Pomona, California
City
Clockwise from top: Antiques Row, Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Lincoln Park Historic District
Flag Seal
Nickname:  P-Town[citation needed]
Motto:  "Vibrant – Safe – Beautiful"[1]
Location of Pomona in Los Angeles County and the U.S. state of California
Pomona Location of Pomona, California in the United States Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Pomona Pomona (California) Show map of California Pomona Pomona (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 34°3′39″N 117°45′21″W / 34.06083°N 117.75583°W / 34.06083; -117.75583
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Settled	1830s[2]
Incorporated	January 6, 1888[2]
Named for	Pomona, a Roman goddess of fruitful abundance[3]
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• Mayor	Tim Sandoval[4]
• Vice Mayor	Robert Torres
• City Council	Steve Lustro Elizabeth Ontiveros-Cole Nora Garcia Victor Preciado John Nolte
• City Manager	Anita D. Gutierrez
• Deputy City Manager	Mark Gluba
Area [5]
• Total	22.99 sq mi (59.54 km2)
• Land	22.98 sq mi (59.52 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)  0.05%
Elevation [6]	850 ft (259 m)
Population  (2020)[7]
• Total	151,713
• Rank	7th in Los Angeles County 37th in California 176th in the United States
• Density	6,600/sq mi (2,500/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes	91766–91768
Area code	909
FIPS code	06-58072
GNIS feature IDs	1661247, 2411454
Website	www.ci.pomona.ca.us

Pomona (/pəˈmoʊnə/ ^ⓘ pə-MOH-nə^[8]) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713.^[7] The main campus of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, also known as Cal Poly Pomona, lies partially within Pomona's city limits, with the rest being located in the neighboring unincorporated community of Ramona.

History

Beginnings to 1880

The Tongva were the first inhabitants of the area.^[9][10]

The city is named after Pomona, the ancient Roman goddess of fruit.^[11] For horticulturist Solomon Gates, "Pomona" was the winning entry in a contest to name the city in 1875, before anyone had ever planted a fruit tree there.^[12] The city was first settled by Ricardo Véjar and Ygnacio Palomares in the 1830s when California and much of the now-American Southwest were part of Mexico.

The first Anglo-Americans arrived prior to 1848 when the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo resulted in California becoming part of the United States.^[2] In 1864, the widow of Ygnacio Palomares of Rancho San José sold 12,000 acres (49,000,000 m²; 49 km²) to Louis Phillips, a Jewish Prussian immigrant, who would shortly be known as "the richest man in Los Angeles County." He built the largest commercial building in Los Angeles central business district at the time, the Phillips Block, which would eventually house Hamburger's, the then-largest department store in the Western United States.

Spadra

Phillips sold a parcel of his land to William "Uncle Billy" Rubottom, in 1866 who founded a new town there and named it Spadra after his hometown, now part of Clarksville, Arkansas. The site of Spadra is 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the Pomona Station along Pomona Blvd. just east of the 57 (Orange) Freeway. Spadra became a stagecoach stop, Rubottom built the Spadra Hotel and Tavern to serve travelers, and by 1870, Spadra had 400–500 residents, three stores, a school, and a post office. In 1873, Phillips convinced the Southern Pacific Railroad to build a line to Spadra. Phillips thought Spadra would become a great town, and built his Phillips Mansion there in 1875, which together with the Spadra Cemetery are the only two remnants of the town that still exist today. Fullerton's Main north–south road was named Spadra Road for its first 75 years, as long before the 57 Freeway it was the road through Brea Canyon to Spadra, and was later renamed Harbor Boulevard. The Southern Pacific Railroad had a terminus at Spadra, but the line was extended east to Colton, and Spadra lost momentum. In 1964, the area was annexed by Pomona.^[13][14]

1880–present

By the 1880s, the arrival of Coachella Valley water, together with railroad access, made it the western anchor of the citrus-growing region. Pomona was officially incorporated on January 6, 1888.^[2]

In the 1920s Pomona was known as the "Queen of the Citrus Belt", with one of the highest per-capita levels of income in the United States. In the 1940s it was used as a movie-previewing location for major motion picture studios to see how their films would play to modally middle-class audiences around the country (for which Pomona was at that time viewed as an idealized example).^[15]

Religious institutions are deeply embedded in the history of Pomona. There are now more than 120 churches, representing most religions in today's society. The historical architectural styles of these churches provide glimpses of European church design and architecture from other eras.^[12]

Pomona Mall was a downtown pedestrian mall, recognized by the Los Angeles Conservancy as an outstanding example of Mid-century modern and modern architecture and design. It was completed in 1962, one element in a larger plan of civic improvements covering the whole city.^[16] The eastern end is now part of the Western University of Health Sciences campus, while the western end now houses numerous art galleries, art studios and restaurants.^[17][16]

In 2005, Pomona citizens elected Norma Torres, the first woman of Guatemalan heritage to be elected to a mayoral post outside of Guatemala.^[18] Later, she would become a U.S. congresswoman representing California's 35th congressional district in 2015.

Geography

Pomona is 30 miles (48 km) east of Los Angeles^[19] in the Pomona Valley, located at 34°3′39″N 117°45′21″W / 34.06083°N 117.75583°W / 34.06083; -117.75583 (34.060760, −117.755886).^[20] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.964 square miles (59.48 km²), over 99% of it land.

Pomona is approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of downtown Los Angeles, 27 miles (43 km) north of Santa Ana, 26 miles (42 km) west of Riverside, and 33 miles (53 km) west of San Bernardino.

Pomona is bordered by the cities of San Dimas on the northwest, La Verne and Claremont on the north, Montclair and Chino on the east, Chino Hills and Diamond Bar on the south, Walnut, South San Jose Hills, and Industry on the southwest, and the unincorporated community of Ramona on the west. The Los Angeles/San Bernardino county line forms most of the city's southern and eastern boundaries.

Climate

Pomona has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa) with hot, dry summers and mild, damp winters, and a large amount of sunshine year-round. Summers are characterized by sunny days and very little rainfall during June through September. Fall brings cooler temperatures and occasional showers, as well as seasonal Santa Ana winds originating from the northeast.

Demographics

According to Mapping L.A., Mexican and German were the most common ancestries in 2000. Mexico and the El Salvador were the most common foreign places of birth in Pomona.^[23]

The most common ancestries in Pomona are German, English, Italian, Irish and French.^[24]

2020