California Governors' Portraits and The East Pasadena Connection

The election (or is it re-election?) of Jerry Brown as governor has me thinking about the Governors' Gallery, which is the gallery of portraits of the 40-odd California Governors.   The Gallery lines the halls of the Capitol Building in Sacramento.  It is also viewable online.

Thoughts of the Governors' Gallery, of course, make me think of East Pasadena pioneer William Cogswell.

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We start with the official state portrait of  Governor Jerry Brown -- far and away the most unusual and controversial portrait in the Governors' Gallery.   Painted following Brown's eight year term ('75-'83), the portrait captures the then-young governor and probably also the reflective but anxious mood of the times. 

Actually, you could read a lot into this portrait.   But, one thing is for sure, the portrait is wildly different from any other portrait that hangs in the dignified halls of the Capitol Building. 

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As you might guess, the interior of the Capitol Building is a regal blend of marble, dark woods and deep colors.   The distinctiveness of the Brown portrait fairly well screams out from the otherwise subdued Capitol hallways.

Most of the portraits in the Governors' Gallery look similar to this portrait of Henry Haight, who served as Governor from 1867-71:

Or this portrait of Haight's predecessor, Governor Frederick Low (sporting the popular King Tut beard):

So, here's the East Pasadena connection.

The Haight and Low portraits were painted by East Pasadena pioneer and famous artist, William Cogswell.   In fact, Cogswell painted the portraits of many early California Governors.    

Seems that in the early days of statehood, no one thought to commission Governors' portraits.  That oversight was corrected in 1879 when the State Legislature selected Cogswell to paint the portraits of many former governors.  Cogswell was by then a California resident.  In 1873 he had purchased land east of Eaton Wash and north of present day Foothill Blvd. where he co-founded the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel.

In all, Cogswell painted nine Governors' portraits.  So, as you walk the Capitol hallways, about one quarter of the portraits in the Governors' Gallery were painted by East Pasadena pioneer William Cogswell.  

The Governors' Gallery is not the only place in the Capitol where you'll find Cogswell's work.   Cogswell was most noted for his portrait of President Abraham Linicoln.  Begun during Lincoln's presidency and finished posthumously, the portrait was selected as the official White House portrait of President Lincoln.  Over the years, the enterprising Cogswell was also known to paint a few replicas of his famous Lincoln portrait.    Though now mysteriously missing, one of Cogswell's Lincolns hung in Pasadena's public library.   Another of his Lincoln portraits found its way into the Capitol Building.  Since 1909,  Cogswell's portrait of Abraham Lincoln has hung over the California State Assembly Chamber behind the Speaker's podium.

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For more on Don Bachardy, who painted the Jerry Brown portrait, check out The Greatest Story Ever Told at Pasadena Adjacent.  .

Snow down to 500 feet?

San Gabriel Valley ca. 1890
Pasadena Cal: C.J. Randall
Courtesy of the California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento

The San Gabriel Mountains, our city's dominant scenic assets, are spectacular when snow capped. But, what if it snowed in the city too? I just heard on the radio that the snow level tomorrow might get down to 1,000 - 1,500 feet. Then, I read where snow might go down to 500 feet elevation.

This from Accuweather: "Snow is on tap for even some valleys of the L.A. Basin this weekend.... Saturday is when rain showers in the L.A. Basin are expected to start mixing with and changing to snow at elevations down to 1,000 to 1,500 feet. However, in a heavier shower Saturday afternoon or evening, snow could fall all the way down to areas at 500 feet in elevation, including some valleys."

So what is Pasadena's elevation? Well, the elevation at City Hall is 864 feet above sea level. But, elevations on the city's north-western and north-eastern edges exceed 1,000 feet. Will we get snow?

Update 8:20 am Saturday morning:   Heavy rain last night and this morning, but no sign of snow.  For now, mountains are covered in clouds.  We have intermittent sun.  Cable was down until moments ago.

From this morning's LA Times:  "The storm was expected to pass into Southern California around sunrise Saturday, bringing snow to levels as low as 1,500 feet. Snowflakes could fall on the the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Antelope and the Santa Clarita valleys, and in the higher elevations on the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley...  As for foothill communities like La Crescenta and Altadena, "absolutely, they'll be getting some snow for sure, at least a dusting of it," [meteorologist Curt] Kaplan said.

Update 9:30 am:    Had a blast of hail about an hour ago.  Usually the hail melts away when it hits the ground, but this stuff is staying and we have white drifts of hail around the yard and on the roof.  Being southern Californians, we naturally ran around outside while the hail fell.  I saw neighbors doing the same.   The white on the ground look like snow, but alas is hail. 

