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ALTADENA:
SOMEWHERE IN TIME
The official Timeline of Altadena History compiled by Mike Manning Altadena is the unincorporated portion of upper Rancho San Pascual, or Pasadena. By the time of Pasadena's incorporation in 1886, the northern boundary generally ran along Mountain Avenue. Any territories north of that are considered unincorporated County lands. In the early years the lands east of Lake were commonly called Lamanda Park. Actually this section referred to as County Road Department No.4 was officially listed as Lamanda Park up until 1920. These unincorporated areas ran from the eastern Pasadena city limits toward Rancho Santa Anita which included lands of today's Arcadia, Duarte, Baldwin Park and Temple City. Three ranches, the Sphinx, the Fair Oaks, and the Brigden, and two major tracts, the Craig and the Grogan, were established in these areas, and over the years were considered part of the Altadena fold, only for the fact that they were unincorporated. Other unincorporated areas included Albert Kinney's Estate, today known as the Kinneloa Estates. Over the near century and a half of development, Altadena has dwindled in area due to a number of annexations by Pasadena. By the time annexation was stopped in 1956, much of the Pasadena Highlands east of Lake Avenue were taken up in large and bite-size portions which left the boundaries saw-toothed, and with next door neighbors property lines straddling city limits. So high was the confidence that Pasadena would successfully annex up to New York Drive, that the postal zone of 91104 was issued throughout the southeastern portion of the Highlands. Today the Altadena boundaries are defined by its eight census tracts. This defining was brought about by the organizing of the Altadena Town Council in 1975 with assistance from the Pasadena Chapter of the League of Women Voters. This also defines Altadena from other unincorporated areas who receive County services but are not represented by the Town Council, such as Kinneloa Estates and Glen Allen. Because of the foregone annexations, however, Altadena, generally recognized by the zip code 91001, also shares the zip code 91104 with Pasadena. This time line includes many of the subdivisions of Rancho San Pascual that were once unincorporated and have over time become in-part or in-total Pasadena, yet were the fabric of Altadena's development and identity. Under some places in time are made special notes of historical interest or importance which highlight the significance of what may otherwise seem to be obscure events.
1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 1862 -December 11, Mrs. Albert Sidney Johnston purchases property she names Fair Oaks Ranch on the east side of Rancho San Pascual after her own home in Virginia. (Her Husband was General Johnston of the Confederate Army who was killed in the Battle of Shiloh. She returns to Virginia in April 1863 after the death of her son.) 1865 -Mrs. Johnston's brother Judge Benjamin S. Eaton moves to the Fair Oaks Ranch for a short while at which time he brings water out of the El Precipicio Canyon (Eaton Canyon). 1874 -Jan. 3: Indiana Colony establishes itself as the first White settlement of Rancho San pascual in what is now refered to as Pasadena. 1875 - Levi Giddings establishes a subdivision in the Potts (Heath) land (roughly Las Casitas) area. - Indiana Colony founding fathers select name of Pasadena. (Important historical note: Pasadena is a Chippewa word meaning "of the valley" which was derived from a complete translation for "crown of the valley." City fathers were tasked to choose a community name for the purposes of obtaining an official U. S. Post Office. The Postmaster General rejected the name Indiana Colony as inadequate for postal designation. Dr. Thomas Elliott contacted a friend in Minnesota who was a missionary among the Chippewa (sic) Indians. He requested translations for Crown of the Valley, Key of the Valley, Hill of the Valley, and Valley of the Valley. The translations came back with the pa-sa-de-na, of the valley, part. The name Pasadena was entered into contest with the names Indianola and Granada, respective tributes to their Indiana and Spanish heritage. The City Fathers enjoyed the euphony of Pasadena which they chose.) 1876 James Fillmore Crank buys Fair Oaks Ranch from Judge Eaton. Crank introduces a variety of navel orange to Pasadena which he successfully grew on the ranch. 