Corona

Take a drive on Grand Boulevard in Corona, and your four tires will be in touch with history.

Are you curious about the origins of the city’s name? Well, as any good dictionary will tell you, a corona is a halo -- and so is the circular shape of that important boulevard, which sits at the center of this community of more than 150,000 people in Riverside County.

While the city’s historical past has much to do with offering a single precious agricultural commodity—namely, land—today Corona enjoys rising status as a bedroom community used by many of cities of the Inland Empire and Orange County.

In recent years, in fact, Corona’s community has grown so diverse thanks to the arrival of more African American, Latino and Asian American families that the city’s old labels of “the circle city” and “lemon capital of the world” have been easily replaced by another: Today Corona has earned the title of a “global village.” The children of these families are served by Corona-Norco Unified School District as well as by various private schools in the city.

Corona’s success in commerce and industry has been helped by its access to the Riverside Freeway as well as the linkages to the Pomona and San Gabriel valleys provided by the Chino Valley Freeway.

The city also enjoys a reputable profile in various business sectors.. Anyone who’s ever plucked a Fender electric guitar or chugged a Hansen’s soda should also know that both corporations have their headquarters in Corona. The city also has several major shopping areas, including The Crossings at South Corona, The Promenade Shops at Dos Lago and Corona Hills Plaza and Marketplace.

Dial back the clock to the mid 20th century, however, and you’ll find that the city was a quieter, rural place—and this made it an enjoyable home for major celebrities, like Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo and his redhead wife Lucy – ah wait, make that Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who once lived together on a ranch in the southern part of the city. If Corona was ideal for one of the greatest couples in comedy, it just might be the place for you.