Blood Orange

Blood oranges are my current citrus favorite. I think I ate most of the fruit our small tree produced this year.

There is an East Pasadena connection to the blood orange. Abbot Kinney, who spent his first night here sleeping on the pool table of the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel, was known throughout the state for the blood oranges grown at his Kinneloa Ranch.

Over the Fence at Sunset

Roof tops, palm trees, some power lines, a few oaks and a January sky at sunset.

Sierra Madre Villa Metro Station

Sunrise from the bridge over the 210 to the Sierra Madre Villa Metro Station.

Friday morning I decided to take the Metro to Civic Center in downtown Los Angeles. It's a short drive to the Sierra Madre Villa Metro Station. The station, of course, is named after Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, which is named after the old Sierra Madre Villa Hotel.

Looking southeast from the station's platform.

The whole thing was very easy. Short drive to the station. Easy parking. Three bucks round trip. Transfer at Union Station from Gold Line to Red Line was really easy -- just follow the crowd of people. Saved $20 in parking. I'll do this more often.

2011 Rose Parade Presented by Honda - Business Big and Small

Here's the Honda float entry parked for post parade viewing at the intersection of Washington and Sierra Madre Blvds. Pasadena's dominant scenic asset, The San Gabriel Mountains, provide the majestic backdrop.

This was the first year of parade sponsorship. The official name of the parade and parade logo now include the name Honda. Though part of me recoils at the thought of more giant corporate sponsorship of anything, I suppose I can't really fault the venerable Tournament -- I'm sure Honda forked over a pretty penny for all that advertising.

And, after all, the Rose Parade is big business.

According to a USC Biz School study, Tournament of Roses events positively impact the economy to the tune of $178 million.

But, the Rose Parade is also small business.

The parade gives many local folks the chance to make a few extra bucks in their front yard. This table was set up in front of a house on Sierra Madre Blvd. where tens of thousands of people stroll by viewing the floats after the parade. Other people were selling stuff in front of their homes too -- water, juice, warm weather clothing, food. Parking you see everywhere. It is not unusual to see front yards packed with cars parked for a ten or twenty dollar bill.

This house on the corner of Sierra Madre Blvd. and Paloma (right at the end of the parade) turned their front yard into an outdoor restaurant.

Makes me want to go back for some homemade tamales.

By day's end, crowds of people were still walking on Sierra Madre Blvd. near the float viewing. New Years day in Pasadena is a long and fun day for visitors and locals alike.

This was the first time in many years I did not go to the parade. I was among the many locals working (kind of) during the parade and post parade. My son and I were out this morning helping our boy scout troop raise funds by parking cars. So, this year I saw the flyover (why was the B2 flying so high this year?) and watched a little of Bob and Stephanie on Channel 5. But, I didn't get to do the photos and commentary I enjoyed doing for the 2010 and 2009 parades. Late today, I made up for missing the parade by walking along Sierra Madre Blvd. to view the floats.

Hastings Ranch Christmas Lights

Merry Christmas from East Pasadena. Rain delayed our annual tour of the Hastings Ranch neighborhood. But, earlier this week we had a chance to make the normal rounds. This display on Ranch Top Rd. was one of the religious theme winners.

Every year I marvel at the displays in Hastings Ranch. The displays themselves are fun. But, to me the most amazing thing about it is the show of neighborliness. There are 1100 homes in this neighborhood and, driving around, it looks like nearly all of them participate. Remarkable. Really, where else have you seen so many neighbors pulling together to present such a show?

They've done this since the 1950's. More than 50 years of neighbors coming together to put on Christmas displays. What a great tradition.

Upper Hastings Ranch (north of Sierra Madre Blvd.) was largely developed in the early 1950's. Modestly priced homes were offered on favorable terms and young families clamored to get in. According to longtime Ranch resident and current mayor, Kathy Gregg, the neighborhood was known as Rabbit Hill due to the number of children.

The folks of Rabbit Hill were a congenial bunch. With all the kids around, they started coordinating displays at Christmas time. Kathy says the whole thing got started with luminarias (paper bags and votive candles) lined up along parkways.

Turns out some in the neighborhood were Hollywood types and took things to the next level. Last year Pasadena Adjacent (I'm astonished at what they know over there) commented that set designers helped get the displays started. Apparently the designers' creativity combined with lots of community spirit to produce Christmas displays that were set up along the neighborhood's parkways. Wikipedia says the whole tradition was in place by 1957.