A revitalized Pomona

Over the last few years, new restaurants, clubs and art galleries have opened in downtown Pomona, transforming it into a cultural hub of art and entertainment. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Nov. 8, 2014 4:29 PM PT

Over the last few years, new bars, restaurants and nightclubs have revitalized downtown Pomona, turning what was once a city marred with gang violence into an entertainment destination.

Visitors fill the Green Room, a restaurant and bar located in the Arts Colony area of downtown Pomona. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Robert L. Durocher advertises pizza from New York Delight while people wait in line to get inside Carnaval, a dance club in downtown Pomona. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Pedestrians walk along 3rd Street in the heart of downtown Pomona. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Gary Garcia, 22, left, Erika Orozco, 26, and Natalie Llamas, 24, enjoy a drink at the Fox Sports Bar & Grill in downtown Pomona. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Victor Espinosa waits for a friend outside the Fox Theater Pomona where before a sold-out show by the electronic rock duo Phantogram. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Pearl Gutierrez checks her makeup while waiting in line to get inside the dance club Carnaval in downtown Pomona. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Patrons drink and talk as a movie is projected overhead inside the Vive Lounge in downtown Pomona. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

People make their way past the “Pomona Envisions the Future” mural in the Arts District of downtown Pomona. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A young man makes his way across Garey Avenue at 3rd Street, near the Fox Theater in the Arts District of downtown Pomona. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)