Because California is News...

Well, at least on the blogs I frequent anyway.  In case you have not noticed by now, while I do try to cover North America from perspectives cultural as well as natural, I really have a passion for introducing my readers to "how things used to look", or at least "how we think things used to look".  Hence, when I come across a picture of a city street, I usually grimace, then purse my lips a little bit, walk around the room saying "no" a few times, and then push past the picture for something more wild in the albums of my adventures.  That said, places like southern California are extensively urbanized, and such places are part of what this blog covers.  Granted, much of urban southern California is actually on the Pacific plate, and thus is technically not a part of North America.  Oh come on, like this comes as a shock to anyone.

Ahem, anyway, this is the lovely city of Fontana, sprawling over 42 square miles and home to nearly 200,000 people.  The city started out being developed the way much of the eastern part of the greater Los Angeles area did, as orchard and vine land.  The city was settled by Italian immigrants, who mainly either went into agriculture, working the orchards and vines, or worked for Kaiser steel, which later expanded into the health care industry to become Kaiser Pemanente.  The city experienced long periods of prosperity, which has manifested physically in the many fine civic structures throughout the main thoroughfare.  Route 66 ran through here, and has been the focus of an ongoing battle between the forces of modernity and preservation.  Some of the old route still exists in the form of street signs and historic buildings that have managed to defy what the municipal government touts as road improvements.  One such place is Bono's Restaurant, which is undergoing renovations at the present time.  You can still pull up and see its "historic orange" though.

Southern California, back when it was more orchard than urban, used to be dotted with such road side fruit stands.  Believe me when I say that nothing quite tastes like a glass of orange juice freshly squeezed from the fruit right off the tree.  Sadly, there are very few places in Fontana, or any area of the greater L.A. area, where one can still find any actual orchards.  Fortunately, backyards still have trees in them.

So anyway, what does Fontana look like these days?  With the exception of some of the historic downtown, pretty average, or what one would expect from a suburban city.

The locals claim that the city is downtrodden and crime-ridden, but I remain skeptical that much crime exists in a city that has an average four minute response time to 911 calls, and sends in not only the usual responding units, but a police helicopter or two as well.  The streets are usually immaculate looking, and most people groom their lawns to golf-course standards.  Roughly half the residents are descended from the Italian immigrants, and the other half are largely Hispanic.  The end result is that anyone longing for Italian food in southern California needs but come around these parts, while they can also find some really good burritos.

In terms of climate, location, and scenery, Fontana is a good base from which to discover a little bit of everything the region has to offer.

While it is part of the greener and rainier coastal basins, the city does sit at the foot of Cajon Pass, and thus receives strong winds from the Mojave desert, which can heat things up to as much as 120 degrees in the summer, although the 90's are far more common.  Winter temperatures average in the upper 60's, with occasional night-time frosts.  The city is dwarfed by the surrounding mountain ranges, especially the San Gabriels, which lie to the north.

All in all, Fontana is an "average" city in southern California, albeit one with a bit more history than just "added as part of sprawl during 1960's-1980's".