1878 William Allen purchases property which he names Sphinx Ranch. Allen Avenue becomes his west boundary. (William Allen spent 23 years in Egypt thereby coming up with the name "Sphinx.") Northernmost portions of land tracts west of Lake are sold to subdividers Gano and Jewett. (Note: These highlands of over 1400 acres were deeded over to the Indiana Colony in 1973 by Benjamin Wilson as an added good faith measure for the purchase of lands which would become Pasadena. They were also considered worthless wastelands unfit for any development, but since the taxes were paid, the land was accepted in good faith.) 1882 - The Woodbury Brothers, John and Frederick purchase 937 acres (at $5 per acre) of the Highland Slope from the Indiana Colony (sic Pasadena, inc. 1886) as an area for residential development. (Important historical note: This becomes the most significant purchase of land leading to the development of Altadena. The land extends from Lake Avenue on the east to the Arroyo on the west and from Woodbury Road north to the Piedmont, now Altadena Drive.) - Incorporation of the Pasadena Cemetery with Levi Giddings as president. With development of the new Altadena community, this will be named Mountain View Cemetery. (Note: up until this time it was customary for families to inter their dead on their own properties. With the development of a cemetery outside the city limits, burials within the city limits were prohibited.) - J. F. Crank moves the old Fair Oaks Ranch house to the north end of the property and builds a newer home in its place. (Note: After Judge Eaton and Dr. Griffin purchased land from Hugo Reed's Santa Anita Ranch --- essentially Arcadia --- this house became the oldest standing building within Altadena proper today.) - Col. Jabez Banbury builds the first home to ever be built on the Woodbury Ranch on the property which will become the estate of William and Florence Scripps Kellogg. 1882 - THE CELEBRATED WOODBURY HOUSE
1883 - 1884 - Lafayette S. Porter purchases three parcels of land east of Lake to become Porter Ranch and Homewood. 1884 - Brothers Owen and Jason Brown (sons of John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame) settle into Altadena with sister Ruth Thompson. - Switzer's Camp opens. Is marked by a pack trail and eventual roadway that leads from the head of the Arroyo Seco to Angeles Crest Highway (1929). 1885 - The Woodburys have their foreman Tom Hoag conduct the transplanting of 150 deodar saplings onto Santa Rosa Avenue. Also installs rock lined gutters. This was to become an approach to John Woodbury's mansion which was never realized. - Byron O. Clark establishes a nursery on a mesa in the vicinity of Millard Canyon and coins the name "Altadena" for it. Altadena is a composite of the Spanish word alta (upper) and dena from Pasadena. (Important historical note: Confusion over the years has lead to an alternative defining of Altadena. In Sarah Noble Ives' book on Altadena, 1938, she refers to a Pasadena definition from the Italian Pasa aden, or "pass into paradise" which she, of course, dismisses as fictitious. Later in the book she refers then to an Alta aden, or upper paradise, however, in jest. Apparently members of the Chamber of Commerce either took the passage seriously, or enjoyed the version so much as to use it in their advertising literature. Unfortunately this version has crept into other pieces of literature without regard to historical accuracy.) - Leonard J. Rose establishes the subdivision of Lamanda Park which are the unincorporated lands east of Lake Ave. (Note: Lamanda is composed of the Rose's names Leonard and Amanda. He will go on later to develop a horse ranch in South El Monte named Rosemead.) - Las Flores Water Company incorporated. 1886 - Pasadena Incorporates. 1887 - John Woodbury incorporates the Pasadena Improvement Company and with permission from Byron O. Clark adopts the name Altadena for his new subdivision. (Note: Clark had moved from his Altadena Nursery to a home in the Linda Vista area.) - Andrew McNally builds Queen Anne Victorian home on Mariposa just east of Santa Rosa. - Col. G. G. Green builds his home on Mariposa west of Santa Rosa. - Francis Beckwith establishes Altadena Highland Dairy at Mariposa Street and Maiden Lane. (Note: this is not to be confused with the Alta-Dena Dairy established by the Steuves in Monrovia, Ca.) Beckwith also contracts construction of rock lined gutters on Maiden Lane. - Incorporation of Millard Canyon Water Co., Rubio Canyon Land and Water Co., and Precipice Canyon Water Co. 1888 - Jan. 31: Opening of the Altadena Railway (sic Los Angeles Terminal Railway) sponsored by the Woodbury Brothers, Frank Swartout, Col. G. G. Green and Andrew McNally. - Chicago railroad magnate A. C. Armstrong builds house at corner of Mariposa and Santa Clara (sic El Molino) streets. 