Pomona in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

The Big Round

Giant Sequoia

— The Journey of a Concept —

The Big Round Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Baker

1. The Big Round Marker

Inscription.
Julius Caesar's reign over Rome was approaching its dramatic end (44 BCE), when this giant sequoia sprouted - the tree providing this magnificent round. Until felled in Tulare County by a windstorm in 1961, this massive tree, nicknamed "Doris," thrived for more than 2,000 years.

Organizers of the 1961 Los Angeles County Fair envisioned a new attraction - "The Court of the Redwoods." The display, devoted to California's biggest trees, featured a grove of living redwoods, John Svenson's redwood sculpture "Ranchera" and a large cross-section of a giant sequoia. Based on the scale model, Fair managers discovered that the redwood round needed to be 16 feet in diameter! Panic stricken, they began calling forestry organizations to locate a huge tree.

Workers from California's State Department of Forestry, the Conservation Corps, and Tulare County labored for weeks to cut, load, and transport a cross-section of the giant tree. As the opening day of Fair "61" approached, progress reports oscillated between hope and despair. The round arrived a few days before the fair opened - fair staff finished

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the installation just hours before the first fairgoers arrived.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Entertainment • Horticulture & Forestry. In addition, it is included in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1961.

Location. 34° 4.857′ N, 117° 45.863′ W. Marker is in Pomona, California, in Los Angeles County. It is on McKinley Avenue half a mile east of Fairplex Drive. Located in Fairplex, the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1101 W McKinley Ave, Pomona CA 91768, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Los Angeles

and in the Transverse Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this

The Big Round and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Baker

2. The Big Round and Marker

marker: Millard Sheets Gallery (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pomona Assembly Center (about 600 feet away); Johnstone Peak Fire Lookout (approx. 0.3 miles away); Santa Fe Station (approx. 0.4 miles away); Steam Locomotives - How They Work (approx. 0.4 miles away); Santa Fe 3450 (approx. 0.4 miles away); La Casa Primera (approx. 0.7 miles away); La Casa Primera Dedication (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pomona.

Regarding The Big Round. The name Sequoia honors Sequoyah, a Native American of the Cherokee Nation. In 1821, he created the Cherokee syllabary, making reading and writing in Cherokee possible. This allowed the Cherokee nation to be one of the first North American Indigenous groups to have a written language.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 8, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 529 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 21, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.