Altadenablog and AltadenaPoint to be Archived at Historical Society

Altadena Historical Society seeking $800 in donations to archive altadenablog and AltadenaPoint

Gone but not to be forgotten,
the altadenablog and AltadenaPoint will be
available online at AHS

For over seven and a half years, the altadenablog and its successor AltadenaPoint have documented the news and views of Altadena and its residents. So the announcement that the digital newspaper was closing on April 10, 2015 filled us with regret.

While we will miss the daily posts, there is a silver lining. Editor and owner Tim Rutt has licensed his blogs to AHS for the public to access. All past posts of altadenablog and AltadenaPoint will be available soon on the AHS website. We are honored to be the recipients of this important  documentation of 21^st century Altadena. The sites will join the other news sources archived by AHS going back as far as 1929.

The Altadena Press
First edition
1929

To make a donation write "blog donation" on the message line and send your check to AHS, 730 E. Altadena Dr., Altadena CA 91001

It's Membership Month at AHS- Please Join

Remember to Renew! It's easy. You can do it online.
Thanks to all who've already sent in 2015 dues. We rely entirely on your tax-deductible membership and donations, so if you haven’t yet renewed or joined, we hope to hear from you soon. Here’s a reminder of what your contributions make possible:

A growing collection of documents, 
photos, artifacts and memorabilia:
Altadena's entry in 1912 Rose Parade

Volunteer Opportunities

New donations to the collection

Popular programs about places and
people in Altadena: Prof. Lowe and his
Mount Lowe Tourist Attraction

Rotating displays from our collection at
Webster's Community Pharmacy.
Don't miss this exhibit featuring photos
from then and now. It's up until July.

Research facilities at our office.
We'll research for you
or help you do it yourself.

Discounts on Altadena memorabilia and events:
Members can purchase reproductions
of these two orange crate labels for only $16.

You also get a blog with stories of Altadena's past and our semiannual newsletters that keeps you up to date with our activities.  

An annual family membership is $25, but please consider joining at the premium level this year to help AHS achieve its goals. Your $50 premium membership comes with a gift that includes California poppy seeds and a reproduction vintage post card featuring Altadena's famous poppy fields.

Your post card features this 1895 photo taken
at the corner of Lake and Woodbury, looking northwest,
today the location of St. Elizabeth's Church.

Join online. It's easy!

Or send your check to AHS, 730 E. Altadena Drive, Altadena 91001

Altadena Photography Exhibit Reception Saturday March 14

Stroll down memory lane with your neighbors and share stories of what it was like to grow up in Altadena in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Join AHS Saturday March 14 for a free reception 

Noon to 4 p.m.

Webster's Community Pharmacy 

2450 N. Lake Ave. 

We're celebrating "Altadena Then and Now", a photo exhibit that features the images of Altadena eccentric Leon Ricks. Leon documented parts of Altadena, in particular the north Lake Avenue area, for more than forty years.  Twenty of his early photos are on display next to photos of the same view today.

 "Everyone is invited to stop by, enjoy this fantastic exhibit of 40 photos and exchange their Altadena stories and memories," said Meredith Miller, Webster's Community Pharmacy co-owner.

The exhibit is courtesy of 

Altadena Historical Society

Photography Exhibit: Altadena, Then and Now

Don't miss this photography exhibit featuring the images of Altadena eccentric Leon Ricks. Leon documented Altadena between the 1960s and early 2000s. Twenty of his early photos are on display Feb 20 - July 20 in the gallery corridor at Webster's Community Pharmacy  (2450 N. Lake Avenue)  flanked by the same views today.  

Read Larry Wilson's Pasadena-Star News column about Ricks and the exhibit.

     In 2013 after Rick’s death, the Historical Society received 1,000 slides he had taken of Altadena intersections, buildings, streets and

Ricks in the 1960s

scenes.

     For the Webster’s exhibit, Altadena photographer and director Rod Holcomb cleaned the negatives and then returned to the sites of Ricks’ photos to record the same views today--taking special care to place telephone poles and other landmarks in exactly the same position.

     Ricks was socially awkward and had mannerisms that were eventually thought to be symptomatic of Asperger’s Syndrome. He photographed the same intersections numerous, identical times. He saved every page of the Los Angeles Times and the Pasadena Star-News, filling every room of his house to a depth of several feet.

Pacific Electric Substation #8 before restoration, 1970s

Pacific Electric Substation #8 today

     And he spent decades engrossed in reincarnation and parapsychology, especially his theory--which he called “The Pattern" - having to do with Altadena and the reincarnation of Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon.  

     Ricks was a good photographer and his views of Altadena will bring back a flood of memories for anyone who grew up here.

On Saturday March 14 from 12 to 4 p.m. Webster's Community Pharmacy will host a public reception celebrating the "Altadena Then and Now" photo exhibit mounted by the Historical Society in the store's east hallway gallery. Enjoy refreshments by Park Bench Grill. The store is at 2450 N. Lake Ave. "Everyone is invited to stop by, enjoy this fantastic exhibit of 40 photos and exchange their Altadena stories and memories," said Meredith Miller, Webster's Community Pharamacy co-owner.

Switzer Camp

(These photographs of Switzer Camp in the San Gabriels

are courtesy of a friend of Altadena Historical Society.)

Founded in 1884, Switzer Camp was the idea of Perry Switzer who lived in Pasadena and made his living as a carpenter. His arroyo rock village, one of many privately owned attractions that dotted the front range of the San Gabriel mountains, hosted outdoor enthusiasts who hiked from one lodge to the next.

Inside the lodge

In 1896 Switzer Camp was destroyed by forest fire. In 1905, when the camp was rebuilt the name was changed to Camp Losa-Dena (a combination of Los Angeles and Altadena).  It changed hands again in 1911, and was renamed Switzer-Land.  The chapel, perched precariously above the falls, was built after 1911.

The chapel, built from canyon arroyo rock, 
had a piano, bell tower and stained 
glass window. It held 200 people.

Today all that remains of Switzer Camp are the chapel's arches and the overgrown foundation of the lodge. Hikers can access the shady canyon and falls area from Angeles Crest Highway (CA 2).

View from the chapel

To see all 46 photos go to this link.

Altadena's James McFadden House

James McFadden, who founded Balboa Island and Newport Beach in the 1860s, built Villa Mara on the northwest corner of Altadena Drive and Holliston. The prairie-style estate was built in 1913 for $70,000.  

The McFadden family sold the property to "South American Doctor" Dr. and Mrs. J. S. Passeron of Buenos Aires.  It was listed in the real estate section of The Altadenan June 30 1938.  

"…Sale of the well known Jennie E. McFadden estate, a large two story semi-Colonial stucco [house] consisting of more than an acre of beautiful landscaped grounds with many rare ornamental trees and shrubs adorning the place." 

Villa Mara Today

Read more about Villa Mara