1889 - 16-inch telescope installed on Mt. Harvard (near Wilson) as first attempt to adopt an astronomical base in Southern California. The venture is short lived. - Las Casitas Sanatorium built. - Construction of the Mount Wilson Toll Road through Henninger Flats. 1891 - Professor Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe incorporates the Pasadena & Mount Wilson Railway in an effort to provide a scenic mountain railroad to the crest of the San Gabriel Mountains. - Charles Eliot. president of Harvard College visits Altadena with plans to install a 40-inch telescope on Mt. Wilson. Walter Raymond of the Pasadena Raymond Hotel and Prof. Lowe join in the effort. These plans failed due to subsequent circumstances. 1892 - Prof. Lowe's plans are altered to take his mountain railway to the summit of Oak Mountain heretofore named after him Mt. Lowe. - September: First dynamiting of Mount Lowe Railway into Rubio Canyon commenced. - December 20: San Gabriel Timberland Reserve (sic Angeles National Forest) established by the Department of the Interior. (Important historical note: The San Gabriel Timberland Reserve was the second in the nation next to Yosemite to be developed. It was put into action by Albert Kinney of Kinneloa Mesa and was expedited by conservationist John Muir. By 1925 the Reserve was divided into the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests.) 1893 - July 4: Opening day ceremonies of the Mount Lowe Railway with Rubio division and the Great Incline service open. 1894 - November: Opening of the Echo Mountain House hotel of the Mount Lowe Railway. Lowe purchases 3,000,000 candlepower searchlight from Columbian Exhibition (Chicago 1893) and mounts it on Echo promontory. 1895 - December 14: Opening of the Alpine Division, Mt. Lowe Rwy. Includes opening of Ye Alpine Tavern hotel at Crystal Springs at the foot of Mt. Lowe. - First Altadena Post Office established at Mountain Junction railway station (Calaveras at Lake). 1896 - Lincoln Avenue Water incorporates. 1899 - Prof. Lowe loses Mt. Lowe railway in receivership to Jared S. Torrance by an Act of Congress which redefines the Mount Lowe Railway properties, leases and ownership. The Pasadena & Mount Lowe Railway is officially organized, is put up for auction and is purchased by Valentine Peyton. His ownership lasts a paltry 14 months. - Owen Brown's grave moved to Little Roundtop in special ceremony held by Negro (sic) community. - Echo Mountain House burns down and is never replaced. V. Peyton sells Mt. Lowe railway to Pacific Electric Railway Company. 1902 - Henry Huntington assumes ownership of Mount Lowe Railway through acquisition of the Pacific Electric Railway. Begins construction of Red Car service into Altadena. 1903 - Calaveras Street School (sic Altadena Elementary) built. - Altadena children hold stage play "Robin Hood" at old Tally Ho barns. Last stage play in Altadena until 1928. - Cross-town spur of the Altadena Railway abandoned. Spur into Arroyo continued for quarrying rock for San Pedro harbor. 1904 - William A. Scripps purchases property on the Woodbury subdivision and eventually builds a grand home near Mariposa and Fair Oaks. 1905 - Mount Echo devastated by high winds and ensuing fire. Everything lost except observatory and astronomer's cabin. - Altadena's first church built at the corner of Calaveras and Santa Clara (El Molino) under the direction of the Methodist Church of North Pasadena. This will become Altadena Baptist Church in 1934. 1906 - Pacific Electric Substation No. 8 (powerhouse) built at Mountain Junction (Calaveras and Lake). Incline Powerhouse of MLR replaced after 1905 fire. 1906 - 1909 - Annual runnings of the Pasadena-Altadena Uphill Race, Los Robles to Woodbury then up to Piedmont (Altadena Drive) via Santa Rosa, with the use of competition automobiles. Among the competitors are Barney Oldfield and O. K. Earl. (Note: after first year of competition, women were barred from riding along when one of them was accidentally thrown from a car on a turn.) 1907 - Frederick William Kellogg, who had married Florence May Scripps, daughter of William A. Scripps, moves to Altadena and builds mansion on Banbury property directly adjacent to Scripps home. - Saint Mark's Episcopal Faith Community is established as a mission in Altadena by All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. - Woodward of Chicago builds his house, the first fireproof building in Altadena, near Marengo and Mariposa. 1908 - Small school library established at Calaveras School, marks beginning of an Altadena library district. 