History of Pasadena, California

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In 1873, Wilson was visited by one Dr. Daniel M. Berry of Indiana who was looking for a place in the country that could offer better climate to his patients, most of whom suffered from tuberculosis . Berry was an asthmatic and claimed that he had his best three nights sleep at Rancho San Pascual.^{[citation needed]} To keep the find a secret, Berry code-named the area "Muscat" after the grape that Wilson grew. To raise funds to bring the company of people to San Pascual, Berry formed the Southern California Orange and Citrus Growers Association for which he sold stock.^{[citation needed]} The newcomers were able to purchase a large portion of the property along the Arroyo Seco and on January 31, 1874, they incorporated the Indiana Colony. As a gesture of good will, Wilson added 2,000 acres (8 km²) of then useless highland property, part of which would become Altadena.

At the time, the Indiana Colony was a narrow strip of land between the Arroyo Seco and Fair Oaks Avenue. On the other side of the street was Wilson's Lake Vineyard development. After more than a decade of parallel development on both sides, the two settlements merged into the City of Pasadena.^{[citation needed]}

Origin of name

Prior to the 1890s, the mail was delivered to the Indiana Colony via Los Angeles. In an attempt to obtain their own post office, the Colony needed to change its name to something the Postmaster General considered appropriate. To this end the town fathers put three names up to a vote. The first was "Indianola," the second was "Granada," in keeping with the area's Spanish heritage. The third name was proposed by Dr. Thomas Elliott, who had contacted a missionary friend in Michigan who had worked with the

In 1892, John H. Burnett of Galveston, Texas, visited Pasadena. After returning home, Burnett plotted a town along two bayous, with its similar lush vegetation, naming it Pasadena, after the California city.^[5] Pasadena is one of two large cities in the area that shares its name with another large American city. (See Glendale, California and Glendale, Arizona)

Pasadena as a resort town (1886–1941)

The popularity of the region drew people from across the country, and Pasadena eventually became a stop on the

The first of the great hotels to be established in Pasadena was the Raymond (1886) atop Bacon Hill, renamed Raymond Hill after construction. The original Mansard Victorian 200 room facility burned down on Easter morning of 1895 and was not rebuilt until 1903. It was razed during the Great Depression to make way for residential development. The Maryland Hotel existed from the early 1900s and was demolished in 1937 to make way for the Pasadena branch of the Broadway Department Store.^[8] The world-famous Mount Lowe Railway and associated mountain hotels shut down four years later due to fire damage. Three hotel structures have survived, the Green Hotel (a co-op since 1926), the Vista Del Arroyo (now used as a Federal courthouse), and a residential tower of the Maryland at 80 North Euclid Avenue (a co-op since 1953).^[9]

Hotel Green

The Hotel Green started construction on South Raymond Avenue at Kansas Street in 1887 by Edward C. Webster who was unable to finish it. Colonel George Gill Green, a wealthy patent medicine distributor from New Jersey, finished the six story edifice in 1888. In 1898 he finished construction on a second building on the west side of Raymond and connected the two buildings with a bridge and a tunnel. The patrons arrived by train at the adjacent station. In 1902, the hotel was extended to the P.G. Wooster building at the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Green Street. In 1924, the hotel became a private residence. The original 1888 structure was later razed to its first story and sold. It is currently occupied by STATS Floral Supply. In 1970, the two wings of the remaining hotel were partitioned creating two separate buildings. The 1898 section remained the private residence now called the Castle Green. The 1902 portion was taken over by the government's HUD program for senior residents and disabled persons, and is called the Green Hotel. In 1929, Kansas Street was widened and renamed Green Street.

Vista del Arroyo

The

The Second District and the Pasadena Depot became well known by the many transcontinental passenger trains that it served. Historically, up to 26 passenger trains went through Pasadena every day. In order to avoid the media in Los Angeles, many celebrities chose to use Pasadena as their main train station, bringing to it an ambience and legacy of the glamour of old Hollywood.[11]

Craftsman era (1890s–1930s)

The American Craftsman era in art and design is exceptionally well represented in Pasadena. In architecture Greene and Greene, the Green Brothers firm, developed the style with many residences still existing. Two examples of their Ultimate bungalow versions are the masterpiece Gamble House (public tours),^[12] and the Robert R. Blacker House (private). Both are designated California Historical Landmarks and on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Busch Gardens

The

• Hahamongna and Hahamog'na – local Tongva-Gabrieleño history
• List of ranchos of California
• Ranchos of California
• California Art Club

References

Further reading

• Reid, Hiram A. (1895) History of Pasadena: comprising an account of the native Indian, the early Spanish, the Mexican, the American, the colony, and the incorporated city . Pasadena, Calif.: Pasadena Historical Co. The Internet Archive
• Laughlin-Schultz, Bonnie (Fall 2015). "'How John Brown Smashed the Whisky Barrel': John Brown's Children in Southern California and Memory of the American Civil War".
  California History
  . 92 (3): 16–36 – via JSTOR.
• "Once Viewed as a ‘Metaphor of America,’ Pasadena Now Adjusts to Modern World" archived.

External links

• "Early Views of Pasadena" at
  The Wayback Machine
• "Vistas de Pasadena" at The Internet Archive