Fairplex
Encyclopedia
Fairplex, formerly known as the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, has been since 1922 the home of the L.A. County Fair
. It is located in the city of Pomona, California
. The L.A. County Fair is now held during the month of September, but the facility is used year-round to host a variety of educational, commercial, and entertainment such as trade and consumer shows, conventions, and sporting events.
Fairplex is owned by the County of Los Angeles, but is leased to and is governed by an independent, self-supporting non-profit organization
, the Los Angeles County Fair Association, which manages and produces the county fair and re-invests surplus revenues generated by the fair and other events in the maintenance and development of the facility.
The historic train exhibit is called the Fairplex Garden Railroad. It has over 80 volunteers and runs the first Sunday of every month for the general public. The FGRR gears up every year for the L.A. County Fair, its primary show. In December various members run their Christmas trains. The garden railroad uses G Scale trains.
Fairplex is home to a dragstrip
known as the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
which hosts both the opening and closing rounds of the NHRA drag racing
series. Fairplex is also the location of the Wally Parks
NHRA Motor Sports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California
.
In addition, Fairplex is the site of the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts at Fairplex, a year-round education and exhibit space affiliated with The Smithsonian Institution. The center is located in the historic Fine Arts building, a 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) facility designed by architect Claud Beelman
and erected by the WPA
in 1937. In 1994 the building was renamed in honor of artist Millard Sheets
, a Pomona native who was the director of the county fair's art programs from 1930 to 1956.
Los Angeles County Fair
The inaugural Los Angeles County Fair, now known as the L.A. County Fair, opened Oct. 17, 1922, and ran for five days through October 21, 1922, in a former beet field in Pomona, California. Highlights of the Fair’s first year were harness racing, chariot races and an airplane wing-walking...
. It is located in the city of Pomona, California
Pomona, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
. The L.A. County Fair is now held during the month of September, but the facility is used year-round to host a variety of educational, commercial, and entertainment such as trade and consumer shows, conventions, and sporting events.
Fairplex is owned by the County of Los Angeles, but is leased to and is governed by an independent, self-supporting non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, the Los Angeles County Fair Association, which manages and produces the county fair and re-invests surplus revenues generated by the fair and other events in the maintenance and development of the facility.
Facilities
Having begun in 1922 with 43 acres (174,015 m²) donated by the City of Pomona, the Fairplex grounds now cover 543 acres (2.2 km²) and include nearly 325000 square feet (30,193.5 m²) of indoor exhibit space. Slightly less than half of the grounds are given over to paved parking areas to accommodate 30,000 vehicles. Among other features of Fairplex are various scenic parks, plazas and picnic areas, a historic train exhibit, and 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of carnival grounds.The historic train exhibit is called the Fairplex Garden Railroad. It has over 80 volunteers and runs the first Sunday of every month for the general public. The FGRR gears up every year for the L.A. County Fair, its primary show. In December various members run their Christmas trains. The garden railroad uses G Scale trains.
Fairplex Park Racetrack
Also on the grounds is Fairplex Park, a horse racing facility with a 5/8 mile racetrack and a grandstand seating 10,000. Fairplex Park provides equine training facilities, horse show facilities, and the Barretts Equine Limited horse auction complex. The facility can also be used to host music events accommodating up to 30,000 patrons.Fairplex is home to a dragstrip
Dragstrip
A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile tracks...
known as the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, formerly known as Pomona Raceway, is a racing facility located in Pomona, California that features a quarter-mile dragstrip. The dragstrip is most famous for hosting the NHRA's Winternationals event since 1961, the traditional season opener, as well as the seasons last...
which hosts both the opening and closing rounds of the NHRA drag racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
series. Fairplex is also the location of the Wally Parks
Wally Parks
Wallace Gordon Parks was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport. He was the Founder, President, and the Chairman of the Board of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA...
NHRA Motor Sports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California
Automobile Club of Southern California
The Automobile Club of Southern California is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association federation of motor clubs...
.
In addition, Fairplex is the site of the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts at Fairplex, a year-round education and exhibit space affiliated with The Smithsonian Institution. The center is located in the historic Fine Arts building, a 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) facility designed by architect Claud Beelman
Claud Beelman
Claud W. Beelman , sometimes known as Claude Beelman, was an American architect who designed many examples of Beaux-Arts, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style buildings. Many of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Beelman was married to Lourene Taft Beelman...
and erected by the WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
in 1937. In 1994 the building was renamed in honor of artist Millard Sheets
Millard Sheets
Millard Owen Sheets was an American painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks in Southern California.-Early life:...
, a Pomona native who was the director of the county fair's art programs from 1930 to 1956.
Location
It is located at 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, California 91768, approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of downtown Los Angeles and 10 miles (16 km) west of Ontario International Airport, and two blocks north of the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10). The Fairplex is accessible from Fairplex Dr., White Ave. or Garey Ave. freeway exits.Miscellaneous information
- The rodeo scenes in Pee-wee's Big AdventurePee-wee's Big AdventurePee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his full-length debut and starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman. Reubens also co-wrote the script with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol. Supporting roles are played by Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane...
were shot at the Fairplex in 1985. - Japanese internmentJapanese internmentJapanese internment is a term generally used to refer to one or both of the following events:*Japanese American internment, the internment of Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II...
: The Los Angeles County Fairgrounds was one of the locations used as a temporary detention campInternmentInternment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
in 1942 for Japanese and Japanese-Americans before they were relocated to more permanent facilities such as the Manzanar War Relocation Center.