Sunrise earlier this week, looking east from my office near Lake Ave. and Colorado Blvd. Among the many benefits of last week's clouds and rain.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Sunrise Over East Pasadena
Sunrise earlier this week, looking east from my office near Lake Ave. and Colorado Blvd. Among the many benefits of last week's clouds and rain.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
An Afternoon with My City in Your City
View from the Green House at Zorthian Ranch, overlooking Altadena, Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles |
Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of attending a "My City in Your City" brunch presented by architect David Wolf. As was appropriate for the subject, the event was held in the foothills overlooking Altadena and Pasadena.
Wolf related the story of "My City," a 1916 exhibit in Pasadena designed to secure public input for future plans for the city. The exhibit ran for six weeks and was attended by more than 8,000 people. Quite a turnout considering the entire city population back then was about 40,000.
Mr. Wolf's presentation is entertaining, educational, insightful and inspiring. He has reached back in Pasadena history, found greatness, and brought it forward for our use today. There is a lot to take away from the My City story. More information is at the My City website and Facebook.
*************************
The presentation reminded me of just how highly residents of a century
ago regarded this city and how lofty were their ambitions. Materials included a 1916 Pasadena Star News article describing the
My City effort. The Star News writer, Henry James, refers to Pasadena as "one of
the beauty spots of the continent" and goes on to describe the My City
experience as one that will "obtain the cooperation of the citizens in
choosing the best out of the good; in deciding what shall be done first
and of proving to them that it is within their power to do anything they
please."
I was also reminded of "Imagine a Great City," which was the theme for public meetings in the early 1990's which led to the 1994 Pasadena General Plan. As a relative newcomer to Pasadena, I was taken by the theme -- it invited creativity and communicated a public spirit, enthusiasm and expectation that we could help make Pasadena that great city. Maybe it wouldn't work in other cities. Others might aspire to be good cities or nice cities. But, with it's beautiful natural setting, its neighborhoods, trees, Civic Center, remarkable history, and past example of reaching for lofty goals, it seemed fitting that Pasadena would aspire to be a great city.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
First Bear Sighting of 2017
I came home last night to find a bear in my front yard. As I got out of the car and walked toward the house, I heard a scratching sound and looked left to see a small black bear. The bear was slowly climbing the trunk of a pine tree.
Past posts on this blog roughly describe our experience with bears in this East Pasadena neighborhood. When we moved in 14 years ago, we did not see any bears. For many years, we kept chickens and an apiary without problem. In 2009 we had our first real bear encounter when our dog chased a bear up a tree. In 2011, I watched a bear take down our apiary, and in 2012, a bear broke into our chicken coop and killed two of our chickens. Bears have also caused an array of property damage. And, back when we had chickens, I quickly turned a corner one day to come within ten feet of a very large up-right bear. That was more than a little unnerving. But, the loss of our chickens was the major turning point. We may try again, but for now, bees and chickens are out.
At this point, we know bears are in the neighborhood and we may see bears several times a year. The bear last night, though, was unusual. From his size, we gathered that the bear was a yearling. When you see a young bear, the first thing you look for is the mother bear, who should be close by. However, we did not see the mother bear or any other bears. The young bear seemed to be on its own.
I went into the house, leaving the bear sitting on a tree branch. Later, I checked outside and the bear was gone.
Past posts on this blog roughly describe our experience with bears in this East Pasadena neighborhood. When we moved in 14 years ago, we did not see any bears. For many years, we kept chickens and an apiary without problem. In 2009 we had our first real bear encounter when our dog chased a bear up a tree. In 2011, I watched a bear take down our apiary, and in 2012, a bear broke into our chicken coop and killed two of our chickens. Bears have also caused an array of property damage. And, back when we had chickens, I quickly turned a corner one day to come within ten feet of a very large up-right bear. That was more than a little unnerving. But, the loss of our chickens was the major turning point. We may try again, but for now, bees and chickens are out.
At this point, we know bears are in the neighborhood and we may see bears several times a year. The bear last night, though, was unusual. From his size, we gathered that the bear was a yearling. When you see a young bear, the first thing you look for is the mother bear, who should be close by. However, we did not see the mother bear or any other bears. The young bear seemed to be on its own.
I went into the house, leaving the bear sitting on a tree branch. Later, I checked outside and the bear was gone.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
2017 Rose Parade -- From Sierra Madre Blvd.
Lizard on the Cal Poly SLO float
Cal Poly always produces clever and colorful floats. Their floats are also distinctive because they use California grown flowers. A press release from the California Cut Flower Commission commended four floats from this year's parade for using California grown flowers. Floats from Cal Poly, Miracle-Gro, FTD and Real California Milk, all were decorated in flowers and greenery grown in-state.
It is uncommon these days for any Rose Parade float to use California grown flowers. As PSN"s Steve Scauzillo wrote last year, most of the flowers in the Rose Parade are from overseas. About 80% of the flowers used on parade floats come from South America or Asia. (Why do so few Rose Parade floats use California-grown flowers?) By using cheap labor, growers overseas can sell flowers at much lower cost than domestic growers.
The California Cut Flower Commission's release recalls another time. The release points out that "The Rose Parade originated in 1889 to showcase the bounty of what is grown in California during a time of year when much of the country is covered in snow." As the Tournament of Roses puts it, the Valley Hunt Club conceived of the parade as an event to follow an array of outdoor games. "The abundance of fresh flowers, even in the midst of winter, prompted the club to add another showcase for Pasadena’s charm: a parade to precede the competition, where entrants would decorate their carriages with hundreds of blooms."
