Oldest House in CV Still Stands – But Not in CV! Shopping at Traders Joe’s in Montrose recently, I was approached by a lady asking about Pickens Cabin. She knew some about it – first permanent structure built here back in the 1800s, a little homesteader’s cabin – and she mentioned that she had seen […]
Modern Street Patterns are Rooted in Old Trolley Line The Glendale and Montrose Railway operated from 1913 until 1930, finally killed off by the Great Depression. At its height, the electric trolley ran from its terminus at Pennsylvania and Montrose avenues, down through Glendale, all the way to Glassell Park where it met the mighty […]
The Montrose Japanese Gardens The hype surrounding Montrose was pretty brazen in 1913 as lots were first going up for sale, and I’ve outlined several broken promises in my last two columns. Here’s another plan promoted by the developers at the beginning of Montrose: a beautiful Japanese garden was to be built. A Los Angeles […]
The Montrose Country Club Continuing my mini-series on some of the promised (but never delivered) features of Montrose 100 years ago, we’ll take a look at the country club that was to be a feature of the new community. Recreational facilities are a common feature of upscale large developments today. The Oakmont development that spreads […]
Hucksterism in the Birth of Montrose As we run up to the 100th anniversary of Montrose next month, we’ll see a fair amount of flowery talk about its founding and growth. Robert Newcombe’s new book “Montrose” (on the shelves in just a couple of weeks) covers all that and more. But I’m a guy who […]
El Camino Real Bells The early tourism industry in California was built partially on the romanticized legends of the California Missions. Starting in the late 1880s and peaking in the teens and ’20s, tourists were treated to a story of benevolent mission fathers bestowing the benefits of civilization on the wild California Indians, who then […]
La Crescenta and Consumption When we read the history of the Crescenta Valley, we often come across the term “consumption” as a disease, or hear of some pioneer being called a “consumptive.” The very founding of La Crescenta was tied strongly to consumption, with our founder Dr. Benjamin Briggs being driven by the disease – […]
The Crescenta Hotel Disaster of 1887 In the late 1880s, La Crescenta founder Dr. Benjamin Brigg’s dreams of establishing a town were coming together. He had built a schoolhouse, and in spring of 1887 he convinced a couple of real estate investors to build a hotel on the corner of Foothill and Rosemont, where Fosters […]
A Hike Through Crescenta Valley in 1910 In 1910, a writer for the Los Angeles Times wrote about a hike he and a friend took from Glendale to Tujunga one January day in a piece titled “A Walk With Bill Through La Crescenta Valley and On To Sunland.” At that time the Crescenta Valley was […]
1939 Grocery Store Opening Extravaganza When a new supermarket opens today, they usually put out some balloons, give away some free items to entice new customers, and offer some bargains. But in 1939, the opening of a new grocery store in Montrose had elaborate circus entertainment, stage shows, and a dance in the parking lot. […]