Union City (California)

Union City is a city of 70,000 people (in 2020) in the southern part of the East Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay Area region of California. It is bordered to the north by the city of Hayward and to the south by the city of Fremont. It is part of the Tri-Cities area, which consists of Union City, Fremont, and Newark.

History
When California began to experience incredible growth in the 1950s, Southern Alameda County developed quickly and the city of Hayward began to eye the townships to its south for potential annexation. To preclude such an event, a citizen's committee petitioned for incorporation; and on January 13, 1959, the City of Union City came into being, binding together the four townships of Union City/New Haven/Alvarado/Decoto. Tom Kitayama, who served on the citizen's committee, became its first mayor. He was the first Japanese American to hold public office in California, just 14 years after the end of World War II.

Public transportation

 * AC Transit buses bring you in from other parts of the inner East Bay.
 * BART trains bring you to the Union City BART Station from Fremont to the south and from Hayward, San Leandro, Oakland and Richmond to the north, as well as San Francisco to the west.
 * Dumbarton Express buses bring you in from Palo Alto via Dumbarton Bridge.

Get around
Cycling, walking, and taking public transportation are all alternatives to driving, although traffic isn't bad relatively speaking and free parking is plentiful.



See
The Union Landing shopping center is also home of the Century 25 movie theater.

Do
Cycle, run, or walk your dog on the Alameda Creek Trail which extends from the hills to the bay. One side of the trail is paved and the other is mostly unpaved.



Eat
There is a variety of different (fast food) restaurants inside Union Landing.



Go next
The Tri-City area includes Union City, Newark, and Fremont. Go south and visit Newark and Fremont.