CLAREMONT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

Citrus Fields

Population of Claremont in 1930

Population of Claremont in 2020

The year Claremont was incorporated. At the time, Claremont was only 3.5 square miles.

Square miles that make up Claremont

Consecutive years Claremont has been a winner of National Arbor Day Association’s Tree City USA award

Most likely, Claremont was named for Claremont, New Hampshire, when it was founded in 1887.

1922. Warren G. Harding is President. In February, the first issue of the Reader’s Digest is published. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) is established. The Supreme Court denies a challenge to the 19th Amendment, securing women the right to vote. In the Bronx, construction begins on Yankee Stadium and in Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated. The Hollywood Bowl opens. Gandhi is sentenced to prison. The California grizzly bear is hunted to extinction. The first automated telephone service begins in New York City. The first successful insulin treatment is given in Canada. T.S. Eliot publishes “The Wasteland.” Rebecca Felton becomes the first female senator in the U.S. for the state of Georgia. The Soviet Union is formed.

It is the Roaring 20s. All over the world, all over the country changes are in the works. Milestones are attained that will mark the advances in society and provide historic context for the future. Those cited above will have profound

The Chamber offices would eventually become part of City Hall under an agreement between the Chamber and the City. Today, the building serves as the City Manager’s office and the posts have been remodeled into arches.

Leila Ackerman left with her sister, Martha, and brother, Arthur, standing in front of the family car. Leila Ackerman served as the Secretary (Executive Director) of the Chamber from 1923 until 1944. Ackerman promoted the city and its businesses throughout the region and was responsible for designing the Claremont displays at the Los Angeles County Fair. She also developed marketing materials and wrote a brief history of Claremont.

effects across disciplines and in history. In the “small pond” that was Claremont, the milestones may have created fewer ripples than the big splashes made in the vast ocean of U.S. and world history, but in the spirt of everything being relative, they were no less important to the small community.

Things were evolving in Claremont. Founded in 1908, the year after the City was incorporated, the Claremont Board of Trade was established via the Town Meeting process. The Board of Trade acted in much the same manner as a chamber and was responsible for the first city plan. Prior to the Board, committees on stores and the downtown commercial area were established through the same process.

In retrospect, the Chamber of Commerce could rightfully claim to be celebrating its 114th year. Recent research of the Chamber’s archives reveal that the Board of Trade had actually decided to change its name to the Claremont Chamber of Commerce in 1920

but did not officially become a chamber until it incorporated in 1922 as part of a campaign by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce to help smaller communities establish their own affiliated organizations. By whatever name and anniversary, 114, 102 or 100, the Chamber has played a major role in the civic, economic and social growth of the City.

The initial meeting of the Chamber was held in May and the organizational meeting on June 7, 1922, with George Griswold serving as president. The first year was rocky as the selection of a permanent secretary became problematic. Dr. H.E. Robbins agreed to serve until the opening of the college academic year in September. Summerfield McCartney was then hired, but he was only in the office a couple of months when George Cree consented to take the position. Due to illness, Cree had to resign and W.O. Hollister was retained as permanent secretary in January 1923. But he occupied the office only until August 1923. Hollister’s tenure was criticized by the merchants for the high fees for membership. In addition to the yearly dues of $12, supplemental fees were charged. A real estate

The citrus industry was a major driving force of the Claremont economy from the 1890s through the 1950s.

The citrus industry was a major driving force of the Claremont economy from the 1890s through the 1950s.

broker and a garage proprietor paid an additional $120, a lumber yard paid $100, a bank paid $240 and a grocery store paid $80. The extra charges were abandoned when the Chamber reorganized in late 1923, and Leila Ackerman was hired.

In 1924, the Chamber took over where the Board of Trade left off and established the first planning commission to create a civic improvement plan, specifically a civic center. This action was prompted by the passage of a bond issue for a new fire station, which raised questions about its location and design. The Chamber pledged $500 for the development of an artistic plan. Meetings of local citizens were arranged to discuss subdivision regulations, city landscaping, paved streets and the location of business, industry and residences.

