Computer Upgrade at Altadena Historical Society

We're upgrading our computers at archives, so all time is dedicated to scratching our heads.

THE ENIAC
(Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

Look for a more thoughtful post next Monday!

Altadena's McClintock House

The house at 1050 E. Mariposa may be the most historically important house in Altadena because, except for the chimney and roof, it has never been remodeled or restored. Sometimes the best preservation is no preservation at all. 

 "Thatch Cottage" designed by Elmer Grey, 1911
The original roof shingles were woven together 
very closely and irregularly to give 
the texture of a thatched roof.

The original roof is no longer visible.
Today the house is called the McClintock House

When Mrs. Effie Neustadt hired Pasadena architect, Elmer Grey, to design her home on the southwest corner of Mariposa St. and Maiden Lane, she was over 70 years old and restricted to a wheelchair.  The 12 room, super-sized English country cottage, with its sweeping mountain and valley views, was made accessible to the new resident by large bay windows and covered porches.  The upstairs master bedroom had an adjoining room for a nurse-companion as well as access to a sewing room and a screened area that could be used as an outdoor living room.

Formal gardens surrounding the McClintock 
house extended south to Marcheta Street

Effie died only four years after she moved into the house. Duluth, Minnesota attorney John McClintock and his wife purchased the property for $28,000 in 1915, and lived there until 1962.  Since then, only two other people have owned the property.

View of the house from the back,
looking north, about 1920

The architectural magazine The House Beautiful featured the home in a 1923 article: "The whole country where the house stands sloes very steeply from the north to the south; the result was that the house had to be placed considerably below the main street. This meant that the roof would be more nearly on a level with the eye of a person standing in the street that is usually the case; since, therefore, it would be the most conspicuous part of the house, the imitation thatched-roof effect was adopted to make this broad expanse more interesting." 

Today - view of east wing
from Holliston

Mt. Lowe Post Card Exhibit at Websters Community Pharmacy

Don't miss Altadena Historical Society's newest exhibit at Websters Community Pharmacy, 2450 N. Lake Ave., Altadena. It includes an overview of the Mt. Lowe Railway told in vintage postcards.

The Mt. Lowe Railroad was set amid the spectacular beauty of the San Gabriel mountain range, about 2000 feet above Altadena. The vision of entrepreneur Thaddeus S. C. Lowe and civil engineer David J. McPherson, it was one of the most amazing engineering marvels ever built.  Opened in 1893, the attraction featured seven miles of track and four hotels with tourists boarding the train in Altadena at the northwest corner of Lake and Calaveras. 

A trolley extended up Lake, then curved at what is now Dolores Street then on to the mouth of Rubio Canyon.

The train cut through the Poppy Fields tract,
going east on Dolores and chugging up
what is today Mt. Lowe Parkway.

A cable car funicular climbed a 59 degree incline to the top of Echo Mt. promontory, where passengers disembarked to enjoy breathtaking views of the valleys below, stay at one of two hotels, or board a narrow gauge railroad that took them on a four mile ride to Alpine Tavern. 

The Incline carried millions of people
up the mountain during the attracts 36 years

Beginning in 1900, just seven years after the attraction opened, fires, floods, high winds and rockslides destroyed one building after another. By the mid 1930s all the structures were gone and in 1938 the railway was officially abandoned. 

A fire in the San Gabrials similar
to those that destroyed the Mt. Lowe
resorts.

Today only a few foundations and artifacts are left for hikers, railroad buffs and history lovers to enjoy. 

The cogwheel still greets
hikers who take the Sam Merill trail to
the top of Echo Mountain

Altadena's Sagemont Estate, Home of Paul Johnson

 Altadenan Paul F. Johnson (1874-1946) “made a name [and his fortune] in the realm of temperature regulation, the Johnson system being one of the best known in the country, and the company has offices in nearly every large city in the world.”   Johnson’s father “invented thermostat heat control but his son invented perfections of it, including important adjustments"(Pasadena Star News, November 14, 1917).  

Johnson built his dream home, Sagemont, in Altadena, on 14 acres near the corner of Maiden Lane and Rubio Canyon Rd.

Paul Johnson's Altadena estate, Sagemont
Photo from Altadena the Beautiful, published by the
Altadena Chamber of Commerce in 1926.

Johnson also participated in early experiments in radio.  “He owned the first wireless [radio] station west of the Atlantic Coast … and later owned and operated a small station, KGO, in Altadena.” (Pasadena Star News, March 21, 1946) Johnson set up KGO in 1922 and operated it from Sagemont, located, according to a 1917 issue of the Pasadena Star News, “about as close to the Mount Lowe incline as it is possible to get.”    

The driveway gates are all that remain of Sagemont, along with giant trees that still shade the site of the historic “ranch,” now dotted with an array of mid-century homes.

Sagemont's original entry
 with gates today.

Johnson built another house, still standing at the corner of Maiden Lane and Dolores Road, for his son Seymour Johnson, who subdivided the property sometime after 1934.  The house was purchased and restored a few years ago.

Seymour Johnson house today.

Another view of Sagemont with
Johnson's yacht

Farnsworth Park's Davies Building

Built in the early 1930s by unemployed Altadenans under the flag of the Works Progress Administration [WPA], the Davies Memorial Building was named in honor of Altadena booster William D.  Davies. 

Photo taken during construction.
The building was completed in 1934.

The rustic lodge-like two story structure, built with native cobblestone, cost about $50,000.  

Postcard of the Davies Building
shows grass lawn, before the 
amphitheater was built.

In recognition for its role in recreation and architecture, the Davies Building was placed on the National Register in 1997. It is one of ten registered properties in Altadena. To see the others, go to the AHS website. 

The building today -except for 
outdoor seating and a stage, 
not much has changed.

The Davies Building is located in 
Farnsworth Park, near the top of 
Lake Avenue, at Concha St.  

The Sheriff Support Group's concert series takes place every Saturday in the summer at the amphiteater located on the south side of the building. Concerts start at 7:00 PM. Admission is free.  It doesn't get any more small town that this.  

Bakery in Altadena 1939

In the 800 block of Mariposa, next to the hardware store perhaps where Steve's Bike is now, the Hygienic Home Bakery prepared fresh baked goods. It was a regular stop for children walking home from Altadena Elementary School.  This photo, from The Altadenan newspaper, was taken in 1939.