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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992/03/31 - Agenda PacketC.,~C A ~0 RANCHO CUCA~ 1977 TUESDAY MARCH 31 1992 3:30 P.M. OLD ALTA LOMA TOUR WORKSHOP ALTA LOMA HEIGHTS CITRUS PACKING HOUSE (AMERICAN NATIONAL CAN SITE) 7125 AMETHYST STREET RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIFORNIA I. Roll Call Commissioner Chitiea Commissioner Tolstoy Commissioner McNiel Commissioner Vallette Commissioner Melcher II. OLD ALTA LOMA TOUR - Walking tour and background session on the historic community of Alta Loma in order to provide the Commission data on the develo'3ment of the Old Alta Loma Neighborhood Plan III. Adjournment ir i AVIMLIill i AM At IlI]~]l - - AS NLAVl' , m AY OlYlIM. :,,. ,~) VISTA ST ~"":' ':[" LIITA CT ""' "Iiim l- . ~ DLL/DPI ~ PLL ~ $U$ ~ $DI at/. Tn'LE:MAP OF OLD ALTA LC ~i~~ :~"'~- ; OLD ALTA LOMA COMMERCIALCENTER, c. 1948-1955 ~salas Hellman in 1870 purchased the Cucamonga Rancho, part of which became Alta Loma. By 1887, Hellman's Iowa tract had combined with the Hermosa tract developed by Adolph Petsch to the east to form the colony of loamosa. The coming of the Santa Fe line from San Bernardino to Los Angeles, which passed through Cucamonga in 1887, started a land boom, bring4ng entrepreneurs eager to profit from the fledgling dtrus industry. Citrus early on became the primary, industry of Ioamosa colony, which would become Alta Loma. The relative abundance of water and auspicious soil conditions of the area led to the predominance of this money-making crop. ' The importance of the citrus industr7 led to other developments. In order to increase the profitability of their venture, citrus growers lead by Peter Demens, in 1912 began lobbying for a Padtic Electric line which would come through ioarnosa. This was successful, and by 1914 the line was completed through newly-named Alta Loma. The planning area grew up around this line as the main business district of the community. The business of agriculture occupied most of the citizens of the new Gowth town. Grapes, apricots, peaches and almonds were all grown in the Alta Loma area. But it was the combination of the dtrus growers concentrated in the region and the building of several citrus packing houses in Old Alta Loma that formed the main industry, of the community. The combination of low prices, high expenses, and a destructive freeze signalled the start of the decline of the dtrus industry, in Alta Loma. As local packing houses consolidated then dosed in the mid- to late-1950s, ranchers became discouraged and sold out, many times to city dwellers moving away from the high prices and bad air quality of Los Angeles to the rural atmosphere of Alta Loma. The influx of people spurred and accelerated growth in Alta Loma. As more and more people moved in, groves were taken out to make room. Today the Old AIm Loma planning area has lost much of its rural atmosphere with only scattered fragments of the historical citrus landscape remaining. Nevertheless, much of the historic architectural fabric remains. New construction has encroached upon, although not taken over, the "downtown" area.