A front page story titled “City Planning Commission Aims to Beautify Claremont” in the Claremont Courier of October 2, 1924, reported that “Finding later that its mission was intimately involved with the functions of the city trustees, that body later adopted the commission and by the passage of an ordinance, perhaps at the trustees’ meeting tonight, will give it official status.” In February of 1925, the City Board of Trustees passed an ordinance

establishing a city planning commission and appointed five official members. Claremont, with only 2,000 residents, became only the sixteenth city in California to have a Planning Commission.

As the commission was being developed, meetings were held by architect and city planner David Allison to discuss the possibility of designing compatible civic and residential buildings. The community was responding to the same forces that had created the “City Beautiful” movement that was prevalent throughout the United States at that time. City planning, rather than haphazard development, was the driving force behind the establishment of the planning commission and the discussion of how the city’s buildings should be designed. The Courier recognized the motivation for the movement in Claremont: “There are towns that are pleasing. They didn’t grow so by chance. Behind it all there was directing and designing intelligence. Other towns are not so pleasing in appearance; some are positively ugly. But in Claremont, we have a natural setting and a fine beginning for a city beautiful.”

Ackerman, long-time secretary of the Chamber and member of the Chamber’s planning committee, reported in a 1925 Courier article:

“’What Oxford thinks, today, England thinks tomorrow’ is being paraphrased by citizens of numerous Southern California cities, into “What Claremont is doing today, California will be doing tomorrow.’ At every meeting someone exclaims when he learns I am Claremont that our work is being watched with care and interest. ‘It is only natural for a college town to take the lead in civic government,’ said a man from Riverside. ‘We are watching your work, especially in planning, with much interest because you are beginning while the town is small.”

Leila Ackerman assumed the position of Secretary, what today would be the Executive Director, of the Claremont Chamber in 1923 and would serve in that capacity for the next 21 years, retiring in 1944. Ackerman was a tireless promoter of not only local businesses and merchants, the Colleges and the citrus industry, but the City itself and civic issues. Below the letterhead on Chamber correspondence was a summation of the Chamber mission, “A Community Clearing House for Business and Civic Improvement and Information.”

Under Leila Ackerman’s leadership, the

Chamber of Commerce joined the “City Beautiful” movement in the 1920s. Teaming with renowned landscape architect, Ralph Cornell, the Chamber hired him to create the landscape for the new civic center that the Chamber had helped to design. The Chamber also “loaned out” Cornell to homeowners free of charge for the planning of their landscape.

The Chamber worked with the City to develop the plans for the civic center and the newly appointed Planning Commission’s first order of business was to finalize those plans. The first part of the new civic center would be on Second Street and would include a first floor fire and police station and second floor city hall. The land was purchased in 1923, the bond issue passed in April 1924, construction began in June 1925, and the building opened on November 30, 1925.

Given the close relationship between the Chamber and the city, the Chamber of Commerce building was constructed on the northwest corner of Second Street and Harvard Avenue in 1930. The building was part of the civic center plan created by David Allison and Charles Cheney in the mid-1920s. In 1948, the City Hall was built around the Chamber and the posts of the old building were changed to arches to complement the new design. This building was home to the Chamber until 1975, when City Hall was remodeled and the building was occupied by the city manager’s offices. The Chamber moved into the police offices on Second Street when the police station was completed on Bonita Avenue. The chamber remained in the offices until the mid- 1990s, when the expansion and renovation of City Hall caused the Chamber to relocate.

In the early years, the Chamber was involved in many projects for the betterment of the community. The Chamber was able to secure systematic garbage collection and took the lead in promoting a bond issue to pay for street paving. It also became involved in flood control issues, meeting and corresponding with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.

From early in the 1890s through the 1950s, the citrus industry flourished in Claremont. In fact, the first citrus association in California was formed in Claremont in 1893 and their first shipment of oranges, about 2000 boxes, was packed on the platform of the Santa Fe Station.

