Ansel Boyce Photography

All the pictures on the left may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Zip Code  91786

Upland, California

The pictures you are looking at on the left were all taken on Mother's Day weekend 2004, in what is known as Old Town Upland.  This is an old shopping area which time has left behind and which has been dealt a cruel hand.  This writer feels the City and the Merchants have neglected in portraying the unique history and flavor of Upland.

All the pictures were captured using a Nikon D1x with two different lens.  For wide angle I chose a 12-24 Nikon zoom lens and for regular and a few mild telephoto shots I used a 24-120 Nikon zoom lens.

I credit the idea for the creation of this page to my friend and fellow photographer Joe Berk 

Following is a brief history of Upland

George and W.B. Chaffey were brothers with a purpose. The year was 1882 and they arrived in California from Canada seeking a new place for a colony. The wide stretch of green against the foothills was lush and fertile and they knew they had found what they were looking for.

After acquiring the land, they used wise and long-range planning. The wide street which they named "Euclid" after the "Father" of geometry is still an attraction and the envy of many. Upland was incorporated under its descriptive name on May 15, 1906, and was no longer referred to as North Ontario.

The area is rich in heritage and among the special group of early settlers were: J.T. Hays, who designed the Euclid Avenue mule care system; Major Bodenhamer, whose determination brought in the much needed water; and C.E. Harwood, the first president of the Upland Lemon Growers Association. The early era found Upland an agricultural center - its chief crop being citrus fruit and grapes. Most of the population was in some way connected with the production, packing, shipping or processing of these crops.

Since the decline of the orchards and vineyard, Upland has become a diversified area, keeping its country and urban feeling while enjoying the culture and advantages of being neighbor to Los Angeles. A short drive takes you to a wide variety of recreational areas - to the mountain resorts of Mt. Baldy, Big Bear and Lake arrowhead, to the beaches, and to the famous desert communities.

This is a unique city where you can reach out and find the recreational pursuit of your choice, or spice up your life with the exciting tension of the hustle and bustle of a metropolitan city and then return home to the relaxed and leisurely pace of the "City of Gracious Living."

Upland location: in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, not far from Los Angeles

The population of Upland is approximately 63,374.

The approximate number of families is 24,496.

The amount of land area in Upland is 39.085 sq. kilometers.

The amount of surface water is 0.085 sq kilometers.

                                     The distance from Upland to Washington DC is 2393 miles.

                                    The distance to the California state capital is 374 miles. (as the crow flies)

These tiles are placed in front                Upland is positioned 34.11 degrees north of the equator and 117.65 degrees of the old Depot at random intervals          west of the prime meridian.

HISTORY OF CRATE LABELS

From the 1880's until the 1950's, the agriculture industry shipped their produce in wooden crates with paper labels pasted on the end. These paper labels are called crate labels.  Crate labels were used to identify such things as: brand name, type and grade of produce, place of origin, grower, packer, shipper, etc.  Back then produce was sold right out of the crate in many stores, so crate labels also served as advertisements for the produce.   Colorful, attention grabbing and artistically pleasing images were usually used on labels to induce the shopper to buy the product.  Over the years thousands of different labels were designed and printed by commercial artists and lithographers competing with each other to create the most attractive labels.  Crate labels are now considered to be works of art and are collected all over the world.

Commuter Rail to Los Angeles

Upland is somewhat of the center between Los Angeles and San Bernardino.

The Cooper Regional History Museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history and culture of the communities of Ontario, Montclair, Mt. Baldy, and Rancho Cucamonga from 1880 to the present day. Once housed at the Cultural Center, it moved to Upland's historic Town Center in April 1998. Its new home is the Ontario-Cucamonga Fruit Exchange, an Art Moderne office built in 1937. The O.K. Fruit Exchange, however, dates back to 1897 when it was formed to coordinate the sales of oranges, lemons, and grapefruit from a dozen local packing houses. When the Exchange closed in the 1960s, the building was used as offices by the West End Board of Realtors and several local attorneys and accountants. Sixty years later it was entirely rehabilitated to become the Cooper Regional History Museum.

This old building housed the Upland Lemmon Association

One of the old Sunkist packing warehouse's

A magnificent old Eucalyptus Tree on a nearby side street

The owner of this old car is being fortified with a fresh cup of coffee

A collage of signs giving an idea of the varied life styles and nationalities in the area

A display in front of a lovely general store depicting the period of time from 1940 thru 1960

The General Store

Roy's is an old time bike shop taking care of customers for many years.  He has children's bikes to full fledged racing bikes

One of a number of antique stores in town

I found this mail box interesting as it is only two inches off the ground

An interesting pair of door pulls

Another antique store that is looking it's age

An idea of some of the window art

Older architectural style

One of the few restaurants in town.  This is the Souper and a lovely place to have breakfast or lunch

An old store front from 1901 when Upland was still North Ontario

An eagle atop one of the old buildings

I found this old stairway leading to an apartment over one of the shops.  Unfortunately it does not add to the beauty of Old Downtown

A sample of one of the many sign's in Old Downtown

Good Stuff

A place to relax in the afternoon

This is the front of the old police station long since retired

A sample of a window that goes with the picture below

Another sample of architecture from years past

I chose to show this window art to illustrate that there are over twenty salon's in Downtown Upland.  I would think this does not bring a balance to the area

Madonna of the Trail

In the late 1920's, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution commissioned the design, casting and placement of twelve memorials commemorating the spirit of the woman pioneer.  These memorials were placed along the route of the National  Old Trails highway and extended from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, California.

The End

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