Nancy’s Stories

Walkability is a term used in urban planning to describe how easy it is for pedestrians to get around. The term was invented in the 1960s and has gained popularity in recent years because of health, economic and environmental benefits. Walkability is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transportation corridors […]

Ontario’s newest downtown restaurant, Mule Car Smokehouse, opened in June 2024 after many unavoidable delays. Located in the original Bank of Italy (later Richard’s Beauty College) and Bumstead’s Bicycles buildings on the northeast corner of B Street and Euclid Avenue, the adaptive reuse project was started in 2019 by two developers, builders and restauranteurs from

139-141-143 North Euclid Avenue What we know today as the Gemmel building is one of the oldest buildings in Ontario. Originally known as the Sweet Block, it was built in 1888 in the vernacular brick style. The floor plan, L-shaped with additions on both interior walls of the L, featured plate glass windows, brick pilasters,

The revitalization of Downtown Ontario has been in the works for a long time. In 2016, the city acquired the historic Yangtze Restaurant, followed in 2017 by the 60s-era 64,000 square foot shopping center on the northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and D Street near the library and City Hall. The site formerly held the

On August 22, 2024 a fire destroyed Ontario’s historic Jay Littleton Ball Park.  About 11:30 pm the Ontario Fire Department arrived at John Galvin Park to find structures at the ball park engulfed in smoke and flames. Five engines and two trucks responded to the scene and were able to knock down the fire, according

During the 1870s and 1880s there were extensive efforts to develop agriculture in the dry lands of the western United States. Many people believed that farms could be developed if they were well irrigated. In California’s San Gabriel/Pomona Valleys one of the best known and most successful colonies owed its beginning to George Chaffey and

Nugent’s Park is a very small, little-known park in Ontario on Lemon Avenue, one block south of Holt Boulevard and just to the south of the Ontario Museum of History & Art. It is the oldest park in the city and is home to six horse courts that are popular with local residents as well

  San Antonio Community Hospital (now known as San Antonio Regional Hospital: SARH) was founded in 1907, just 25 years after the establishment of the Ontario Model Colony itself. Prior to 1907, residents were forced to travel to Los Angeles for treatment of serious medical conditions. The first hospital facility, located on the corner of