Altadena's Notable Residents - Mabel Normand

In 1922, silent film screen actress and comedian Mabel Normand  (1892-1930) lived in Altadena, residing in a house on Foothill Blvd (now Altadena Drive).

1917

Normand began her film career making a name for herself in slapstick comedy. She helped Mack Sennett launch Keystone Studios where they produced Keystone Cop comedies. Normand also wrote and directed many of Charlie Chaplin's earliest shorts, often acting in them as well. In 1916, she opened her own production company and studio.

Historian Michele Zack to Speak at Altadena Historical Society October 24, 2016

THEY CAME FOR THEIR HEALTH 

October Program Focuses on Illness as

A Southern California Immigration Driver

Historian Michele Zack will speak on illness as a Southern California immigration driver at the 7:30 Monday Oct. 24 program of the Altadena Historical Society.

Exhibit at AHS Showcases 51 Accomplished Altadena Residents

FIFTY ONE FAMOUS AND FASCINATING ALTADENANS

New Exhibit at Altadena Historical Society Showcases Scores of Accomplished Altadenans Then and Now

Fifty famous and fascinating Altadenans--movie stars, artists, authors, scientists, athletes and more--are highlighted in a new exhibit at the Altadena Historical Society.

“We’ve had great fun researching and producing this exhibit,” said Jane Brackman, Society president.  “The trouble has been choosing those to include, as we have far more than our gallery can accommodate.”

The show--which opens Monday Oct. 3--is in both the Historical Society’s gallery and in the lobby of the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Drive, just west of the Sheriff’s Station.

It is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and by appointment for groups and others, (626) 797-8016.  It is free of charge, but donations toward the Society’s work are welcomed.

“Many of the people featured are our current neighbors and gave their kind permission for us to include them, while others have passed on,” Brackman said.  “In fact, we didn’t include several Altadena residents who are major stars in their fields, but cherish the privacy they have by living here.“

Current or former Altadenans included in the new exhibit include:

*The Smothers Brothers.  Singers, musicians, comedians and television stars; as boys, Tom and Dick Smothers lived with relatives on Santa Anita Avenue.

*Noted contemporary authors Miles Corwin, Naomi Hirahara, Jervey Tervalon and Michelle Huneven; deceased best-seller Zane Grey.

*Entrepreneur Horace Dobbins.  Dobbins proposed an elevated bikeway between Pasadena and Los Angeles, some of which was built.  His beautiful and innovative home was near the top of Lincoln Avenue.

*Tennis great Stan Smith, who trained at the Altadena Town and Country Club, winner of the 1971 U.S. Open and 1972 Wimbledon, and LPGA golfer Mo Martin, winner of the 2014 Women’s British Open.

*Mary Colter.  One of America’s first and most celebrated female architects, designing and overseeing construction of iconic tourist attractions and hotels at the Grand Canyon and throughout the Southwest. 

*Famed seismologist Charles Richter; legendary astronomer George Ellery Hale; and brilliant physicist, exuberant adventurer and best-selling author Richard Feynman.

*Octavia Butler.  A science fiction writer who received a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant in 1995 and was a PEN Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Butler’s work is still selling.

*Johnny Otis. Called “The King of Rock and Roll” and “Godfather of Rhythm and Blues,” he was a singer, musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, talent scout, disk jockey, record producer, television show host, artist, author, journalist, minister and impresario.

Society President Jane Brackman said the most frequent comments overheard from people viewing the exhibit are “No kidding!,” “Oh, really!!,” and “Come look at this!,” which is her invitation to the public: “Come look at this!”

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The Altadena Historical Society was founded in 1935 and is a tax-exempt non-profit whose mission is to gather, preserve and present information about the people, places and events that have shaped the community.

Tim Rutt's altadenablog now accessible through AHS home page

They may say "Old news is no news," 

but here at archives we believe old news is priceless.

Altadena Historical Society has successfully archived Tim Rutt's award winning altadenablog, Altadena's local news source that ran September 2007 through January 2014. Additionally, we're almost ready to launch Tim's Altadena Point published January 2014 to April 10 2015.

JR Coffee Shop - An Altadena Icon

Although this little pie-shaped building on North Lake Avenue has served as a real estate office and seen its share of struggling restaurants, in the 1960s it was the successful "J.R. Coffee Shop". The diner was one of three restaurants that made up a small chain called "The Headliner" on Pasadena's Colorado Street between the old Star-News building (hence the name) and the Presbyterian Church. 

Matchbook Cover

A second restaurant was located on the southeast corner of Altadena Drive and Washington where McDonald's is currently located. And the smallest in the chain was in Altadena - thus the Junior moniker. (Some locals refer to the diner by its initials, J.R.)

A long time Altadena resident said "It was a hamburger, fries and milk-shake kind of place, much like Bob's Big Boy. I ate there often with my family. It was so nice to have a local diner."

Today it's the location of the popular restaurant, El Patron.

Altadena's Building Boom

This photo is from our archives. The workers are posing with horse-drawn road grading equipment.

The street sign says Piedmont and Glen Avenue.  Piedmont was renamed Foothill, and finally Altadena Drive.

The citrus orchard was being graded for the Orange Blossom Homes subdivision.

If you go north on Glen Avenue from Altadena Drive, the houses on the street are part of the Janes' development, built after World War One. Glen Avenue is a few blocks east of Lincoln.

Below is a photo of the same shot as it appears today.

2016

Circa 1920s