Fairplex (Los Angeles County Fairgrounds) (Pomona, California)

USA / California / Pomona / Pomona, California / West McKinley Avenue, 1101
 Second World War 1939-1945, speedway race track, fairground

1101 West McKinley Avenue
Pomona, CA 91768
(909) 623-3111
www.fairplex.com/

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. 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.

During WWII, it was used as a detention center to process over 5,000 Japanese-Americans before shipping them to other camps; most ended up at Heart Mountain, Wyoming. It was closed as a detention center on August 24, 1942 and reopened as an ordnance depot on September 4, 1942.

The depot stocked a wide variety of ordnance materials and for much of the war serviced the California/Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA) (Desert Training Center), in the deserts east of Pomona. The depot had a prisoner of war camp holding about 1,150 German and Italian POWs who worked at the depot. By January 10, 1946 all acreage used by the depot was declared surplus. After February 1947, all acreage and remaining facilities were disposed of to the County of Los Angeles, who resumed fairgrounds activities shortly thereafter. The grandstand and other fair buildings on the 1942 aerial photograph remain. The barracks area of the assembly center is now used for the fair midway, other events, and parking.

It is also home to a dragstrip known as Pomona Raceway which hosts both the opening and closing rounds of the NHRA drag racing series. Fairplex is also the location of the NHRA Motor Sports Museum.

Visitors can stay on the Fairplex grounds at the 247-suite Sheraton Suites Fairplex Hotel built in 1992, or at a 185-space KOA recreational vehicle park.

www.militarymuseum.org/PomonaOrdDepot.html
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   34°5'12"N   117°46'0"W

Comments

  • does not encompass entire fairplex
  • does now :)
This article was last modified 5 years ago