1909 - Rubio Pavilion lost in electrical storm and ensuing flood waters. Young Drew boy drowned in rubble. Pavilion is only replaced by a ramada consisting of ticket sales stand, magazine rack and snack shop. - Altadena Improvement Association purchases two five acre lots from F. Beckwith for construction of a Country Club. 1911 - Altadena Country Club (sic Altadena Town & Country Club) opens. - La Vi–a Sanatorium incorporates. 1912 - Hogan Development opens the Altadena Country Club Parks development. 1913 - Pasadena Home for the Aged (sic Scripps Home) established at the 1900 home of Thaddeus Lowe (son of Prof. T. S. C. Lowe) corner of Santa Clara (El Molino) and Calaveras. Lowe's home eventually ends up in the hands of William A. Scripps in 1911. He offers the property to the Pasadena Emergency League as "The William A. Scripps Home for the Aged." The name was not retained, but was reinstated at a much later date. 1914 - 18 hole golf course opens. - Saint Mark's Episcopal Mission is established as a Parish. - Pasadena Consolidated Water Company is formed and absorbs some shares from the Precipice Canyon Water Company. - Reinhold Busch finishes Boulder Crest home. 1915 - Opening of Altadena Hardware Store. 1917 - Altadena Country Clubhouse remodeled. - The old Banbury home is razed marking the loss of Altadena's first home. 1918 - St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Parish (Los Angeles Archdiocese) opens in Altadena, Reverend Father James Woodcutter, Pastor. First services held in corner warehouse at Lake and Washington streets. 1919 - Saint Elizabeth opens its school under the direction of the Sisters of the Holy Names. - Sept. 4: Altadena (DeMille) airport opens near golf course. (Note: An opening day celebration was held at the Country Club with special guests Cecil B. DeMille, Gloria Swanson and Dennis M. Linnard, hostelier.) - Altadena Country Club is reorganized and renamed Pasadena Golf Club. - St. Elizabeth Boy Scout Troop 77 is inaugurated and will come to be the oldest, continuous troop in the San Gabriel Valley District. - Zane Grey buys Woodward home. (Note: his move to Altadena in 1918 is spurned by remembrances of his honeymoon when he visited in 1906.) - Camp Huntington Boy Scout Camp is established at the mouth of Rubio Canyon. - Frederick Nash, Altadena resident, Pasadena merchant and President of the Pasadena Kiwanis Club, institutes the first lighting of the deodar trees on Santa Rosa Avenue with the help of the City of Pasadena and Pasadena Kiwanis. (Important historical note: Only one quarter mile of the mile long street was originally lighted. The name Christmas Tree Lane is not widely adopted until after World War II. Up until then it is referred to as the Avenue of the Deodars. In 1928 the Altadena Kiwanis Club (est. 1927) began taking institutionalized children for rides along the lane. The children would plead to "...take a ride on Christmas Tree Street!") 1921 - Country Club is reverted to members of the Altadena Improvement Association. - Remaining operations of the L. A. Terminal Railway are abandoned. 1923 - St. Elizabeth Parish builds first building on grounds at Woodbury and Lake. Spanish style building becomes school for the next forty years. - City of Pasadena buys up Pasadena Consolidated and Precipice Canyon water shares. This affects most the east side of Altadena. 1924 - Fire Station No. 11 opens at Marcheta (pronounced Mar-kee-tah) and Lake. - Altadena Chamber of Commerce is chartered. 1925 - Fire Station 11 moves to Altadena Drive location just east of Lake Ave. - Mount Lowe Rwy. adds annex building to Ye Alpine Tavern and renames it Mount Lowe Tavern. - San Gabriel Timberland Reserve divided into the Angeles National Forest and the San Bernardino National Forest. - May: Work begun on construction of the Mountain View Mausoleum on Marengo Avenue between Sacramento and Alameda Streets. 1926 - St. Elizabeth Parish dedicates new church building. Architect is Wallace Neff, grandson of Andrew McNally. - Boys and Girls Aid Society moves onto new five acre facility on Mountain View Street. Thus named Five Acres in a period almost 20 years later. - Altadena Library District formed with Mrs. Zane Grey as its first president. 1927 - New Sheriff's Station No. 7 opens next to Fire Station 11. - Altadena Library District established in accordance with State approval. Mrs. Zane Grey elected first Board President. - Country Club performs extensive remodeling of the clubhouse. 