Alta Loma, Rancho Cucamonga, California

Alta Loma is one of three formerly unincorporated areas that became part of the city of Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States in 1977. [Hickcox, Robert L.: "Dates in the History of Etiwanda, California"] The community is located in the foothills of the south face of the San Gabriel Mountain range, near Cucamonga Peak and Mount Baldy. It is located in the 91701 and 91737 zip codes. The latitude of Alta Loma is 34.122N. The longitude is -117.597W. Its lowest elevation is approximately convert|1371|ft|m and extends to about convert|3000|ft|m. The name comes from the Spanish, meaning "high hill" or "high hillside." Alta Loma had previously been known as Iamosa. [Shrieve, Krystn, "Losing Track 1998-1941 Tracing the past; eyeing the future (Turning those old rails into new trails )," Daily Bulletin, Sunday, September 13, 1998]

Overview

Alta Loma is one of the more affluent areas in San Bernardino County [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0659451.html] . It is almost completely residential and as per city ordinance no commercial business may exist above 19th Street, with exception to several businesses already in place when the ordinance was enacted (notably at the intersection of Lemon Avenue and Haven Avenue). In addition, homes north of Banyan Road must have a minimum of 1/2 acre lots, with the exception of the development known as Compass Rose Phase II found directly west of Chaffey College between Banyan and Wilson. Compass Rose Phase II was granted permission for smaller lots provided the development connected to city sewer systems instead of septic tanks.

The current mayor of Rancho Cucamonga, Dr. Don Kurth [http://www.ci.rancho-cucamonga.ca.us/govt/mayor.htm] , lives in Alta Loma.

The community of Alta Loma is located mostly in the northwest corner of Rancho Cucamonga. The exact definitions of the three communities (Cucamonga, Etiwanda, and Alta Loma) within the City of Rancho Cucamonga are debatable; however, residents typically consider Alta Loma to be above Baseline Street (Old Route 60), between the eastern edge of Upland, California and west of Day Creek, a boundary later moved to Day Creek Boulevard when the then-future road was plotted on Chamber of Commerce maps dating to about 1980. Most street signs in the Rancho Cucamonga area stretching from Carnelian Street to Milliken Avenue, and Baseline Road to the mountains, have an Alta Loma logo.Fact|date=February 2007

Some residents of Rancho Cucamonga, especially those in the former Cucamonga area, have challenged the city council to get rid of the names 'Alta Loma' and 'Etiwanda,' accusing residents in those areas of keeping the names out of arrogance.Fact|date=February 2007 The three communities incorporated after years of debate and at least one failed attempt on the ballot. Residents of Alta Loma and Etiwanda finally agreed to incorporation provided their identifying community names would be kept along with separate post offices and zip codes. In addition, businesses are permitted to use either Alta Loma or Rancho Cucamonga on letterheads, business permits, and other records.

Alta Loma is arguably the richer area of Rancho Cucamonga; however, Etiwanda and the rest of Rancho Cucamonga are expanding, and housing prices in the area continue to rise due to the constant development.

Alta Loma and the rest of Cucamonga was formerly home to old citrus groves and grape vineyards. The reason many homes above Banyan Street, in particular, have orange and lemon trees on their property may be attributed to this; many horse trails are lined with eucalyptus trees, which are former windbreakers for the groves. This also is the reason why grape vineyards can still be seen in random parts of the City of Rancho Cucamonga between office buildings and shopping malls; unfortunately these are being destroyed and replaced with housing and business developments.

Geography

Most of the homes in the foothills of Alta Loma and Etiwanda sit on alluvial fans punctuated by deep debris canyons. Some of these canyons are used for water collection and thus the area does not typically take water from the Colorado River.

Cucamonga Canyon in particular is a favorite among hikers [http://www.dankat.com/advents/uprcuc.htm] , although dangerous due to the rough terrain, loose rocks, possible flooding, poison oak, bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, bobcats, and other wildlife. Far up the canyon are the Cucamonga Falls, which have occasionally caused contention between the city council, residents, and developers, due to developers wanting to build homes over the falls.

Several high voltage transmission lines cross the communities northern edge just at the base of the mountains creating an effective barrier to further development except in the case of the hills above Beryl Street, home to a former Christmas tree farm, which has been slated for development of sixty, $1 million homes across approximately convert|300|acre|km2.

