| Fontana, California |
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Information AboutFontana, California |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT FONTANA, CALIFORNIA | |
| cities in san bernardino county | |
| communities on u.s. route 66 | |
| united states communities with hispanic majority populations | |
| california speedway | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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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 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. Despite this reputation, Fontana elected its first African American to the city council in 2004. 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 infamous centers of white poverty. The production and consumption of , 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 portions of the former site of the Kaiser mill. Some parts of the mill were sold to China , and the rest remains as an operating steel mill. GEOGRAPHY Fontana is located at 34°5'52" North, 117°27'30" West (34.097744, -117.458222). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 93.6 Km&2 (36.1 Mi&2 ). 93.6 km&2 (36.1 mi&2) of it is land and none of it is covered by water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census 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/km&2 (3,569.7/mi&2). There were 35,908 housing units at an average density of 383.8/km&2 (994.2/mi&2). 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. 57.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 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. 14.7% of the population and 12.2% of families were below the Poverty Line . 18.2% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN IN FONTANA
LITERATURE
The Crlenica Brothers’ 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 17. 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. Legendary motorcycle builder and innovator Denver Mullins was from Fontana. He started a bike shop, Denver’s Choppers, in San Bernardo 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 this website: http://www.mysterion.net/AAFA/socal020.html In the early years Fontana was home to many citrus groves, vineyards, and chicken ranches. EXTERNAL LINKS |