1928 - General Charles S. Farnsworth prepares for development of a new County park at Concha and Lake Streets which is named Altadena Park. - Lincoln Avenue Fire Station No. 12 opens. - Gale force wind blows down Mount Lowe Observatory on Echo Mountain. This is the last standing building on Mount Echo from the Lowe period. - Miss Bird Del Bundy organizes the Foothill Players, an Altadena Theatre group, who by will be named The Altadena Community Theatre, The Altadena Players, California Little Theatre and in 1937 Theatre Americana. 1929 - Westminster Presbyterian Church built at Lake and Woodbury. - Begin construction of Angeles Crest Highway (SR2). - Sheriff Station No. 7 moves to corner of Mariposa and Lake. - Altadena's first official newspaper, the Altadena Press, is established on El Molino Avenue by Mr. C. F. Hoffman. 1931 - Building of Eliot Jr. High School at Lake and Calaveras. Named for Charles W. Eliot, President of Harvard College who visited Altadena in 1891 over Mt. Harvard telescope project. 1932 - Country Club foreclosed and renamed the Altadena Golf Club. - Lafayette Porter builds a new home on his property he names "Homewood." - A great snow blankets Altadena and Pasadena. 1933 - March 10, Long Beach earthquake (mag. 6.4) devastates Southland. Community establishes Altadena Major Disaster Emergency Council. - Famous Trailfinders School moves into A. C. Armstrong house at Santa Clara (El Molino) and Mariposa. Trailfinders boasts a curriculum much like that of the Boy Scouts with 34 boys in enrollment. 1934 - Brown Mountain fire threatens western community. - Oct. 12, Dedication of Altadena Recreation Building at Farnsworth Park. Board of Control incorporated as a non-profit organization to operate the building. it is comprised of one representative from each of 23 community organizations. 1935 - Las Flores fire burns several La Vi–a Hospital buildings. - Founding of the Altadena Historical and Beautification Society. 1936 - September, Mount Lowe Tavern burns down. Last of operational buildings on the whole of Mount Lowe Railway. 1937 - Nov. 5, the last paid excursion run of the Mount Lowe Rwy. is chartered by the Railroad Boosters (sic Pacific Railroad Society). 1938 - March 1 - 3, 3 day deluge devastates Greater Los Angeles area. - Mount Lowe Railway abandoned following flood which stranded employees 10 days on hilltop. - Lake Ave library built at corner of Beverly Way. - Altadena (Farnsworth) Park amphitheater built. - Army Corps of Engineers begin Los Angeles master plan of flood control districts which will greatly affect Altadena. - Sarah Noble Ives publishes her book Altadena for the Altadena Historical and Beautification Society. 1939 - St. Elizabeth Shrine and Grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes built at the corner of New York and Lake. - Dr. Corr, pastor of St. Elizabeth passes away ending 8 years as pastor and greatest time of development of the parish. - Fire of unknown origin breaks our in the Echo Mountain powerhouse. - Woodbury house is acquired by County for use by the courts. 1941 - Pacific Electric Red Car service to Altadena discontinued. - WWII breaks out. Dismantling of Mount Lowe Railway contracted out to scrappers. 1943 - Altadena Park Recreation Building renamed in honor of William B. Davies (dec.). - Altadena Park renamed in honor of Gen. Charles S. Farnsworth (dec.). - Christmas Tree Lane goes dark for two years. (Note: This was part of an energy conservation effort due to the fact that the snow packs of the northern mountains, from which hydrolectric power derives its water, were exceptionally low. It was not related to the war effort.) 1944 - Country Club and Golf Course purchased from bank by a Mrs. Alexander Kerr of Westmont College. She makes plans to move Westmont to a west coast campus. The property will require rezoning. - Woodbury foreman Tom Hoag passes away. He had the distinction of officiating the lighting of Christmas Tree Lane annually. 1945 - Jan. 17, 900 Altadenans meet at Eliot School to decide fate of Westmont rezoning. Proposal defeated 700 to 150. Mrs. Kerr puts up property for sale. 55 acres of golf course sold to residential developers. 60 acres of golf course sold to the County. Clubhouse sold to a community group headed by Rollin Dixon. 1946 - April, Altadena Country Club reopens as the Altadena Town & Country Club. (Note: Because of this renaming, this becomes the point from which the Country Club marks its history without regard to a previous history that was interupted by the foreclosure of 1932.) - 9-hole Golf Course reopens as the Altadena Golf Course, a County owned facility. - Fire Station No. 52 opens on Allen Avenue above New York Drive. 