Altadena Historical Society

The end of the Mt. Lowe Tavern, Part I There was a resort complex in the mountains above Altadena at Crystal Springs from 1895 to 1936. Over those 41 years, there were thousands of visitors, and it was accessible by electric rail cars. Here is the first of two posts on the demise of this amazing place. Comments will be posted with the photographs. (Part 2 will be published on Friday.)

Over the river and through the woods, 1938. Most of us won't be travelling this year for Thanksgiving, but 82 years ago, if you had to get from Altadena to your family's house for Thanksgiving dinner, the Red Cars were waiting to take you.

Gold in those hills! The Dawn Mine in Millard Canyon. There was once a gold mine in Millard Canyon. Here are few photographs from the Dawn Mine, which operated from the 1890's to the 1950's intermittently. The mine produced just enough gold to keep people interested, but never enough to make anyone rich. Today, the mine is permanently closed off with steel gates. The two mile hike is still worth it, though. For more information about the mine, here's a good source, tho...ugh some opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Altadena Historical Society. https://www.secretmines.com/p/dawn-mine.html See more

Altadena's airport! (Part 1) When airplanes were still a novelty, airfields dotted the southern California area. One of them was in Altadena. Another, called both Sierra Airport and Hastings Field, was located about where Best Buy shopping center is in the lower Hastings Ranch area. See the photos for more details, and look for our follow-up post on Monday morning.

The adventures of the 'What-cha-ma-callit,' June 1941 This is a follow up on our May post, where this photograph was first posted. In the 1940's, the Pacific Electric railway lines were removed from Altadena streets. The big machine that did this job is pictured here and described in the June 1941 articles. The second article describes a near disaster when the machine started rolling downhill on its own...

Altadena Elementary School (part 2). Since 1903, Altadena Elementary School, now Altadena Arts Magnet, children have been filling the classrooms even as the buildings have changed. Here is a photo of the current building, sometime before the Long Beach Earthquake of 1933. Also included are three class photos showing the school changing over the decades.

African American history in Altadena Earlier this summer, members of the Altadena Historical Society assisted with an LA County project survey focusing on the history of Altadena, and specifically about the African American community in Altadena. The final result is linked here. The entire document, with appendices and references, is 452 pages, but the written text is only about 40 pages. There is a lot there, but feel free to download and look at later. ... http://planning.lacounty.gov//survey_altadena_afam_phase1.

'Men Routed by Determined Woman' To follow up on the last post about La Vina Hospital, here's a story about early problems with the neighbors in Millard Canyon, soon after the original sanatorium was constructed. An article in the Pasadena Star newspaper from July 5, 1912 describes an encounter with a woman miner who must have been living in Millard Canyon and working her claim. Click on the images for details.

La Vina Sanatorium, 1909-1984 At the far north end of Lincoln Ave. there once stood a sanatorium and research hospital. The orginal sanatorium buildings were constructed in about 1910 and were destroyed by a devasting forest fire in 1935. (Everyone had been safely evacuated.) New buildings were constructed, and what became the Hastings Research Hospital was built after World War II. Here are some parts of the story.

Mendocino and Allen in 1921 This is a photograph of east Altadena looking toward Eaton Canyon. Notes on the back of this photo suggest that the large residence in the center is the Balian house under construction, which was built in 1921. The neglected vineyard in the foreground is where the Altadena Country Club golf course would soon be laid out. Now this is the Calaveras-Midwick neighborhood west of Allen. There is a 'T' high on the hillside that stands for Throop Polytechnic Institute. You may know of it now as CalTech. I wonder if any remnants of the 'T' are still up there.

Altadena Elementary School (part I). Altadena Elementary School, now known as Altadena Arts Magnet, is the oldest public school in Altadena, opening its doors in 1903 on its current site. The original building was torn down in the late 1910's, probably. Here a few photos from the early days. Comments are with the photos.

Triangle Park, then and now, part 2 Altadena's Triangle Park sprang into existence in early 1969 when Altadena Dr. was re-routed across Lake Ave. as a four-lane thoroughfare. A long-time local resident, Leon Ricks, took many photographs of street scenes in the late 20th century. Altadena Dr. used to take a sharp turn just west of El Patron Restaurant. These two photos give you sense of how things changed.

The promise of winter. View of outbound Alpine Division car, PE's Mt. Lowe Line, somewhere between Granite Gate and Alpine Tavern, CA, 1/31/1930, LA Herald Examiner photo.

Triangle Park, then and now, part 1 Altadena's Triangle Park sprang into existence in early 1969 when Altadena Dr. was re-routed across Lake Ave. as a four-lane thoroughfare. A long-time local resident, Leon Ricks, took many photographs of street scenes in the late 20th century. Altadena Dr. used to take a sharp turn just west of El Patron Restaurant. These two photos give you sense of how things changed.

A hitchhiker's tale One of our AHS Board members found and purchased a photograph with a story on Ebay. It's a window into one woman's life for a few days in August 1931. Virginia Ferree hitchhiked from Denver to Altadena and wound up in the County jail. Please click on the images for details.

Mt. Wilson Observatory and the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, part 2 The Bobcat fire still rages dangerously to our north. Mt. Wilson is not safe yet, but it has not burned as of Sunday afternoon, for which we can thank over 1,000 firefighters working around the clock. If firefighters needed to move equipment up there one hundred years ago, they would have probably taken the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, which began near the corner of what is now Mendocino Lane and Altadena Dr. Here are few travel photos from those days.

Mt. Wilson Observatory and the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, part 1 The Bobcat fire raging in the San Gabriel Mountains continues to threaten the complex of buildings on Mt. Wilson, including historic observatories. From 1908 until 1949, the largest telescope in the world was located there. And the data collected up there gave evidence to two huge discoveries: the Milky Way is but one of many galaxies in the universe and the universe is expanding. Please click on the images for more information.

Tourist Fredrick G. Clapp near the summit of Mt. Lowe, CA, ca. 1910, previously unpublished photo.