Vernon is a 5.2-square-mile industrial city southeast of Downtown Los Angeles in Southern California. Founded in 1905, it was the first exclusively industrial city in the southwestern United States. This origin story gives the destination a distinctive character: alongside curling and wine, there are stories of Vernon’s industrial, sporting, and cultural history.
A 2022 city plan lists more than ten Metro bus lines with stops within Vernon and connections to neighboring cities in Los Angeles County. If you include bus connections in your plans, check current routes before traveling.
Curling and Wine in Vernon
The Southern California Curling Center is a purpose-built curling facility spanning 42,000 square feet. The center offers youth curling programs, inclusive curling, and Learn-to-Curl events. The formats have different focuses; check the operating status and current program dates before visiting.
Wine is another specific reason to visit: Le Vigne’s tasting room in Vernon offers wine tastings by reservation outside regular business hours. Reservation and operating procedures may change; check in advance what arrangements apply to your planned visit. The LVLA Tasting Room & Italian Market is located in Vernon at 2325 E 55th Street. Check current visitor information before including the address in your plans.
Landmarks and Sporting History
The Catholic church of St. Martha’s is part of the city’s cultural history; it was designated a local landmark in 1981 by a resolution of the Vernon City Council. Vernon’s sporting history also includes a ballpark for the Vernon Tigers, who won Pacific Coast League championships multiple times. Vernon Arena was a wooden stadium at the corner of 25th Street and Santa Fe Avenue, with a capacity of 15,000 people.
Vernon Kilns also belongs to the town’s craft history: it made various types of dinnerware under the Vernon Ware name. The lost La Villa Basque was a business in the Basque style, associated with Basque heritage in Los Angeles and one of Vernon’s most prominent families. Jack Doyle’s became famous as “the longest bar in the world” and is part of the city’s historical sporting and nightlife story. These names point to different strands: local production, Basque cultural connections, and the nightlife of an earlier era.
The timeline is also useful for planning your trip: the Curling Center lists programs whose current dates should be checked; the ballpark and arena represent sporting history. This helps you distinguish between a potential event with specific dates and a historical focus before deciding how to prioritize the other interests on your trip.
Discover more destinations: Malibu, Azusa, Glendale, San Gabriel, Pomona, Whittier, Arcadia, Duarte.
For the broader travel overview: Los Angeles.