The Alta Loma area experiences high winds known in the Inland Empire and the rest of Southern California as the "Santa Ana Winds." Heavy rain storms in the past created the need for 12-18 foot deep concrete flood control channels to prevent severe flooding that historically killed many people, including a young mother and her two children in 1981 at the intersection of Beryl and 19th Streets.

The northern parts of Alta Loma are also frequently visited by private planes, sometimes performing acrobatic stunts, using VFR.

Alta Loma rests on the Cucamonga-Sierra Madre earthquake fault [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1208_031208_earthquakes.html] . It is a thrust fault, meaning the sides of the fault push toward each other. Several other earthquake faults pass through the area, too.

Grand Prix Fire

In Rancho Cucamonga, Alta Loma and Etiwanda were most affected by the October 2003 Grand Prix fire, which combined with the Old Fire [http://www.incidentcontrol.com/grandprixfire/index.html] .

The Grand Prix, which began October 21, 2003, ripped across the mountains behind Alta Loma and Etiwanda for six days. Overgrown brush fueled fire, which ran across the mountain tops and higher foothills to eventually fly into the canyons that are surrounded by homes. The Grand Prix fire destroyed 13 homes (including 2 mobile homes) and damaged 9 others in Alta Loma. Five outbuildings were also destroyed.

Notable residents

* Sam Maloof, world-renowned woodworker, lives in Alta Loma. His work is featured in museums around the United States, including the Smithsonian Institution [http://americanart.si.edu/collections/exhibits/maloof] . His home is a State of California historical landmark. During the construction of the 210 freeway, Maloof's home was moved from the 210 freeway corridor to the top of Carnelian street, where the home is now a museum. The official buildings for the Inland Empire's Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts is currently being built on the property.
* George Chaffey
* William Chaffey
* Erik Emerson Shilling, one of the "Flying Tigers" pilots with the American Volunteer Group (AVG) who fought the Japanese in the skies over China and Burma prior to the United States entering World War II. Mr Shilling was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal with Clusters, World War II Victory Ribbon, and the Chinese Cloud Banner. Mr. Shilling is also the author of "Destiny: A Flying Tiger's Rendezvous With Fate".
* Alan Haskvitz, National Teacher's Hall of Fame educator served as a city commissioner for many years [http://www.nthf.org/inductee/haskvitz.htm]
* Eric Weddle, current free safety for the San Diego Chargers.

Other notable Alta Loma landmarks

;Historical landmarks

* Demens-Tolstoy house (c.1890) 9686 Hillside, east of Archibald. Surrounded by several acres eucalyptus, lemon groves, and orange trees until 2005, when developers began building homes, the Demens-Tolstoy house is a famous place in Alta Loma. It was built and owned by Peter Demens, a Tolstoy family relative [http://www.ci.rancho-cucamonga.ca.us/oral_history/peter_ann_tolstoy.htm] . Although families have lived in the Demens-Tolstoy home since the original owners, these people must keep the grounds and house in a good condition.
* Sam Maloof house
* Old Alta Loma post office (c. 1906), Baseline and Amethyst, now home to the famous Dr. Strange Records [http://www.spontaneous.com/drstrange.html]

;Structures and monuments
* Cherbak House (c. 1921) 9983 Hillside
* Schowalter House (c. 1913) 5495 Hermosa
* Schowalter Rock Pile (c. 1913) north side of Hillside, east of Hermosa
* Thorpe House (c. 1916) 9588 Wilson
* G.P. Ledig House (c. 1898) 5767 Hellman
* Warren/Thorpe House (c. 1877) 6112 Hellman
* Goerlitz House (c. 1902) 6156 Hellman
* Alta Loma School (c. 1921) 9480 19th
* Alta Loma Honor Roll (c. 1942) 6623 Amethyst
* Ledig House (c. 1895) 9404 La Vine
* Alta Loma Heights Citrus Association Packing House (c. 1914) 7125 Amethyst
* Henry Albert Building (c. 1920s) 7136 Amethyst
* Alta Loma Fire Hall (c. 1938) 7152 Amethyst
* Roth's Store/Post Office (c. 1915) 7157 Amethyst
* Roberds House (c. 1910) 7201 Amethyst
* Charles Stoebe House (c. 1895) 6710 Beryl

;Native American ruins
* Similar to the Mount San Antonio area of the Eastern San Gabriel range, which includes Mount Baldy, Alta Loma's foothills contain artifacts left by the original Native Americans. Some of these were burned and partially destroyed by the Grand Prix Fire in 2003. Many of the ruins also sit on land owned by Paul Biane, the current second district supervisor for the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and former Rancho Cucamonga councilman.

chools

;Higher education
* Chaffey College; known in the colloquial as Harvard on the Hill or UHTR (Up Haven, Turn Right) or UCLH (University of California, Left on Haven).

