Fairplex facts for kids
Fairplex is a large place in Pomona, California, that has been the home of the L.A. County Fair since 1922. Before 1984, it was known as the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. The L.A. County Fair happens in May each year. But Fairplex is busy all year long! It hosts many different events like trade shows, conventions, and sports.
Fairplex is owned by Los Angeles County. However, it is managed by a special group called the Los Angeles County Fair Association. This group is a non-profit organization. This means they use any money they earn from the fair and other events to keep Fairplex running and make it even better.
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What can you find at Fairplex?
Fairplex started small in 1922 with just 43 acres. Today, it covers a huge area of 543 acres! That's like more than 400 football fields. It has about 325,000 square feet of indoor space for exhibits. Almost half of the area is used for parking, with room for 30,000 cars.
Fairplex also has beautiful parks, open areas, and picnic spots. There's even a cool exhibit of old trains and 12 acres just for carnival rides and games!
Trains and Railways
The RailGiants Train Museum is a special place for train lovers. It's run by a group called the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. Until 2013, it was home to one of the biggest steam locomotives in the world, the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014. This giant train was moved to Wyoming to be fixed up and started running again in 2019!
There's also a fun garden railroad exhibit called the Fairplex Garden Railway. Over 80 volunteers help run it. You can see the trains on the second Sunday of every month from November to July. They use G Scale trains, which are large model trains. The garden railway is a big hit during the L.A. County Fair!
Fast Cars and Arts
Fairplex is home to a big dragstrip called the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. This is where the NHRA holds exciting drag racing events. These races are super fast and loud! The track hosts both the first and last races of the NHRA season.
Right next to the dragstrip is the Wally Parks NHRA Motor Sports Museum. It's a museum all about the history of drag racing and cool cars.
Fairplex also has the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts. This is a place where you can see art and learn about it all year long. It's connected to the famous Smithsonian Institution. The center is in a historic building built in 1937. It was named after artist Millard Sheets, who helped with the county fair's art programs for many years.
Pomona Assembly Center: A Look Back in History
During World War II, the Fairplex grounds were used for something very different. They became a temporary camp called the Pomona Assembly Center. This was part of a sad time in history called the Japanese American internment.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government ordered many people of Japanese descent living in California to leave their homes. Most of these people were U.S. citizens. They were sent to temporary camps like Pomona, and then to larger, more isolated camps.
Construction on the Pomona camp began in March 1942, and it opened in May 1942. It had many barracks (simple buildings), mess halls (dining areas), and showers. The first Japanese American citizens arrived on May 9. By May 15, over 4,200 people were living there. At its busiest, the camp held 5,434 people.
The Pomona camp closed in August 1942. Most of the people there were moved to a camp in Wyoming. After that, the site was used to house U.S. troops and then German and Italian prisoners of war. Today, this area is the Fairplex parking lot.
In 2016, a special plaque was put up at Fairplex. It helps people remember the history of the assembly center and the POW camp.
Where is Fairplex?
Fairplex is located at 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, California. It's about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
Getting to Fairplex
You can get to Fairplex by train! There's a Metrolink train platform right on the north side of the property. The San Bernardino Line trains stop there on fair days.
There's also a free Park and Ride area nearby for people who commute. You can catch the Foothill Transit route 699 bus to downtown Los Angeles from there. The Foothill Transit route 197 bus connects Fairplex to the Montclair Station and the Pomona Station.
Fairplex in Movies and Music
- The rodeo scenes in the movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure were filmed at Fairplex in 1985.
- Two songs from the 1994 Kidsongs video "Boppin' with the Biggles" were filmed at the Railroad Museum. These songs were "The Loco-Motion" and "The Little Red Caboose." You can see real trains like the Union Pacific Railroad's #9000, 6915, and Big Boy 4014 in the video!
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