1948 - Town center is defined as Lake to El Molino and Foothill Bvd. (Altadena Dr.) to Mariposa. - Construction of new Sheriff's Station is begun on Altadena Drive. - Ground breaking ceremony for Altadena Community Church at Lake and Foothill (Altadena Dr.) - Saint Mark's Episcopal Church completed near corner of Foothill (Altadena Dr.) and Maiden Lane. 1949 - Jan: Big winter snow blankets most of Altadena and into Pasadena. - July 21, Tehachapi earthquake (mag 7.5) felt heavily in Altadena. 1954 - County does not renew lease to Davies Building (Farnsworth Park) to community Board of Control. All park operations are reverted to the County Department of Parks and Recreation. 1955 - New Fire Station No. 11 built at corner of Mariposa and El Molino. Altadena resident Oscar Werner, architect. 1956 - Christmas Tree Lane Association is organized to take over operations of the Lane from the City of Pasadena, Lawrence Lamb serves as its first president. Members enlist the assistance of Boy Scouts and the Electricians Union Local No. 11. This also marks the end of Pasadena annexation of Altadena lands. 1957 - County bans residential incineration of trash. Begins a trash pick up policy. Back yard incinerators become an icon that go the way of the railroad caboose. - Foothill Blvd. officially and finally renamed Altadena Drive. 1959 - The Mount Lowe Tavern is dynamited by the Forestry Service. Such buildings are considered "hazardous nuisances" as more and more people discover the ruins in their hiking. - The Kellogg's Highlawn Estate is razed for new residential development (Highland Avenue). - Saint Mark's Church purchases adjacent properties to establish a school. - Establishment of Loma Alta Park at Lincoln Ave. and Loma Alta Dr. 1962 - Echo Mountain Powerhouse dynamited. Bullwheel assembly set up as monument to Prof. T. S. C. Lowe and the Mount Lowe Railway. 1964 - Raging wildfire burns up the face of Mount Echo. - St. Elizabeth opens new school building on east side of Lake Avenue. School is now located on one property as 1923 schoolhouse is retired to a Parish Center. - A winter's afternoon snowfall blankets most of the Altadena highlands. Last snow since seen in Altadena proper. 1966 - Altadena Old Fashioned Days Celebration and Parade founded by Marion Lee Wullschlager and Virginia Lance. (Note: this did not originate as a Chamber of Commerce event.) - Aug. 28, New Altadena Library Main Branch opens at Santa Rosa and Mariposa. - Lenore Denny, along with five other ladies of the community, heads up the Women's Auxiliary to the Christmas Tree Lane Association as a fund raising organization. The group was assimilated into the main organization in 1971. 1969 - Unusually rainy period washes out Eaton Canyon and the El Dorado Inn on New York Dr. (Historical annecdote: The El Dorado Inn was purported to have a floor safe which was never recovered following the flood even though several attempts were made to locate it in the Eaton Wash bed.) - Kitchen fire in old Saint Elizabeth school guts lower story of building which is condemned and razed in 1971. 1971 - San Fernando (sic Sylmar) earthquake (mag 6.6) rocks Altadena. 1973 - Rev. Martin Slaught becomes pastor of Saint Elizabeth Parish which will begin an eighteen year service until his retirement. - Fire station No. 52 (on Allen Ave.) closes. Becomes the "Firehouse" preschool and day care center. - Christmas Tree Lane Association volunteers to leave the Lane dark as a part of a conservation effort during the "national energy crisis." 1975 - Altadena Town Council established with the help of the Pasadena Chapter of the League of Women Voters. 1976 - National Bicentennial. - Robert H. Peterson publishes Altadena Golden Years, a pictorial history of Altadena. 1978 - Raging fire burns through Rubio Canyon and takes with it the last of the wooden trestles of the Mount Lowe Railway. 1979 - Winter rains following the fire cause a flooding of the watershed which imperils the Rubio Debris Basin and the Gooseberry Wash. Several homes on Altadena Drive were affected by mud slide and flooding. - Sisters of the Holy Name are removed from service at St. Elizabeth School. School is left completely to a lay faculty. 1986 - Pasadena Centennial. - Scripps Home is saved from sale to developers by a community preservation drive, and is converted into Pasadena Waldorf School. - La Vi–a development project begins long process toward construction as is faced with great community opposition. 1987 - Altadena Centennial - Altadena Sheriff's Station consolidates with Crescenta Valley and loses main station status. (Note: this means that station is commanded by a lieutenant and all orders and dispatches come from La Crescenta station.) - October 1: Whittier earthquake (mag. 6.1) rocks Southland communities with particular impact on the surrounding hillside communities. Is nicknamed Shock-tober. 