley. It has been an important port since the Gold Rush days of the 1850s. Today, the downtown has a park, baseball stadium, and arena along the waterfront of the Stockton Deep Water Channel. Buildings Tallest building: San Joaquin County Courthouse (2016), 243 feet Stores Stockton has no downtown department stores. Trains Amtrak runs its San Joaquin trains from two stations: the restored Southern Pacific station (1930) on the east edge of downtown, and the Santa Fe station (1900) just south of downtown. Trains run north to Sacramento, west to Oakland, and south to Fresno and Bakersfield. The Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) has been running weekday trains to San Jose from the Southern Pacific Station since 1998. Museums The Haggin Museum is just north of downtown.
|  Hotel Stockton in Downtown Stockton Theaters The Regal Cinemas City Center 16 shows first-run movies. The Bob Hope Theatre (formerly the Fox) is a restored 1930 movie palace that has concerts, classic movies, and a variety of other events. The Stockton Symphony plays at Atherton Auditorium on the campus of San Joaquin Delta College, north of downtown. The Stockton Opera performs at the Spanos Concert Hall on the campus of the University of the Pacific, north of downtown. Sports The Stockton Ports, Single-A California League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, play at Banner Island Ballpark (2005) on the waterfront. The Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League play at the Stockton Arena (2005). Conference and Visitors Bureau
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