Program about History of Mt. Wilson Observatory

MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY UNDER THE LENS

AT ALTADENA HISTORICAL SOCIETY PROGRAM

Monday Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m.

Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Drive

Don't miss this talk about the history of the world-famous Mount Wilson Observatory at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 26 at the Altadena Historical Society by retired aerospace engineer Christopher Purcell, from the Mount Wilson Institute.

Charles St. John, Albert Einstein and Walther Mather
Mt. Wilson Observatory 1931

Founded by astronomer George Ellery Hale in 1904 with funding by the Carnegie Institution, the celestial observatory is located on top of 5,710-foot-high Mount Wilson, above Altadena in the San Gabriel Mountains. It was at the Mount Wilson Observatory that famous astronomer Edwin Hubble was able to prove that the universe extends beyond the Milky Way Galaxy, and to the subsequent view that the universe is actually expanding.

Speaker Chris Purcell spent nearly 40 years in the aerospace industry, much of it related to spacecraft launch, trajectory analysis, and orbital control.  He has a bachelor’s degree in astrophysics from UCLA and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from USC. He is a docent with the Mount Wilson Observatory, the non-profit organization that runs the observatory.  His talk will be accompanied by slides, and be followed by a question-and-answer session. The program is free and open to the public.

The Historical Society, with offices in the Community Center, is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and can be reached at (626) 797-8016.

Altadena Bicentennial Quilt on Permanent Display

It's taken 39 years, but finally, Altadena's bicentennial quilt is permanently displayed at archives. Thanks in part to a huge discount from Aarnun Gallery and Framing in Pasadena, we ordered a professional UV protected plexibox for the quilt. Last week it was installed and Mary Smeritsnig (below right)  who made a square depicting Farnsworth Park's Davies building was there for the very informal installation.  

Sara Carnahan and Mary Smeritsnigh reminisc

The Altadena Library and Friends Bicentennial Quilt is the handiwork of twenty eight women. Completed in 1976, the 6'x6' quilt features 36 blocks, each telling one part of the Altadena story.

Historic Echo Mt. Trail Sign Installed in Altadena Community Center Courtyard

Efforts by Altadena Historical Society and Los Angeles County staff have resulted in the installation of the historic Echo Mt. Trail signpost in the courtyard of Altadena Community Center - a project 12 years in the making. 

The concrete sign with an arrow pointing to the trail head was found by Altadenan Jack Stivers after the Mt. Lowe railway was discontinued and the tracks torn out in the early 1940s. Jack donated the signpost to AHS in 2003, with the wish that it be erected at the new Community Center, a Los Angeles County facility.  The sign remained in storage until AHS and the county recently renewed efforts to get the artifact installed.

Front row left to right: AHS president Jane Brackman,
Mackone Development superintendent Raymond Gonzalez, Community Center staff Lorraine Contreras and Community Center and Senior Center director Liliana Garcia 

Historian and Filmmaker Walter Dominguez to Speak in Altadena

La Pintoresca Hotel

La Pintoresca (The Painter Hotel), built and managed by Altadena's Painter family occupied the northeast  corner of North Fair Oaks and Washington in what we might call historic Altadena.  (The hotel was built before Pasadena annexed the area.)  The Painters were close friends with the Gambles and the hotel, like the Gamble House, was very up-to-date for its time.  

Hotel Pintoresca in 1895
The hotel was built in 1888
and destroyed by fire in 1912.

The hotel offered sweeping views of the snow capped San Gabriel range and was popular with tourists and well-heeled Pasadenans.

Sid Galley wrote in an article for the Pasadena Star-News:

"At an elevation of around 1,000 feet and in an era when trees were lacking, there must have been a splendid view from the [hotel's] veranda.  

The Pasadena Star reported on January 15, 1912: "With the exception of the north wing at the west end of the building, containing the kitchen, dining room and servants' quarters, Hotel Pasadena, formerly known as La Pintoresca, located at the corner of Washington Street and Fair Oaks Avenue, was completely destroyed by fire that started at 10:45 o'clock last night. The guests escaped without injury."  

Defective wiring was suspected as the cause of the fire but it started above the room of guest E. Tallman who had just left to catch a train and might have discarded a match when lighting a cigar.  

The fire department arrived soon and fought the fire for several hours. Bellboys ran through the halls alerting guests who grabbed jewelry and other possessions as they left. The jewelry of a few guests was lost in the fire.  

In an editorial, the Star wrote: "Destruction of property by fire is always particularly regrettable. But the burning of Hotel Pasadena, better known as La Pintoresca, is especially to be deplored, because of the aroma of early-day romance that clung to this landmark. Before it was La Pintoresca, it was known as the Painter Hotel, from the Messrs Painter who built it in 1888 and owned and conducted it until a few years ago. In the early youth of the city many a delightful banquet and social function was held within its walls. Perhaps no structure in Pasadena had more romantic memories and associations attached to it. "That there was no loss of life is cause for thankfulness."  

The hotel contained antique furniture brought to the hotel by "Hetty" Green, said to be the richest woman in the world, who was an investor in the hotel. One valuable chair that was saved had been made for Francis Scott Key of Star Spangled Banner fame."

Check out Ann Erdman's informative blog post about La Pintoresca that features these rare photos:

Today the lovely La Pintoresca Branch Library, built in 1930 and named after the hotel, is situated on a small piece of the original property.  

Artist Mildred Scott Townsend

Our friend Richard Bale who recently lectured about growing up in Altadena sent AHS this information on artist Mildred Scott Townsend.  She had a studio in the Highview Avenue neighborhood where Richard grew up.  He sent this information:

Mildred spent many of her
Altadena years painting in the San Gabriels.

Born in Illinois, September 13, 1897, Mildred Scott (Townsend) graduated from Northwestern University, studied at the Chicago Art Institute and did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin. In 1921 she married Elmer Scott Townsend. She suffered a tubercular hemorrhage in 1926, then travelled to Southern California where she entered a sanitarium in Monrovia. Her recovery over the next few years was successful. 

"Hasting's Ranch"

In 1935, the couple moved to the area permanently. Elmer Townsend established a clothing business in Pasadena. They purchased a home in Altadena at 2677 Highview Avenue where they had a multi-windowed studio built atop the single-story house. 

2677 Highview
The house has fallen into disrepair although
it looks like some renovation work just started.

The upper story room (noted by oval)
was added by the Townsends to serve
as Mildred's studio.

As her health continued to improve, Mildred became increasingly active in painting.  

"Sierra Vista"
During the 1940s Mildred camped
and painted in the High Sierras.

In 1953 she studied at the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, painting there and in Guanajuato. In the 1950s, through her studies with Richard Ruben, she moved strongly in to the abstract field. In 1958 she won the Pasadena Society of Artists McBride award and a first award with the Pasadena Art Festival. In 1959 she again won the McBride award and other firsts with the Woman Painters of the West. Between 1958 and 1964 her resume listed 16 awards. 

Mildred favored landscapes, working in
Altadena’s Millard and Eaton Canyons,
and Big Tujunga Canyon.

Mildred continued to paint after downsizing to a retirement home in Laguna Hills in 1971. She won a first award at the Laguna Hills Fall Show with a painting that was reproduced on the cover of the January 1973 edition of “Orange County Illustrated” magazine. She died January 29, 1985. 

Mildred in Laguna Hills, about 1970.
Note her painting "Hasting's Ranch"
is on wall to her right. 

Twenty-five of Mildred Scott Townsend’s abstracts, many of them award winners, are housed at the Bower Museum in Santa Ana.