Irwindale : 64-Acre Swap Meet Opens

Throngs of people braved the sun and hot asphalt--and, at times, long admission lines and traffic congestion--last weekend to attend the opening of the L.A. International Marketplace in Irwindale. Organizers of the weekend-only swap meet called the kickoff a resounding success, saying about 14,000 people showed up at the site Saturday and nearly 20,000 turned out to haggle over the wares Sunday.

However, there are several kinks in the operation at 13360 E. Live Oak Ave. that must be worked out, officials said. Food vendors relying on the marketplace’s facilities were shut by health officials because a sewer line had not been connected to the 64-acre swap meet, the largest in Los Angeles County. Portable restrooms also had to be used, rather than the new, permanent facilities already in place. And electrical outlets were not operational for the roughly 750 vendors who had rented spaces as of last weekend.