Hollowed Out: The effects of coronavirus on a once lively Fullerton

Sam Serrano

April 18, 2020

From dawn til dusk—and dusk til dawn—Fullerton has always attracted people from all over with its unique sense of style and charm. However, in the midst of a pandemic, our photographer Logan Martinez was able to capture the real effects that COVID-19 has had on our community.

The empty parking lot of St. Andrews Episcopal Church on a Sunday afternoon. It would be filled to the brim with people attending Sunday services, but due to COVID-19 all church practices have been cancelled until further notice. Churches across the nation are now doing their ceremonies through video.

Like many local restaurants, the Panera Bread on Harbor Boulevard is trying creative ways to let their customers know they’re still open for business

Anne Marie Flores, a visitor wears a mask and gloves standing in a Kaiser hospital elevator in front of a sign stating the rules regarding visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A man wearing a mask and gloves pulls a shopping cart outside Costco full of “essential” items in bulk, like eggs and paper towels.

The Fullerton Spaghetti Factory, a well known restaurant usually filled from wall to wall with families, friends, and work dinners, is now closed and vacant due to COVID-19.

Santa Fe Express cafe, located at Fullerton’s train station, is usually full of daily train riders buying food and drinks or sitting on the patio waiting for their train to pull up. Now it is barren and lifeless.

Fullerton High School’s empty cafeteria space on a Friday Afternoon. Usually children would be gathered here on one of their breaks on a normal school day, but COVID-19 has made schools across the nation close for the remainder of the school year.

A public workout machine at Independence Park is taped off with a notice from Fullerton’s Park and Recreation Department stating, “All outdoor fitness equipment is now closed to the public.”