Acacia Inn of Pasadena, 811 East Washington Blvd.

Acacia Inn of Pasadena - An Exclusive Residence for the Retired, 811 East Washington Blvd., SYcamore 4-1131, All Private Rooms with Baths and Patios, Delicious Meals, Daily Maid Service, Nurse for Emergencies, Monthly Rates - BROCHURE ON REQUEST

This postcard is from about 1958, notice the brilliant blue sky, and the note on the back "Where I live, Oats." The Acacia Inn is now the Arbor Vista and they unfortunately destroyed their historic neon sign recently, although they did use the original frame for their new sign.

Lake Washington Village looked almost like a resort town in the old photographs. I like the copy "An Exclusive Residence for the Retired", and it's true that a movie theater, drug store, soda fountain, dime store, bank, beauty parlor, restaurant, park with tennnis courts and other amenities were only 5 minutes or less by foot away.

Hopefully, in our old age we will have things so nice and easy.

By the way, take a look at Cafe Pasadena's Pasadena History posts. Then and now, they're great: http://cafepasadena.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/pasadena-history-corner/

White House Country Store, 188 S. Lake Avenue, Pasadena, Oak Knoll Shopping District

This postcard is probably from the late 1930's, when Lake Avenue south of Colorado was known as the Oak Knoll Shopping District and was served by the Pacific Electric Streetcars.

As you probably know, Lake Avenue turns into Oak Knoll Avenue south of California Boulevard, with a few shops still south of California, such as the very old French Laundry and the former Jurgensens Market, now Fresh and Easy. The stretch north of California to about Green Street was made up of residential dwellings, many converted by the 1930's into retail establishments, similar to what is seen on North Lake north of the freeway today going up into Altadena.

South Lake remained nearly only residential structures, with restaurants and retail in some, until 1947 when the fashionable Bullocks Department Store was built just south of Del Mar. With the opening of Bullocks, more and more purpose built retail came to South Lake, such as I. Magnin moving from their beautiful Beaux Arts Style Colorado and Madison shop location to a new Streamline Moderne Style building just south of Bullocks, this in 1949.

Still, South Lake had many old homes hosting retail and dining up until the 1960's, when the Union Bank project between Cordova and Del Mar was built, spelling the demise of the charming Oak Knoll Shopping District and ushering in the upscale South Lake Shopping District.

A Japanese Florist managed to survive in a Victorian Style home just south of Wells Fargo Bank up until the 1990's, when it was demolished and replaced with a modern building. The Magnolia Lounge Speakeasy Bar just south of the Mobil Station, 492 South Lake, is located in a bungalow which has survived, well worth a visit. Another large home survives in the middle of the block on the east side at 142 South Lake, the present home of the Williams-Sonoma store.

The White House Country Store looks so inviting with its old wagons in front and promise of antiques. What antiques may have been available in 1939? Perhaps a Wells Fargo strongbox or an 1849 gold panning dish? One can only imagine.

John R. MacDonald, President, Lake Washington Association, 1958

Once upon a time, Lake Washington Village was a happening place. The time period from the 1920's through the 1960's found the area with a very active and engaged business association, which organized many events. The trouble brewing in Europe from the 1930's and its aftermath post 1945 brought many European immigrants to the area, particularly from Germany, as was also the case in Montrose and La Crescenta.

Many German immigrants were learned craftsman and left their mark on the homes in the area. Also, many were involved with the Hollywood film studios in one capacity or another. The previous owner of my home was an accountant for Pathe Studios in Hollywood.

Many events were put on by the Lake Washington Business Association during these years, such as " Moonlight Madness " sales, cooking classes at the Washington Theatre, and evening street dance and music festivals featuring German Oompah-pah music and polka dancing.

This 1950's desk lamp was found at a local antique mall, with an engraved brass plaque dedicated to " John R. MacDonald, President, Lake Washington Association, 1958 ." Remember when they used to meet at the restaurant on Washington Blvd. just east of Lake?