1989 - Altadena Heritage incorporates as a 501(c)(3) community benefit organization for the preservation of specific Altadena landmarks. - Friends of the Altadena Sheriff's Station (FASS) formed to rally station from departmental closure. Group reincorporates as the Sheriff's Support Group of Altadena (SSGA) in 1997. - Christmas Tree Lane declared California State Landmark No. 990. Recognized as the oldest large-scale outdoor Christmas display in the world. Also the first botanical site ever chosen as state landmark. Particularly significance is given to the bringing of two relatively new commodities, the electric light and the automobile, together in a single social event that cannot be replicated. (Note: annual traffic counts report the passing of over 50,000 automobile or roughly 200,000 people.) 1991 - June 28, Sierra Madre earthquake (mag. 5.8), second in a series to heavily rock the foothills. 1992 - Altadena Old Fashioned Days Parade celebrates 25th anniversary. 1993 - Jan. 6, The Mount Lowe Railway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Altadena Old Fashioned Days Parade features Mt. Lowe Rwy. centennial. - July 4, Mt. Lowe Railway celebrates Centennial. Scenic Mount Lowe Railway Historical Committee (of the Pacific Railroad Society) holds morning celebration at Echo Mountain. Altadena Heritage's Mount Lowe Railway Centennial Celebration Committee holds afternoon celebration at Macpherson Parkway. [Note: In attendance at both events was Don Macpherson, son of Mt. Lowe Rwy. civil engineer David J. Macpherson, and a host of Macpherson grand and great grandchildren to include an unborn child to be named David Macpherson. Also present were Professor Lowe's granddaughter, Mrs. Anderson, daughter of Zoe Lowe; her grandson Kevin Lowe Anderson (a great-great grandson), and his two daughters (great-great-great granddaughters.)] - Sept., St. Elizabeth Parish celebrates 75th anniversary. Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Cardinal Mahoney concelebrates special Mass with Rev. Pastor Richard Prindle. - Oct. 25, Governor Pete Wilson visits the Altadena Sheriff's Station in a Prop 172 rally which offers a temporary half-penny safety tax that will ensure the retention of the Altadena Station and other institutions of public safety. . - Oct. 27, High winds carry a massive and devastating conflagration started from an illegal campfire up and down the Eaton Canyon. Fire destroys the McCurdy Nature Center and several blocks of homes along Kinneloa Estates. In two days the fire has burned across Las Flores Canyon and destroyed several homes along Zane Grey Terrace and the Gooseberry flood control channel. Governor Wilson, still in Los Angeles, revisits Altadena. 1994 - Jan. 17, Northridge earthquake (mag 6.7) is third in a series to rock hillside communities. - Rains following October fires create massive mud slide damage in the canyons along the foothills. - Altadena Fire Department celebrates 70th anniversary. Old Fashioned Days Parade features all forestry, fire and sheriff's departments as heroes in 1993 fires. 1995 - Christmas Tree Lane celebrates its 75th anniversary. Is featured in the annual Old Fashioned Days Parade. 1997 - Jan. 2 - 4, Gale force winds create destruction of trees and power lines causing a 4 to 5 day power outage. Several grandfather trees on Christmas Tree Lane are lost. (Note: JPL was reporting winds in the upper Arroyo canyon to upwards of 126 mph. The facility was closed for a day for safety reasons. Southern California Edison calls in 250 additional linesmen from Houston, Texas to assist in the repair of electrical grids.) 1998 - Sheriff's Support Group begins a community drive to have Altadena Station reopened as a full-service station. Community rally is enormous and Sheriff Sherman Block gives over to the demand. (Note: Sheriff Block passes away before the November elections. Leroy D. Baca is elected County Sheriff.) - Altadena Sheriff's Station reopened as a full service station by Sheriff Baca. Lieutenant Ronnie Williams is promoted to Captain and assigned to serve as Station Commander. 2003 - July 12: Altadena's new Community Center opens adjacent to Sheriff's Station at 730 E. Altadena Dr. (Note: It is established as a public-private partnership with the County of Los Angeles and one representative from each of six participating community organizations and two from the Altadena Town Council, one being a Census Tract Representative from CT4602 in which the Center is located.) 2004 - May: Altadena Historical Society releases their history book Altadena, Between City and Wilderness. by Michele Zack.
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