Anonymous Comment Leads to New Information About Pasadena's Lost Lincoln Portrait

President Abraham Lincoln by William F. Cogswell
White House Historical Association (White House Collection)

Three years ago I posted a short biography of East Pasadena pioneer and famous artist, William F. Cogswell.   I followed that with a post titled Mystery of the Missing Lincoln Portrait.  You see, Cogswell had bestowed upon the City of Pasadena a replica of his most famous work -- the official White House portrait of President Abraham Lincoln -- but the City had somehow lost the painting.   Just what happened to the painting is a mystery.  

Since the post, I've pursued the mystery with others.   Sure, some know about the missing Lincoln portrait.  But, no one has any theories about what happened.
 

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received an anonymous comment to my three-year old post.   Anonymous reported that the Albion Castle in San Francisco has a replica of Cogswell's famous Lincoln portrait.   Turns out Anonymous is right.   I found photos of the Lincoln portrait hanging in the Albion Castle at flicker and foundsf.   And, the portrait sure seems like a replica of the White House original (above).  

The Albion Castle was home to a less than successful brewery and seems an odd place for a Lincoln portrait.  Could  this be Pasadena's missing Lincoln?  Anonymous -- What do you think?

******************************************

I reviewed my records and poked around the Internet to see if I could learn anything new about Cogswell's Lincoln portraits.   How many replicas were out there?  Certainly Cogswell was an enterprising guy and I knew he painted replicas of his famous Lincoln portrait for the Hawaiian Royal Palace, the California State Legislature and City of Pasadena.   Were there more?
  

It is hard to know how many Lincoln replicas Cogswell painted.   The Pasadena PL has a 1961 letter from the Library of Congress stating that there were no records of Cogswell's Lincoln portraits.   A 1932 LA Times article stated, without source, that Cogswell painted 13 Lincoln replicas for states and three additional replicas for individuals.   But, I doubt the report.   If there were really 16 replicas, it seems like I could locate more than three with a basic Internet search.   Plus, Cogswell was a busy guy.  Seems unlikely he would take time to do 16 replicas.      

***************************************

So, is Pasadena's Lincoln hanging in the Albion Castle?   Yeah, I'd like to know how the castle acquired the painting.  It could be our painting.

But, it is going to be hard for Pasadena to point much of an accusing finger.   You see, Pasadena has a pretty strong track record of misplacing this painting.

We know from Cogswell's obituary in the Evening Star that, as of 1903, a replica of Cogswell's famous Lincoln portrait hung in the Pasadena Public Library.
  

But, we also know the painting was later removed from the library walls and placed in storage.  Seems the library had trouble finding a suitable place for the life-sized portrait of the 6"4" tall Great Emancipator.       

Then, a February 7, 1932 LA Times article reported the painting had been found.  The article, titled "Rare Lincoln Portrait Found -- Rare Oil Painting Discovered in Pasadena," reported that the portrait had been found in the library's storage loft.    The article stated the painting was in perfect condition and in a heavy gold frame.   The article announced that the painting would be displayed at the opening of the new Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
  

A 1961 letter from the Pasadena PL states that the Lincoln portrait was in the collection of Pasadena Historical Society.    That is the last word I've found on the whereabouts of Pasadena's Lincoln portrait.

Now, the painting is lost again.

Hard to say how you misplace a life sized portrait of Honest Abe.  But, Pasadena has managed to lose the portrait not once, but twice.   My guess is the portrait is not hanging in the Albion, but probably still somewhere in the city.    Maybe it is stacked in storage or hanging on a dark wall.  But, most likely it is here --- waiting to be discovered yet again.

Summer Scenes along New York Drive

There is a short stretch of fairly wild hillside land that runs along the east side of New York Drive directly across the street from Earthlink and the Eaton Wash Reservoir.   I am often surprised at what I see there.  I've seen deer enough times that I am always on the lookout for more.  And I regularly see interesting and colorful plants and trees.  Above is a cluster of Matilija Poppies pictured above.   

 Buckwheat. 

Dodder or Witch's Hair - a colorful but destructive parasite that is draping parts of the hillside..  

Elder tree with yellow-white flowers.  There are a number of Elder trees growing wild along New York Drive.  I'll have more on Elders in my next post.  

A Spider and a Lizard Tail

 

I'll save the lizard tail until the end.  Some might not think it as cool as a spider. (Is this a great post or what?)

First to the spider.   I don't go looking for spiders. But, sometimes they find me -- or their webs find me to be more exact.   And, when I run into them, after picking off the web, I can't help but think they are pretty amazing little creatures.

 

One of the spiders I see around here is an orb-weaver -- meaning the spider builds a circular or wheel shaped web.  The spiders seem to hang in mid-air with no conceivable support around them.  The spider pictured above is hanging on a web secured on a tree about six feet to one side and a post about six feet to the other.
  

 It is hard to get a good picture of a spider web.  This is a pretty good one.   

Here's our spider.  She's hanging out in the middle of her web waiting for breakfast.

OK.  Now for the alligator lizard tail.  

Last night I saw the dog "playing" with an alligator lizard and went to check it out.  Now the "play" here was all from the dog's perspective.   The lizard had not chosen to play and, no doubt, did not want that instant to play.   Anyway, the lizard so did not want to play, that it dropped its tail and scampered away.   The dog, being a dog, was captivated by the flopping tail and allowed its playmate to escape.  