Pasadena Streetcar Plan - From the January 22, 2011 Regional Transportation Forum

Here is the map of the tentative first stage route of the proposed Pasadena Streetcar System, presented by the Pasadena Department of Transportation at the January 22, 2011 Regional Transportation Forum held in Pasadena.

Trolleys on tracks would run east on Green Street from Pasadena Avenue in Old Pasadena to Lake Avenue, eventually continuing in the next phase to Hill Street and Pasadena City College, and then turn north to Union Street and run west back to Pasadena Avenue completing the loop. There would also be a spur serving South Lake Avenue to California Boulevard, eventually in the next phase linking to CalTech.

This is no doubt the future, with an increased emphasis on public transportation and a deemphasis on cars and busses. Hopefully, when this recession is over, we can find a way to pay for this and a greater regional trolley systen which would also link up Altadena and boost tourism to our mountains from the Altadena/North Pasadena Portal.

I wrote about this previously on Avenue to the Sky on August 5, 2009.

The Marcell Inn - Altadena's Famous Speakeasy Club, 2900 Lincoln Avenue

The Marcell Inn opened in 1922 on Lincoln Avenue and was very popular with the Hollywood crowd, bootleg alcohol being served along with fine French food, and all that was necessary to find the out-of-the-way location was to look for the searchlight beacon mounted on a tower on the roof of the Inn. Altadena Drive back then was called North Foothill Boulevard, and was used as a major east-west thoroughfare, so most folks could see the beacon coming from either direction without too much trouble.

The story was, during Prohibition, that if you needed to find the Altadena Sheriff, just look for his car in the parking lot of the Marcell Inn first, as usually he hung out there as his unofficial office. Apparently, he was good pals with the owner, Joe Marcell Annechini. However, the local cops weren't able to help Joe on November 12, 1923, when the Feds busted him and nine others, after showing up unexpectedly and a full house of 300 headed for the hills. The L.A. Times story doesn't say if the Altadena Sheriff got hauled in, too, but back in those days law enforcement usually gave other law enforcement a free pass. Joe posted $2000 bond and could go home.

The Marcell Inn was written up at the time in the 1930's as a great place to go and get excellent cuisine. It was also popular with the Santa Anita horse racing set when California allowed horse racing again in 1933 at the same time Prohibition was ended.

However, the Marcell Inn was just too out of the way as the Depression dragged on and it was out of business and sold in 1937. For a number of years the Mt. Lowe Military Academy used the buildings and grounds for their school, and now the grounds, the buildings being long since demolished, are the location of a community garden, with only the front gate stone columns and ornamental ironwork still surviving to be seen on West Palm Street just east of Lincoln Avenue.

Lake Pasadena Adjacent - The View from Linda Vista Avenue in the 1920's

The View from Linda Vista Avenue, Circa 1929, attributed to Orrin A. White, Oil on Board, Courtesy of the Armitrading Foundation

As promised, here is another oil painting in the collection, looking north on Linda Vista Avenue towards Lake Pasadena and the San Gabriels with what I believe is Orrin White's house, located now at 1860 Linda Vista Avenue.

The above oil painting featuring the Flintridge Biltmore Hotel Hill and the San Gabriel Mountain peaks was possibly painted by Orrin A. White, a local Arroyo painter who lived just below the hotel at what was then 1205 Linda Vista Road in a Spanish Hacienda designed by noted local architect Garret Van Pelt. The artist's signature may be hidden by the frame, which I have not yet removed from the painting, but the style seems to be similar to White's and the structure featured seems to he his house, at least this is the oldest remaining house in the area, built in 1921. http://www.zillow.com/homes/1860-linda-vista-avenue,-pasadena,-ca_rb/

Over the years, as an area is built up, addresses change to reflect the growing number of individual lots. In 1921, this area was relatively sparsely populated, and White's house was on a curve on the western edge of the Arroyo, giving him a commanding view north to the mountains and south of the Arroyo.