The Chamber worked with the U.S. Postal Service to establish a post office and expand mail delivery throughout the City. The Chamber led the way in initial zoning efforts and standards for residential and commercial construction and spearheaded the development of the city sewage system. It supported the construction of the library and the establishment of parks.

The early Fourth of July and Christmas programs were sponsored by the Chamber. Before government agencies were responsible for such things, the distribution of items to families in need throughout the year, including special gift baskets at Thanksgiving and Christmas, were accomplished by the Chamber. The Chamber also served as an employment agency for both workers and employers, worked closely with the Red Cross and operated as a general welfare center, coordinating the work of all the local agencies through its Claremont Welfare Council.

The Chamber also served as the location for the unemployed to register, which became a major function during the Depression. The Depression did not hit Claremont hard until 1933 and the Chamber not only promoted local businesses but advocated for local workers as well. At the urging of the Mexican American community during the Depression, the Chamber advocated for the packing houses to hire Claremont residents rather than bringing in laborers from outside. During the 1920s the Chamber had also urged local businesses to hire

1941 aerial view of Claremont. The three decades after WWII would bring big changes to the City.

Mexican American workers from within the community. The Chamber spearheaded the efforts to help the unemployed and homeless living in the Claremont transient camp by providing food, clothing and other necessities.

In a brief promotional history of Claremont that Ackerman penned in 1929, she noted that “Hand in hand with the development of the city and the college has been the development of the great citrus industry.” In 1923, at her urging, the Chamber voted to join the Los Angeles County Fair Association. Over the next several years, the Chamber in conjunction with the assistance of the City and Pomona College would construct displays at the Fair to promote Claremont. Ackerman was usually the designer of the displays which earned awards year after year.

In the 1930s, the Chamber conducted a survey of residents in order to prioritize its advocacy efforts. Four categories, Public Improvement Projects, Special Projects, Restrictions and Regulations, and Your Further Suggestions. Many favored the widening of Yale Avenue and adding more streetlights, stop signs and pedestrian zones. Parks and the addition of a swimming pool were also favored along with limited

Sunday mail and telegram distribution. The formation of a central welfare committee was supported. Respondents also wanted owners to take care of vacant lots, regulations for dog vaccinations and licenses, limits on livestock in residential areas, and the railroad to limit train whistling.

As time passed, organizations such as the Chamber, gradually reduced their overall community outreach as local, county, state and federal agencies took over functions. The City assumed the responsibilities for things such as roads, city trees, sewage system, zoning, building codes and refuse collection. The County developed the library system, flood control and social services. The State developed the highway system, the water delivery system and, along with the County and Federal government, managed flood control. Today, the Claremont Chamber, like most local chambers are more involved in local and regional business issues, although the Chamber provides input on County, State and Federal legislation and regulations affecting businesses and employees.

Through the 1930s, 1940s and into the 1950s, the citrus industry and the colleges remained the major driving forces of the local economy. World War II saw the Chamber, in conjunction with other civic groups, focus their attention on the war effort and relief. There were local Victory Gardens, drives for War Bonds and campaign for War Relief Agencies. Each town had a Red Cross War Fund quota. Claremont collected $13,296, or 139% of its $9,600 quota. Five tons of clothing were donated to the United National Clothing collection and a total of $548,481 in War Bonds were sold in Claremont.

The period after WWII was a watershed for much of California and specifically Southern California. Change was coming and the Chamber leadership knew that meeting the challenges ahead required action. The most significant influence on Claremont’s growth after World War II was the establishment of the Postwar Planning Committee by the Chamber. Created in August 1944, and often called the “Committee of One Hundred,” it started with between 50 and 60 members and grew to 77. The Chamber

An active and involved Board of Directors made up of local business and civic leaders has always been a hallmark of the Claremont Chamber. Shown is a board meeting from 1971. The woman pictured is the Chamber Executive Director, Karen Anthony. outlined its functions: “ . . . evolving projects for betterment of Claremont calling upon local organizations and individuals to aid in forwarding them, cooperating with city council and planning commission in matters that will be for civic good and working for welfare of the citizenry.”

