Fontana, California

Originally a sleepy, dusty town of citrus orchards and cattle ranches astride Route 66 (now known as Foothill Boulevard) and numerous rail lines, Fontana was radically transformed during World War II by the construction of a steel mill belonging to the Henry J. Kaiser Company and the routing of the San Bernardino Freeway through a section of the town. Explosive growth soon followed, with the area becoming a prominent industrial exurb of Los Angeles. Its working-class orientation, and a population of largely rural Southern, Hispanic, and Midwestern origins, led to the city receiving the derisive nicknames Fontucky and Fontucket. This reputation for provincialism was not aided by the rise to prominence of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, which had originally formed in Fontana.

Foreign competition and mismanagement led to the closure of the Kaiser Steel plant in the early 1980s, and Fontana and neighboring San Bernardino soon became centers of lower income whites. The production and consumption of methamphetamine and its distribution by the Hells Angels rose during this time. However, Fontana's fortunes improved notably (along with the rest of the cities of the Inland Empire) with the advent of the Southern California real estate boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,929, but a July 1, 2002 Census estimate showed the fast-growing city's population at 143,607. The completion of the Foothill Freeway extension in 2003 should contribute to Fontana's increasing prominence as both a bedroom community and a center of industry. Much of the boom has occurred to the north of the city core with residents who choose to identify with surrounding cities such as Rancho Cucamonga.

Fontana's principal cultural/entertainment attraction is the California Speedway, a racetrack that plays host to two NASCAR Nextel Cup events a year and various smaller races. It is built on the former site of the Kaiser Steel mill. Some parts of the mill were sold to China, and the rest remains as an operating steel mill.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Education
4 Notable natives
5 Literature
6 Trivia
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Geography

Fontana is located at 34°5′52″N, 117°27′30″W (34.097744, -117.458222)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.1 mi² (93.6 km²) all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 128,929 people, 34,014 households, and 29,013 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,378.2/km² (3,569.7/mi²). There were 35,908 housing units at an average density of 383.8/km² (994.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 44.99% White, 11.83% African American, 1.12% Native American, 4.36% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander, 31.94% from other races, and 5.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 57.72% of the population.

There were 34,014 households out of which 57.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.7% were non-families. 10.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.78 and the average family size was 4.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 37.8% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 14.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,782, and the median income for a family was $46,957. Males had a median income of $36,062 versus $26,305 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,208. About 12.2% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Fontana is split both economically and socially. The majority of the affluent portion of the population live on the North-West side of the city. The core of the city, and some southern portions are in need of redevelopment. Many of the residents in these parts of the city are illegal immigrant Hispanics. Much of this division is arguably caused by an inordinately large number of apartments that were built between 1970 and 1990.

[edit] Education

The Fontana Unified School District operates these high schools:

Fontana High School
Henry J. Kaiser High School
A.B. Miller School
Summit High School

Most residents of the city attend schools within the Fontana Unified School District.

[edit] Notable natives

Troy Percival, relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers
Alexis Serna, place kicker for Oregon State University.
Travis Barker, drummer for The Aquabats, Blink-182, The Transplants, Plus 44, and Box Car Racer
Mike Davis, author and social commentator
Sammy Hagar, rock musician (guitarist and vocalist), former member of Montrose and Van Halen, and a soloist. Entrepreneur and purveyor of Cabo Wabo brand tequila. Although Hagar was born in Monterey, California, he lived in Fontana.
D-Loc, one of the lead singers of the Kottonmouth Kings.
Nick Barnett, linebacker and former first-round draft pick ([#29, 2003] out of Oregon State University) by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League.
Sam Khalifa, former professional baseball player.
Leo Romero, professional skater
Kelly Tomlinson, actress appearing on television shows Edison, Las Vegas, Jericho.
Richard Mulder, Professial skater
Dirty Red, Rapper from Ruthless Records who's actually from Los Angeles but lived in Fontana.
Corey Benjamin, NBA Player (1st Round Pick in 1998 for the Chicago Bulls/NBA) and College Basketball Star at Oregon State University before leaving after his Sophomore Season
Nick Johnson, Named one of People's Magazines Sexiest Men Alive (2005)
Sean Rooks, NBA Player (1st Round Pick). Played college ball at University of Arizona and went onto play a number of season with several teams in the NBA, before retiring in 2005.
Jeff Liefer, MLB Player
Nikki Flores, Singer/Songwriter
Aaron "Jesus" Aguilera, Former WWE Smackdown Superstar Wrestler
Doug Johnson, MLB Player, Member of 2002 Anaheim Angels World Series Championship Team.
Kenneth Hammond, who helped stop the attacker in the Trolley Square shooting graduated from Fontana High School.^[6]

[edit] Literature

Junkyard of Dreams, ch. 7 of Mike Davis: City of Quartz, 1990

[edit] Trivia

Gangster Al Capone once had a home in Fontana, which was notable for the initial "C" displayed on one of the home's chimneys. It was rumored that secret passageways/tunnels led from the home to a different part of the city of Fontana, allowing for a quick escape.