At one time, Linda Vista Avenue was proposed to be part of a major north south boulevard, the "Proposed Boulevard from the Mountains to the Sea" (Plan of the Los Angeles Park Commission, 1912). More on that in the future.

Lake Pasadena to Return - Devil's Gate Dam Will Replenish the Aquifer in the Hahamongna Basin as Originally Intended

Lake Pasadena and the Flintridge Biltmore Hotel from Linda Vista Peak, by Orrin A. White, Courtesy of the Armitrading FoundationLake Pasadena to Return - Devil's Gate Dam Will Replenish the Aquifer in the Hahamongna Basin as Originally Intended!

I'm looking at the Hahamongna Watershed Park Master Plan on the City's Website:http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/publicworks/PNR/ArroyoSeco/pdfFiles/Hahamongna%20Watershed%20Park%20Master%20Plan/Hahamongna%20FULL%20DOC.pdfand I see in 1978, "the Division of Safe Operation of Dams (DSOD) imposed an operational restriction on Devil's Gate Dam and officially declared the dam seismically unsafe. These actions were taken in part due to the 1971 Sylmar earthquake."and in Jan. 1996, "the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW) began the seismic strengthening and spillway modification to Devil's Gate Dam. This project was completed in the winter of 1998."So it seems we need to ask our public officials to look into retaining more Arroyo Seco stream runoff to keep water behind the dam, which it is designed and rehabilitated to do, in order to increase the replenishment of the Raymond aquifer. I have contacted Brad Bowman, Engineering Manager at Pasadena Water and Power to ask for his help in looking into this matter.

Apparently our wish has been granted and we can get Lake Pasadena back for a major portion of the year and it can function as originally intended!

This from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works:

Devil's Gate Dam and Reservoir Post Fire Sediment Removal Project

The 2009 Station Fire was the 10th largest fire in California since 1933 and burned over 160,000 acres before containment. The fire burned nearly 100% of the undeveloped watershed tributary to Devil's Gate Dam and Reservoir, leaving vast areas of the San Gabriel Mountains denuded and sediment deposition inevitable. The 2009-2010 Storm Season brought in approximately 936,000 cubic yards of postfire debris and more is expected in the upcoming years. Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is planning a major sediment removal project for Devil's Gate Reservoir to remove the accumulated sediment and make room for future sedimentation that will undoubtedly occur. Construction is expected to begin as early as September 2011 and final details of this project are still under consideration.

The following presentation was presented to the City of Pasadena Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee on November 30,2010.

HWPAC Presentation

Click here For the PDF version of the presentation.

The above oil painting featuring Lake Pasadena, the Flintridge Biltmore Hotel and the San Gabriel Mountain peaks was painted by Orrin A. White, a local Arroyo painter who lived just below the hotel at 1205 Linda Vista Road in a Spanish Hacienda designed by noted local architect Garret Van Pelt. In an upcoming post I will feature a painting of White's home with the San Gabriels as a backdrop.

For more on the Myron Hunt designed Flintridge Biltmore, which still exists, please go to this link: http://www.fsha.org/podium/default.aspx?t=118031 It's a beautiful site to visit and also has a bridge similar to the Picture Bridge at the Huntington Hotel in the Oak Knoll District of Pasadena. There are many hiking and equestrian trails surrounding the Flintridge Biltmore, connecting it with the natural landscape in many directions. This is not to be missed and is as nice as any Santa Barbara or Ojai resort! Such outstanding vistas!

So the restoration of Lake Pasadena will help us solve our water woes in the area and make us less dependent on imported water supplies. This is a very good thing! I'm looking forward to the historic restored vista shown to us by Orrin White's painting of Lake Pasadena!

After the tremendous rainfall of the last week, the possibilities of recharging our local aquifer below Hahamongna look promising! Happy New Year to All!