I reached the scene in time to take this short clip of the lizard tail wiggling around.      

I've found lizard tails and seen lizards with regenerated tails but I had not seen a newly detached tail still wiggling.  Whether due to teenage whatever or lots of experience with detached lizard tails, my 13 year old was unimpressed.   But, I thought it interesting and was glad to have my camera with me.

Independence Day - Fireworks and Thunder

We celebrated Independence Day in the traditional fashion -- BBQ and fireworks.  What seemed odd, though, was the weather.   July heat is not news.  But, it sure seems that we are getting a lot more humidity than we used to.   It was hot and cloudy last night out in Chino (where fireworks are legal and sold on nearly every corner).   As we waited for the sun to set, it looked like someone to the west was getting rain.   

Letting Go

Watching my little girl scooter down the street to sleep over at her friend's house.

New East Pasadena Vons Hits Homerun

 

 Today I went to the new Vons on Sierra Madre and Colorado.  I like the store. I like it a lot.

For openers, samples are important in a grocery store.   That's one reason why Trader Joes on Rosemead has been a favorite.  In fact, around our house, TJ's is called "Samples."    But, frankly TJ's samples have gotten a bit tired.  Well, they had better take note -- the new Vons knows how to do samples!  I had eight different samples including New York steak, sushi, chicken enchiladas, fresh pineapple, chips and salsa, jambalaya and more.   My recommendation is to find the meat department for the steak -- it was really good.  

But, most of all, I like the design.   I like the respect paid to our most dominant scenic asset -- the San Gabriel Mountains.    The main Vons building is set back from Colorado and has as a central design feature a see-through arch that highlights the mountain views.  This building was very plainly designed with the mountains in mind. 

Care to preserve and emphasize mountain views should be a signature design element for any new East Pasadena development.  Too often building design ignores mountain views.   For example, just east of the new Vons on Colorado is a hulking multi-story storage/office building that was built-to-the-street and obliterates mountain views.  And the Sierra Madre Villa metro station seems to go out of its way to block mountain views.

Hopefully any new building in East Pasadena will follow Von's example and give due respect to our mountain views. Great job Vons!      

Above is a little reminder that the mountain views from Sierra Madre Blvd. can be spectacular.   The photo above is a winter-time shot taken a few blocks north of the new Vons.

Now, the new Vons has rooftop parking, which is convenient.   But it also provides unimpeded mountain vistas.  In the short time I was in the parking lot I saw one photographer shooting toward the San Gabriels.

I'm sure I'll be back to this store.  

The Simpsons and East Pasadena's Parrots

Seems most every morning I'm greeted by the screech of parrots.  Often they fly over our house.  Sometimes, like this morning, they hang around the neighborhood screeching back and forth.   This one landed in our eucalyptus tree and, on cue, gave me that quizzical parrot look as I sneaked up for a picture.

Legend has it our local parrots are descendants of parrots that were let loose in 1959 when a fire engulfed Simpson's Gardenland and Bird Farm.   The story is often recounted as "local legend" but, as legends go, it seems fairly well accepted.  I know I've heard and read the story over and over since moving to Pasadena more than twenty years ago.

Not often reported, however, is the legend's East Pasadena connection.

You see, Simpson's Garden Town Nursery and Bird Farm was a long-time East Pasadena institution.  On little more than a wing and a prayer, in 1928, Hal Simpson started his nursery.  He had a $500 loan, a $55 Model T delivery truck, and moonlighted on odd jobs as his business took hold.   Over time the business grew until it blossomed into a mall of sorts that included a nursery, florist, lawnmower shop, garden center, materials supply, and pet shop.  Eventually Simpsons occupied a swath of land that fronted Colorado Blvd. east of Sierra Madre Blvd. and stretched north beyond the present-day 210 freeway.    Billing itself as the largest and most diversified garden center in the West, at its height, Simpsons deployed 70 trucks and fielded calls on nearly 50 phone lines.

Then, in 1959, fire hit.  The nursery buildings, supplies and records were destroyed.   According to legend, as the fire raged, the birds (including the forebears of our local parrots) were released.

The birds were gone and a big part of his operation decimated.  But, Hal Simpson got back on his feet and rebuilt.  Customers stepped forward to pay accounts that were due even though Simpsons had no records.  Simpsons remained an entrenched part of the East Pasadena landscape.  

But, in the 50's and 60's, East Pasadena's landscape was changing fast and Simpson's resurgence was short-lived.  Eventually the State of California did what the fire could not.  In 1968, the State took much of the Simpson property to build the 210 freeway.   Forty years after he started, Hal Simpson was finished.

But, the story's not over.

Old Hal was not quite ready to call it a day.   With proceeds from the State of California, he moved south.  He bought a160-acre spread in East San Diego County and ... that old guy started over growing and selling plants. 

And, in 2011, Simpsons Garden Town Nursery in Jamul, California is operated by Hal's granddaughter, Cathy.  Like her grandad, Cathy offers plants, and lots more, for sale.  She has a pretty good website, too, with pictures of the nursery, gift shop and dozens of classic cars on display at Garden Town.  Fittingly enough, Cathy's website pays homage to Garden Town's East Pasadena roots and beautifully tells the story of Hal Simpson -- a story that I've recounted above.