Skip to main content

Image / Los Angeles County Fair

Have a question about this item?

Item information. View source record on contributor's website.

Title
Los Angeles County Fair
Alternative Title
Works Progress Administration Photo Collection
Creator
Frashers Inc
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.
The first Los Angeles County Fair was held on October 17, 1922 and ran for five days through October 21, 1922 in a former beet field in Pomona. For the first few years, highlights included harness racing, chariot races, airplane wing-walking exhibitions, and agricultural exhibitions. Since its inception, the Fair has been the link between California's agriculture industry and the public. During World War II, from May 7 to August 24, 1942, these grounds were used as a Wartime Civilian Control Administration assembly center, which held more than 5,000 Japanese Americans prior to sending them to internment camps. Curiously, there is no known historical marker at the site. Now in its 87th year, the L.A. County Fair is the largest county fair in the United States, with attendance topping one million people in every year but one since 1948, and generating a national economic impact of more than $250 million dollars. The Fair is held each September on 543 acres of fairgrounds known as Fairplex (L.A. County Fair, hotel and exposition complex), and is operated by the Los Angeles County Fair Association.
The largest fair building in the world, located at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds is prominently visible in this photograph, which was taken from a nearby hilltop. The building was erected in 1930 and is 800 feet long and 150 feet wide. It is the largest building known of such dimensions of steel arches and concrete walls, arranged so that there is not a single interior pillar. The fairgrounds also includes a racetrack and carnival section, as well as several parking lots.
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;18 x 21 cm. on board 21 x 26 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00081967
Works Progress Administration Collection
WPA (6135); Pomona-Exhibitions-L.A. County Fair.
CARL0002883697
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/112751
Subject
Los Angeles County Fair (Los Angeles County, Calif.)
Racetracks (Horse racing)--California--Pomona
Exhibition buildings--California--Pomona
Amusement rides--California--Pomona
Fairs--California--Los Angeles County
Panoramic photographs
Pomona (Calif.)

About the collections in Calisphere

Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. View our statement on digital primary resources.

Copyright, permissions, and use

If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.

Share your story

Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.

Explore related content on Calisphere: