Metro to Pomona!
This past weekend, the extension of the Metro A Line from Azusa to Pomona opened to the public, directly connecting the people of Pasadena to the other side of the San Gabriel Valley by train for the first time in decades. Four new stations opened as part of the extension: Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne/Fairplex, and Pomona North, where the A Line connects to Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line.
On Saturday, September 20th, two volunteers from the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition—John and Andrew—led a group of about 35 people on the new extension, checking out the new stations and some of the highlights along the way. Join us for a little photo essay of our trip and some of the places you can explore!
We met up at the Del Mar station in Pasadena, the site of the city’s original train station. The A Line was built along what used to be the mainline of the Santa Fe Railway, carrying some of the railroad’s most famous passenger trains into Los Angeles, including the Super Chief. From here, we rode east, taking in excellent views of the San Gabriel Mountains and bypassing much of the traffic on the 210.
Our first stop was Glendora station, where we made a quick stop to admire the public artwork at this station: Glendora Home: A Slice of Sunshine by Michael Hillman. A series of columns on the platform are covered in colorful glass tiles depicting citrus fruits and flowers, reflecting the citrus industry that once flourished here. One column depicts a bougainvillea, referencing the Glendora Bougainvillea, the largest planting of bougainvillea in the country, which sits about a mile north of the station at the corner of Bennett and Minnesota Avenues.
San Dimas, the next stop on the line, is also blessed with a beautiful piece of public art: Sense of Place by Eugene and Anne Olsen Daub. On the platform are four bronze “walking sticks” carved with depictions of the town’s history, its parks, native wildlife, and one with elements from children’s fantasy. There is also a series of ceramic panels embedded in the shelter supports that depict the wildlife around town.
From the station, we walked just a block west along Bonita Avenue to the Pacific Railroad Society, a volunteer-run museum housed in San Dimas’ historic Santa Fe Railroad depot. The museum is dedicated to the railroading history of San Dimas, with a fantastic collection of photographs, maps, and railroad ephemera. The docents are very knowledgeable and friendly (with one saying that this was the most people he had seen in the museum at once!), and admission is by donation. Currently, the museum is only open on Saturdays from 10am-3pm. Outside the museum is a small park, where an old watering trough for horses sits, now converted to a drinking fountain.
This block of Bonita Avenue is very cute, with lots of historic buildings and Old West-themed architecture. On the way to the museum, we passed numerous historic plaques, cafes, a small food court, a historic garage with old Ford automobiles, and a pet shop with some adorable cats in the window, much to our delight.
The next stop on the line is La Verne/Fairplex, which sits just across the road from the Pomona Fairplex, where the L.A. County Fair takes place every May. So yes, you’ll now be able to take a train to the fair! In fact, a pedestrian bridge is currently in development which will carry people from the station over into the Fairplex itself.
The station sits just a couple blocks from Old Town La Verne, with a handy archway marking the entrance from the station into the neighborhood. Walking ahead under the archway for a block, and then turning left and walking another block will bring you to the heart of the neighborhood, on the edge of the University of La Verne campus. Along the street are many coffee shops and small restaurants to enjoy.
And finally we reach the last station on the line, Pomona North, which is located next to the Metrolink station of the same name. Here, Metro riders can conveniently transfer to Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line, which continues east to Claremont, Montclair, Rancho Cucamonga, and San Bernardino, making trips from the San Gabriel Valley to the Inland Empire a lot more direct. The Metro station platform here is extra wide, reflecting its status as an important transfer point, and it’s decorated with a tall “water tower” (actually a cell tower in disguise). There is also another piece of public art, The Power of Pomona is People by Stephen Farley, a series of tile murals along the entrance ramps honoring Pomona residents who have had a positive impact on their community.
The completion of the A Line to Pomona fills in a major gap in our regional transit network and will make it much easier to cross the San Gabriel Valley. In the near future, a further extension of the line to Claremont is planned, though the timeline for that opening is unclear. But now, Metro riders have better connections to this region of the county and into the Inland Empire, with direct connections from the new stations to Mt. San Antonio College and Cal Poly Pomona (Foothill Transit bus line 295 from San Dimas station), Claremont and San Bernardino County (Metrolink from Pomona North station), and Downtown Pomona (Foothill Transit bus line 291 from Pomona North). Not to mention all the wonderful places directly along the train line for Pasadena residents to enjoy! So go forth and explore!