The Committee worked for over a year and its recommendations laid the groundwork for planning decisions that still inform the city today. Each member of the executive committee chaired a subcommittee that addressed areas such as the business district, finance, zoning ordinances, street trees, fire and police facilities, street maintenance, school district planning and parks. Additional recommendations included a professional rather than volunteer fire department, a city-manager form of government, designation of street trees for specific streets, creation of a parkways and streets commission, creation of a parks and recreation commission, tightening of zoning ordinances, and a proposal for a memorial park to honor Claremont’s war dead. A bond issue to establish the park in November 1945 lost by 55 votes, the committee redoubled its efforts and the bond passed in April 1946 and Memorial Park was established.

Pressure for residential development of land caused the decline of the citrus industry and much of Claremont above Foothill and below the Village was converted to housing. The completion of the San Bernardino Freeway in 1954 made it possible for people not connected with the citrus industry or the colleges to live in Claremont. Changes in wholesale and retail business models eventually saw many local stores that once supplied the citrus industry and the colleges in Claremont not able to compete.

One of the main strengths of Claremont is its sense of community, largely due to the preservation of the Village, which once encompassed only the original town center. Chamber leadership responded to the changes in the economy and in 1959 undertook a campaign to capitalize on the

After being located at City Hall for many years, the Chamber moved to Indian Hill in 1980, and later moved back to the Village.

uniqueness of the city’s core. The Village was not always the Village—it was more commonly called the Central Business District from the 1890s through the 1950s. The Chamber launched a campaign to establish the downtown as the Village in 1959. The campaign, with the cooperation of city officials, sought to enlist all businesses to refer to the downtown area as the Village. As with any change, the campaign met some opposition. Businesses on Alexander Avenue (now Indian Hill) objected. Albert Scott, who owned business property on Alexander, represented the viewpoint in a letter to the Chamber. He used the definition of village from Webster’s Dictionary to point out that a “village” was much smaller than a town or city, but larger than a hamlet. He also listed the definition of village as a “collection of burrows or habitations of animals; as, a prairie-dog or beaver village.”

He predicted that using the word village would bring the demise of the Village and the Chamber: “Because if the Central Business District ever becomes a ‘village” in fact as well as in name you won’t need a Claremont Chamber of Commerce.” He

went on to write that “Over here on Alexander we have unpainted electric poles, railroad tracks, gas stations and used car lot, etc; we have no burrows, prairie-dogs, beavers, villas, country houses or farms.”

Just as changing the name of the business district to Village did not spell out the demise of the City, the expansion of the Village west of Indian Hill did not doom the historic east Village. Instead, it thrived and attracted new businesses and customers. The Chamber began its marketing of the uniqueness of Claremont in 1959 and that identity thrives today.

In conjunction with the hospitality industry and the City, the Chamber worked to establish the Business Improvement District in 2009. The taxes collected by the hotels established Discover Claremont that markets the City and has made Claremont a regional tourist destination. Discover Claremont advertises in various media and places stories in magazines and newspapers promoting the City. The Chamber also operates as the Visitors and Convention Bureau. The Chamber on average fields over 8,000 phone calls, assists over 6,400 walk-ins, distributes over 21,000 brochures and has over 89,000 page views on its website.

Over the years the Chamber has supported and advocated for legislation that promotes a healthy community and business environment. It supported the redevelopment of Auto Center Drive, the Village Expansion and the current Village South development. It worked with the City and businesses during the 2007 Recession and during the recent pandemic to support and advocate for financial assistance programs and amenities such as parklets.

Today the Chamber remains strong with nearly 500 members and continues its tradition of community involvement and remains steadfast to its historical beginnings: “. . . to provide strong leadership in serving the interest of business, promote the inter-relationship between business and community, and encourage business participation with civic and educational organizations and programs within the Claremont area.”

A special thank you to Claremont Heritage, Claremont Courier and John Neiuber for providing the stories and photos that made this anniversary edition possible.