Although Pasadena lays claim to the Rose Parade, Altadena played a role in its beginning.
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| Banyard Smith house designed by Frederick Roehrig Photo: Huntington Library digital collection |
Michele Zack tells us that the connection can be found within the Altadena home of Banyard Smith (now the site of the Theosophical Society on the northeast corner of Santa Rosa and Mariposa, across from the McNally house). "It was at Smith’s home that the Valley Hunt Club was founded in the early 1890s, from whence grew Pasadena’s Rose Parade." (Michele Zack, Altadena: Between Wilderness and City, 2003, p. 121)
This is the home in the 1890s. Look closely and you can see Mt. Lowe's Echo Mountain House in the background.
Unfortunately, the Smith house burned to the ground shortly after this picture was taken. But the Rose Parade lives on.
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| Photo: Huntington Library digital collection |
Unfortunately, the Smith house burned to the ground shortly after this picture was taken. But the Rose Parade lives on.
Bayard T. Smith, an eccentric life insurance and real estate agent, mortgaged his wife's property in San Francisco for $25,000 without her knowledge and disappeared. He was later found with Senator Fair Smith stocking a boat for a trip up the Colorado river. Supplies included $90 worth of whiskey and $8 worth of food for a party of 8 people including his girl friend. His wife, a daughter of Judge Hyde, was not pleased.
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