Vernon was set down the path to becoming the city it is today in 1905, when John Leonis, James J., and Thomas J. Furlong, a trio of ranchers and merchants, filed to incorporate with the goal of building an industrial hub in the southwestern US. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
Then a stretch of unincorporated grassland, Vernon—named after a dirt road running through its center—was conveniently located at the intersection of three major railroads south of Los Angeles, even then well on its way to becoming the bustling metropolis it is today. By convincing railway executives to run a number of smaller stub tracks off the main railroad lines throughout the area, Vernon’s founders ensured that it would become a valuable location for the factories and industrial plants they hoped to entice corporations from all over the United States to build there.
They marketed Vernon as a sporting town, building popular venues for boxing and baseball alongside a number of bars and the Vernon County Club, especially attractive during Prohibition, when Los Angeles was dry and Vernon maintained licenses to serve alcohol. Lured by sporting events, industrialists from across the country came to Vernon where Leonis and the two Furlongs sold them on setting up shop in the growing city. Among the businesses that built factories there were Owens-Illinois, a large manufacturer of container glass products, Alcoa, the world’s eighth largest aluminum producer, and Studebaker, the now-defunct twentieth-century American automaker.
PINKYS joined the ranks of these industrial titans in calling Vernon home in 2014 when we opened our warehouse and showroom—recently updated by celebrated interior designer Jeremiah Brent and highlighted in a press spotlight by ELLE DECOR—at 4815 S Santa Fe Ave in Vernon.
In a city of meatpacking plants and heavy industry, PINKYS combination warehouse and showroom is something of an outlier, and many who visit are surprised at just how luxurious and chic the customer-facing side of our business is, set amid the backdrop of concrete and steel. But that may be about to change, for there are plans already underway to transform Vernon from a purely industrial zone to one that makes more room for people.
The Vernon Westside Specific Plan, already underway, aims to manage the evolution of the city. According to a report prepared by the Arroyo Group in partnership with the City of Vernon:
“The City of Vernon does not wish to leave this evolution to chance, but rather seeks to purposely direct it in a manner which will maintain its regional competitive advantage as a center of production, and create a more prosperous, diversified and resilient community with a strong positive identity. In support of this goal, the City will consider the addition of urban multifamily residential and mixed-use development, as well as other non-industrial uses, to the current largely industrial community.”
These proposed improvements will center around transforming Santa Fe Avenue into a new Main Street, leaving PINKYS at the heart of a transformation that favors greener, more walkable streets, public amenities, and a revitalized urban landscape.
There’s no telling exactly what’s in store for Vernon in the years to come, but we can’t wait to find out.
