The Village is empty. The seven thousand college students that normally bustle around the city are nowhere to be found. The popular trails leading into the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains are barricaded off. Claremont looks like a ghost town as residents are ordered to stay safe at home.
Shortly after Webbies departed campus, the City of Claremont got a shock too: a “Safer at Home” order was announced by Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles on March 19, 2020. The order requires that non-essential businesses come to a halt and that residents stay home.
Similar to Webb, The Claremont Colleges announced that they would end all in-person classes on March 13, 2020, and transition to an online platform. The Claremont Colleges are home to thousands of college students, and the absence of the students has surely been noted in the community.
“Claremont just feels emptier,” said Claremont resident Livia Hughson (‘21). “There are no excess college students running around, and the campuses look kind of like a ghost town.”
The popular Claremont Village is also empty as many stores have had to close their doors for the time being. The weekly Claremont Farmers & Artisans Market has stopped operating for now.
“Normally on weekends, the Village is bustling with people who are eating lunch with friends, shopping, or just going out,” said another Claremont resident, Sofia Centeno (‘21). “Without all the people, the Village definitely has an abandoned vibe.”
Known informally as the city of “Newly Weds and Nearly Deads,” Claremont is home to a particularly vulnerable group to COVID-19 — senior citizens. From the 2016 Census, 16.6% of Claremont residents are 65 years of age or older. To help the senior citizens, the community is coming together; City Staff and local churches have organized occasional contactless lunch pickups.
Lunch pickups are available for residents over 60 years of age. This pickup was held on the corner of Harrison Ave. and Mountain Ave..
The Claremont Hills Wilderness Park and surrounding trails will be closed until further notice. The City of Claremont notes the closures of the popular parks due to the high number of people refusing to adhere to social distancing.”
Thompson Creek Trail is vacant as the city has closed parking access to the trail.
“With the trails being closed off I find it difficult to connect to the community or to become one nature,” said Livia. “Walking on the streets just isn’t the same.”
While city parks and trails are closed, residents are still encouraged to go on walks while practicing social distancing.
“I have enjoyed seeing so many families out walking and spending time together in nature,” said Emma Holliday (‘22), who also lives in Claremont. “The streets are more empty, but people are still going out.”
“I have noticed a lot of people out on walks, runs, and bike rides,” said Sofia. “Claremont still feels alive. I have been spending free time with my sisters outside enjoying the fresh air.”
For now, the City of Claremont will remain under the “Safe at Home” order. While the streets are emptier and the Village is quieter, the spirit of Claremont is still bustling.
![Student researcher Elaine Tang (‘24) created a comic for the Fossil Fest to explain the two ways fossils are formed in a tarpit. “I chose to explain my research by comic because there are a lot of kids coming to the [Fossil] Fest,” Elaine said. “They are all very interested and even painted on my comic with their favorite colors.” Fossil Fest is one of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology Discovery Day events during which scientists and museum visitors are invited to celebrate paleontology.](https://webbcanyonchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/9eae070d6f5f12b684fd6d4ff457a01.jpg)
![Blue, white, and gold colored balloons surround the doorway to the new Bonnie Johnson Hall. Dr. Theresa Smith and Blake Johnson pose with large scissors, prepared to cut the ribbon as many faculty, alumni, and others watch and applaud. “I look at [the science lab] as a space where students are pursuing their own scientific questions, where they can collaborate with their other peers, and where discovery is happening,” said Lisa Nacionales, Science Department Chair.](https://webbcanyonchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Smith_and_Johnson.HEIC.jpg)