;High schools
*Alta Loma High School
*Los Osos High School

;Junior high schools
*Alta Loma
*Vineyard
*Etiwanda Intermediate School
*Alta Loma Christian School

Alta Loma Junior High School has won the Presidential Physical Fitness testing six years in a row, shown on the [http://www.alsd.k12.ca.us/cgi-bin/sp.plx?PID=7 District Website] .

;Elementary schools
*Alta Loma
*Carleton P. Lightfoot
*Banyan
*Carnelian
*Deer Canyon
*Hermosa
*Jasper
*Floyd M. Stork
*Victoria Groves
*Alta Loma Christian School

References

External links

*Los Angeles Times article on Rancho Cucamonga [http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/printedition/la-re-guide28mar28,0,1953833.story?coll=la-class-realestate]
* Official City of Rancho Cucamonga timeline, October 2003 Grand Prix Fire [http://www.ci.rancho-cucamonga.ca.us/grandprix/pdf/gp_timeline.pdf] (pdf)
* Alta Loma High School [http://www.harrypotterrealm.com]
* Personal webpage on Inland Empire history [http://home.att.net/~mavb/] , with local maps and bibliographies
* Official City of Rancho Cucamonga historical landmarks bike tour [http://www.ci.rancho-cucamonga.ca.us/govt/plng_biketour.htm]

References

* Allen, Robert V. “Peter Demens: the redoubtable hustler.” "Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress" 34 (July 1977): 208-26.
* Beattie, George William and Beattie, Helen Pruitt. "Heritage of the valley: San Bernardino’s first century". Pasadena: San Pasqual Press, 1939; Biobooks, 1951.
* Black, Esther Boulton. “Early descriptions of Cucamonga and Chino.” Pomona Valley Historian 13 (Winter 1979): 33-6.
* Black, Esther Boulton. “Ranch life in San Antonio Canyon in the 1870s.” "Pomona Valley Historian" 11 (Spring 1975): 47-58.
* Boyd, James and Brown, John Jr. "History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. 3 volumes". Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1922.
* Clucas, Donald L. “Cucamonga’s ‘lost’ colonies.” Pomona Valley Historian 11 (Summer 1975): 129-38.
* Clucas, Donald L. "Light over the mountain: a history of the Cucamonga area". 1974.
* Clucas, Donald L. "Light over the mountain: a history of the Rancho Cucamonga area. Revised edition". Upland: California Family House, 1979.
* Conley, Bernice Bedford. "Pages from the past". [Ontario?] : [1982] .
* Etiwanda Centennial Committee. "Etiwanda: [the first] one hundred years". Etiwanda: Etiwanda Centennial Committee, 1982.
* Hickcox, Robert L. "A history of Etiwanda". 1981.
*cite web
last = Hickcox
first = Robert L.
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coauthors = Chaffey High School
title = Dates in the History of Etiwanda, California
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* Hofer, James D. Cucamonga wines and vines: a history of the Cucamonga Pioneer Vineyard Association. Master’s thesis, Claremont Graduate School, 1983.
* Ingersoll, Luther A. "Century Annals of San Bernardino County: 1769 to 1904". Los Angeles: L. A. Ingersoll, 1904.
* Lovitt, Leah J. “The early history of Alta Loma.” "Pomona Valley Historian" 8 (April 1972): 63-88.
* Martz, Patricia. Description and evaluation of the cultural resources within Cucamonga. . .creek channels. UCARV No. 165. Riverside: Archeological Research Unit, University of California, 1976.
* McCrea, Janet M. "History of Chaffey College". B. A. Thesis: California State Polytechnic University, 1971.
* Richards, Betty. “The Chaffeys: saga of a southern California family. Part I.” Pomona Valley Historian 7 (January 1971): 25-46.
*cite web
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title = Losing Track 1998-1941 Tracing the past; eyeing the future (Turning those old rails into new trails )
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* Sidler, W. A. "Floods of the past: an assemblage of documentary observations with particular reference to the San Bernardino Valley and environs." San Bernardino Flood Control District, 1957; enlarged 1972.
* Stoebe, Martha Gaines. "The history of Alta Loma, California, 1880-1980". [Rancho Cucamonga] : B and S Publishing Co., 1981.