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almanac
2014-15 Claremont COURIER
Is Claremont a...
TOWN CITY?
OR
C
our er i
Claremont
claremont-courier.com
ALMANAC 2014-2015 7
I
consider myself quite lucky to be
born and raised in Claremont.
Now, as a parent, I still think its
a great place to raise a family. But
over the past 50-plus years much has
changed and, somewhere along the
way, the town of Claremont turned
into a city.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Claremont went
through a decades-long growth spurt that contin-
ued beyond my graduation from Claremont High
School in 1974. Because we moved from south to
north Claremont while I was in elementary school,
I ended up attending Mountain View, Condit,
Oakmont and Chaparral during my formative
years. This included being part of the opening of
Chaparral and La Puerta Intermediate School.
I can easily remember the first day at these
brand-new schools, where large numbers of stu-
dents had no clue where anything was located.
Chaparral was considered far north in 1965, where
a quick jaunt up to Base Line Road put you square
in the middle of citrus groves in all directions.
Since we lived off of Padua Avenue north of
Base Line, the citrus groves were a huge part of
the landscape.
Fred Bentley, the owner of Bentleys Market
(now Rhino Records), was our neighbor to the
south. The 10-acre parcel included citrus trees and
a huge windmill, right next to our property. We al-
ways knew it was really cold at night when the
loud motorized windmill fanned those trees.
Padua Avenue looked similar to how it looks to-
day, except without the steady stream of cars
speeding around from the large homes built north
of Alamosa. Growing up, there were only a couple
of streets with homes between us and Padua Hills,
which is located two miles to our north. And the
Wilderness Park was just wildernessno parking
problems there.
All the open space made it seem like we lived in
the boonies, even though we really didnt. But the
acres and acres of citrus groves and untouched
land in the foothills made Claremont a small town.
It was rural. Watching the citrus groves literally
disappear in front of my eyes over the next two
decades changed all that, and is a major reason
why I now consider Claremont a city.
In those days, the COURIER was on Harvard
Avenue, right in the middle of town. Back then,
the newspaper was considered one of the only
sources of city information. There was no city
website and no Facebook. People would often
walk into the office with all sorts of questions. I
can still hear my father Martin bellowing out ad-
vice or giving directions to customers (and staff)
from his second-floor desk perched above the of-
fice in the back. We would also get a steady num-
ber of people who walked to our office to pay
their bills. This was definitely town type stuff,
and clearly doesnt happen as often now.
The businesses in the Village were mostly fam-
ily-owned establishments that included only a few
restaurants. So when I went to the Village Grille,
Walters or Yiannis, there were always people you
knew. The good news is, that dynamic still exists
today. There are just a few more restaurants to
choose from.
The current version of the city just has more of
everything. And thats not a bad thing. Theres
never been more to do and to see in Claremont.
There are more events and definitely more to eat!
Claremont has more to offer than ever.
Luckily, Claremont has no shortage of people
who care about the city. Many of these residents I
knew growing up are still here. Its common to
meet people on a regular basis who say, I remem-
ber when you were little, or I knew your mom
and dad when
Its clear the city of Claremont continues to
adapt with the times. So whether its a town or city,
village or downtown, one thing is certainchange
will always be a part of our lives.
The Weinberger family in front of their north Claremont home in 1965. Members included Janis
Weinberger, left, my grandparents Henry and Ray Weinberger and me at age 9. The Weinbergers still
live in the home today.
Growing up in the town of Claremont
by Peter Weinberger
the Almanac 2014 staff
Editorial: Writing by Sarah Torribio, Angela Bailey and KathrynDunn; research, writing and endless special
projects by Robin Young; photography by Steven Felschundneff, Peter Weinberger and Helen Arase.
Graphics: Ad design and layout by Jenelle Rensch; inside page design by Kathryn Dunn; cover design by
Peter Weinberger.
Administration: Ad sales by Mary Rose and Jessica Gustin Pfahler; billing and accounting courtesy of
Dee Proffitt; office management and scheduling Vickie Rosenberg; delivery and distribution by Tom Smith.
1420 N. Claremont Blvd., Ste. 205B
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 621-4761 claremont-courier.com
Office hours: Monday-Friday
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The current version of the city just has more of everything.
And thats not a bad thing. Theres never been more to do
and to see in Claremont. There are more events and defi-
nitely more to eat! Claremont has more to offer than ever.
ALMANAC 2014-2015 8
Were the best town in the Inland Empire, even though were not really part of the IE. The thing is,
weve got the best record store in the world, but no bookstore? Where is it? Weve got seven colleges
and no real bookstore. Id love to see one open.
Over the years, our schools have changed. Instead of putting 15 special education students in a broom closet
and having them move around from school to school, we should give them some consistency. We need to be
careful not to be sticks-in-the-mud, but to stay true to ourselves and try to accommodate everyone. With all of
the housing development going on, you cant just act like a town. It will take a lot of effort to keep our sense of
community.
The business development downtown has been great for everyone. Weve grown a lot from when it was just
Walters, Yiannis and the Danson. Its been great for everyone.
Carol Curtis, Curtis Real Estate
Were definitely a town. A lot has
changed through the years, but you
can see our old town feel in the
way people participate in everything. Look at
the roundabout, for example. People spoke
out, went to city council meetings and wrote
letters to the editor.
The COURIER is a big part of keeping our
hometown feel. Like with the water situation,
you might talk to someone in another city who
gets their water from Golden State, and theyll
have no idea that theyre paying so much
more. Their city and city council arent respon-
sive like in Claremont. Its the people that
make Claremont what it is. Even with the busi-
ness and housing developments over the
years, the people will keep it a small town.
Nori Barajas-Murphy
Claremont
?
Which is it
Is Claremont a
city or a town?
ALMANAC 2014-2015 10
Its still a town, but it has become more like a city due to the 210 freeway going through.
When the 210 came, it became more like Pasadena East. As soon as that happened, it was
a little bit less small-towny, and more city. The city crept in but, luckily, it still hasnt got us yet.
It seems that theyre trying to build condos in every nook and cranny. If you look at Monte Vista and
Base Linethat little corner with the historic reservoir and stone housethey built all around that right
next to the freeway. What an awful place to live, right next to the freeway in the armpit of the middle of
all the off-ramps and on-ramps. Horrible. People are going to buy those condos? And then the strawber-
ry fields on Towne, come on now! Its a shame.
In my opinion, the Chamber of Commerce has a done a very good job of making downtown Claremont
into a giant outdoor mall. Its great. Its good for the merchants. The parking is hard, but its doable. The
chamber is serving their purpose and that is to get people to come from all the surrounding cities to
shop here, outside. Its much better than Ontario Mills or something like that. Id much rather go here.
And most people feel the same way.
The city did a pretty good job expanding to the west. It doesnt seem to hurt the old town. In fact, it
might have helped it a little. Bringing the Laemmle in, keeping the Packing Housethank you, Tessiers
because that was a big part of it. If theyd gotten rid of the Packing House altogether, I would not have
liked it at all, but Im okay with the expansion.