San Gabriel Mountain Throughway

There has been a lot of talk about the extension of the 710 into Pasadena lately.  The idea of connecting the San Gabriel Valley with the Antelope Valley in a direct route has been thought about since at least the 1920's.

Various proposals have been floated, one of which was to build a tunnel under the San Gabriels and extend Los Angeles Freeways to the north, opening up the Antelope Valley to urban sprawl just as happened in the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valley.

We are lucky in Pasadena and Altadena that the San Gabriel Mountains form such an impenetrable barrier.  If it was more practical, Lake, Fair Oaks and/or Lincoln Avenues would have become multi-lane highways into the new Los Angeles suburb of Antelope Valley.

Fortunately, for the moment at least, our neighborhoods are spared the problems of being the feeder system through Pasadena and Altadena to another sprawling suburban valley.  Thank goodness for the San Gabriel Mountains and the dead ends at the top of Lake, Fair Oaks and Lincoln Avenues!!! 

This rendering was found recently at a local fleamarket and shows what was being proposed back in the early 1950's when the expansion of suburbia was on the mind of Los Angeles.....

Altadena Golf Gardens, 2556 North Lake Avenue, Altadena, California

Miniature Golf De Luxe, You are cordially invited to OUR OPENING, Wednesday Evening, Aug. 27 (1930), Of Altadena's first Fine Miniature Golf Course at North Lake Avenue and Foothill Boulevard,
Altadena Golf Gardens
An orchestra will furnish music which will be broadcast to all parts of the grounds through Michael's public address system, FREE PARKING, For patrons of the course at all times.

Michael's was the road house directly below the entrance to the miniature golf course and after the golf course closed down about 1932, Michael's, and later the Venetian Dining Room and Gardens used the previous golf course area as an outdoor dining area, filling in the depressed nine hole fairways with ornamental scored red colored concrete.  All exists in fine condition today, with night lighting still in position and all the lava rock and other ornamental features such as a small California mission ball trap still extant.

A reopened miniature golf course along with a rejuvenated road house serving Michael's fine steaks is just what we need to reactivate the top of Lake!  Perhaps the community would be interested in helping the present property owner, a church, turn the property into a thriving, money making local business which could be a community gathering place, as Michael's and the Venetian Gardens were back in the day.  From old reports we know that the many Altadena civic groups gathered for the meetings and luncheons at Michael's, later at the Venetian Dining Room and Gardens.  My mouth is watering for a fine steak and my palms are itching for a good round of local minature golf, right in my own backyard!  And there is plenty of onsite parking to satisfy any county requirements, parking that goes unused most of the week....................