The residents of Rialto, Calif., are tired of long-abandoned properties that attract vagrants, vandalism and weeds. Among the targeted “eyesores” are the Orange Bowl and an old Shell station along Foothill Boulevard, aka Route 66, reports the San Bernardino County Sun.
The current owner of the Orange Bowl says he has gained two retail tenants for the property and that it will be refurbished. However, the city prosecutor says the Orange Bowl will probably have to be demolished anyway just to bring it up to code.
On the outside, things look bad enough. New graffiti constantly appears no matter how many times walls are repainted and trash is all over the parking lot, which has weeds growing through the pavement.
Someone broke a hole in the side of the building barely big enough to crawl through. But that someone got inside.
“We’ll secure it. The next day they’ll just come back,” Hernandez said.
Inside, though, is much worse. It’s dark, smelly and full of waste. All the wood that made up the bowling lanes and metal in the building has been stripped. Part of the roof is burned out from a fire a few years ago. Pornography, drug paraphernalia, clothes and fast-food containers are piled up. There is even a tumbleweed inside that could be used for kindling.
In one of the tiny dark rooms is a painting. “Bless this home with happiness,” it says.
The Orange Bowl was closed “about two decades ago,” the story says.
Sadly, there’s a lot of beautification that needs to be done in and around the Orange Bowl. It’s a shame because there aren’t a lot of places for families and folks to go in San Berdoo as it is. I used to travel by there all the time when I lived in the Inland Empire, and it’s an eyesore.