The Crlenica Brothers’ [pronounced tsir-LEN-itsa], a local Slavic “Tamburitza” musical group, lived in Fontana, had a music store on Arrow Blvd., and played music locally for Fontana's large Slavic population. Unbeknownst to most Fontana residents, they also did some movie work in Hollywood, performing on the soundtrack of "Dr. Zhivago" (Lara’s Theme), and also in the movie “Patton,” in the Russian dance scene.

Shelton Brooks, legendary songwriter and bandleader of the early 20th century, spent several decades in his later years living in Fontana. The writer of such hits as ”Darktown Strutters’ Ball” and ”Some of These Days,” he would buy a new Cadillac every year with his songwriter royalties. As a leader of his own successful big band, he hobnobbed with the Hollywood elite and became especially close to torch singer Sophie Tucker, known as “The Last of the Red Hot Mammas.”

Whitman Mayo, the actor who played Shady Grady in the TV series “Sanford and Son,” moved with his family from New York City to Fontana in 1967, when he was 37. While living in Fontana he attended Chaffey College in nearby Cucamonga (now called Rancho Cucamonga). He once served as the Grand Marshall in the Fontana Days parade.

Pigmy Love Circus has a blazin' song called "Drug run to Fontana" on the album The Power of Beef.

Legendary motorcycle builder and innovator Denver Mullins was from Fontana. He started a bike shop, Denver’s Choppers, in San Bernardino in 1967, where he was a pioneer in the building of custom bikes and replacement bike parts. The shop later moved to Henderson, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas, where it still operates to this day, although Denver died in a racing boat accident in 1992.

Henry Kaiser’s steel mill in Fontana was the only steel mill west of the Mississippi River. The steel mill scene in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie “Terminator 2” was filmed in the abandoned Kaiser Steel Mill.

Ro-Val’s automobile museum, located on Foothill Blvd on the western outskirts between Fontana and Cucamonga, was for a while the home for many classic automobiles of the 20’s and 30’s, including a huge vehicle once owned by screen actor Fatty Arbuckle. When the Ro-Val museum closed, the vehicles were sold to Bill Harrah, a Nevada casino owner and automobile collector, who placed them on display in the museum located at his casino.

In the 1950’s and 60’s Fontana was home to a famous drag racing strip that was a significant venue in the NHRA circuit. Known officially as Mickey Thompson’s Fontana International Dragway, it was also referred to as Fontana Drag City or just plain old Fontana Drag Strip. The original Fontana strip is long since defunct, but the owners of NASCAR’s new Fontana Raceway will be opening a new NHRA-sanctioned drag strip in Fontana in mid-2006 to resurrect Fontana’s drag-racing heritage. There are some great photos of the original Fontana Drag Strip at the website http://www.mysterion.net/AAFA/socal020.html

In the early years Fontana was home to many citrus groves, vineyards, and chicken ranches.

[edit] References

^ Fontana City Mayor Mark Nuaimi. Retrieved on February 20, 2007.
^ Incorporation Dates of California Cities. Retrieved on February 20, 2007.
^ Fontana city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder. Retrieved on February 20, 2007.
^ USPS - ZIP Code Lookup - Find a ZIP+ 4 Code By City Results. Retrieved on February 20, 2007.
^ Number Administration System - NPA and City/Town Search Results. Retrieved on February 20, 2007.
^ Woods II, Wes. "Utah hero has roots in I.E.", San Bernardino Sun, 2007-02-19.

[edit] External links

City of Fontana Website
Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 34.097744° -117.458222°
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

	v • d • e San Bernardino County, California County Seat: San Bernardino
Incorporated places	Adelanto • Apple Valley • Barstow • Big Bear Lake • Chino • Chino Hills • Colton • Fontana • Grand Terrace • Hesperia • Highland • Loma Linda • Montclair • Needles • Ontario • Rancho Cucamonga • Redlands • Rialto • San Bernardino • Twentynine Palms • Victorville • Upland • Yucaipa • Yucca Valley
CDPs	Big Bear City • Big River • Bloomington • Bluewater • Crestline • Joshua Tree • Lake Arrowhead • Lenwood • Mentone • Morongo Valley • Mountain View Acres • Muscoy • Nebo Center • Running Springs • San Antonio Heights • Searles Valley • Twentynine Palms Base • Wrightwood
Other unincorporated communities	Amboy • Angelus Oaks • Baker • Blue Jay • Cadiz • Calico • Cima • Daggett • Devore • Essex • Fort Irwin • Goffs • Green Valley Lake • Halloran Springs • Helendale • Hinkley • Kelso • Landers • Lucerne Valley • Lytle Creek • Nipton • Phelan • Pinon Hills • Pioneertown • Rice • Sugarloaf • Sunfair • Sunfair Heights • Trona • Vidal • Yermo • Zzyzx