Pomona highlight
Historic downtown
Once the heart of the citrus industry, Pomona's historic downtown is now a thriving arts district featuring galleries, studios, restaurants, and the Fox Theater, a 1931 Art Deco landmark.
Pomona was incorporated on January 6, 1888, and by the 1920s earned the nickname 'Queen of the Citrus Belt' as a center of California's agricultural boom. The city's downtown core developed during this era and reflects that heritage through historic architecture and civic gathering spaces. The Fox Theater, which opened on April 24, 1931, exemplifies the era's grandeur with its Art Deco design and soaring tower, built at a cost of $300,000 during the height of Hollywood's golden age.
After decades as a cultural draw for studio test screenings, the Fox Theater closed in 1977 but underwent a comprehensive restoration completed in 2009, reopening as a cornerstone of what is now called the Pomona Arts Colony. The downtown district today hosts art galleries, artist studios, restaurants, and shops alongside the restored theater, drawing visitors and residents who value creativity and community gathering.
This revival of the downtown—where multiple generations gather for performances, meals, and cultural events—mirrors the long-term planning that life insurance embodies: securing the future for the people and places you care about.