Though a wildly successful international event accompanied by all manner of glitz and fame, the parade's inspiration was rooted in Pasadena's natural and cultivated beauty. That's worth remembering.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Christmas at the Sierra Madre Villa -- circa 1878
Sierra Madre Villa Hotel ca. 1886
By Carleton E. Watkins
Courtesy of the California History Room
California State Library, Sacramento, California
There is nothing like Christmas through a child's eyes.
William Lauren Rhoades grew up in the 1870's and 80's at the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. His dad, William Porter Rhoades, was the proprietor of the Villa and co-owned the Villa along with his father in law, artist William Cogswell. As an old man, William Lauren recounted the history of the Sierra Madre Villa and wrote about the Christmas of his childhood. The story includes a donkey named after his mom, a giant Christmas tree, and a gift exchange between the two cultures that lived full time at the Villa -- that of the Rhoades and Cogswell families, who had migrated west from New York, and that of a group of Chinese men, who had originally migrated east to work on the railroads and then staffed the Villa.
I enjoy Rhoades' account and post it read it every year. So, without further adieu, let's travel with Mr. Rhoades back to East Pasadena in the late 1870's.......
From The History of the Famous Sierra Madre Villa Hotel by William Lauren Rhoades:
When Christmas time rolled around the real fun began. I will describe a typical Christmas day in the late seventies. The day before Christmas was one of excitement for all were preparing the gifts, some driving into Los Angeles, a thirty mile drive, to get the last few gifts needed and to shop for all the rest and only about two dry goods stores, two book stores and a few other places to purchase but that made it all the more exciting. There was a tree to sit up fully nineteen feet high, that was the height of the ceiling, and a spread of branches in proportion. Then the trimmings, popping the corn and putting on the cornucopias, hanging the glass balls and the angel on the top. That day the Chinese boy, Sam, made mysterious trips to Mother's room with packages coming from the servants and Chinese on the ranch.
Christmas morning was always the opening of an eventful day. I well recall Christmas of 1878. After breakfast I was taken out to the front of the house and there stood my donkey, which was given me two years before to ride and I named her after my Mother, Jennie, and there she was hitched up to a two wheeled cart made to order with a swell leather seat, the running gear was painted red and the body black, the harness was black with shining brass buckles. The guests all stood round enjoying my delight. I took Mother in at once and we drove off in style and many were the happy days I had with the children at the Villa in that turnout.
Christmas morning the coach that ran to the San Gabriel Southern Pacific Railroad Station daily for the mail and passengers, was ready to take any who might wish to go to the Episcopal Church in San Gabriel, as was the custom on Sundays. Then the day passed and all were in readiness for the big event in the evening with the Christmas tree.
********
Rhoades goes on to describe the evening festivities that took place in the hotel parlor with the Rhoades family and hotel guests attending. Christmas carols were sung and the tree was "stripped." There was a gift exchange with Villa's many Chinese workers. Rhoades reports that, to the delight of hotel guests, the workers would enter the parlor with a flourish. Dressed in fine silks, the workers had "their heads freshly shaved with their cues hanging down their backs with red ribbons braided into their hair." They came bearing gifts of sweet lichi nuts, ginger and dainty cakes. In turn, the workers were given a fattened pig for roasting.
********
The Sierra Madre Villa Hotel was a famous West Coast resort located in the foothills of what is now East Pasadena. The Hotel is the namesake of Pasadena's Villa Street and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, which served as the access to the old hotel. If you're interested to know more, I've a dozen or so posts on the Villa that are categorized under the Labels heading on the right side of this blog.
By Carleton E. Watkins
Courtesy of the California History Room
California State Library, Sacramento, California
There is nothing like Christmas through a child's eyes.
William Lauren Rhoades grew up in the 1870's and 80's at the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. His dad, William Porter Rhoades, was the proprietor of the Villa and co-owned the Villa along with his father in law, artist William Cogswell. As an old man, William Lauren recounted the history of the Sierra Madre Villa and wrote about the Christmas of his childhood. The story includes a donkey named after his mom, a giant Christmas tree, and a gift exchange between the two cultures that lived full time at the Villa -- that of the Rhoades and Cogswell families, who had migrated west from New York, and that of a group of Chinese men, who had originally migrated east to work on the railroads and then staffed the Villa.
I enjoy Rhoades' account and post it read it every year. So, without further adieu, let's travel with Mr. Rhoades back to East Pasadena in the late 1870's.......
From The History of the Famous Sierra Madre Villa Hotel by William Lauren Rhoades:
When Christmas time rolled around the real fun began. I will describe a typical Christmas day in the late seventies. The day before Christmas was one of excitement for all were preparing the gifts, some driving into Los Angeles, a thirty mile drive, to get the last few gifts needed and to shop for all the rest and only about two dry goods stores, two book stores and a few other places to purchase but that made it all the more exciting. There was a tree to sit up fully nineteen feet high, that was the height of the ceiling, and a spread of branches in proportion. Then the trimmings, popping the corn and putting on the cornucopias, hanging the glass balls and the angel on the top. That day the Chinese boy, Sam, made mysterious trips to Mother's room with packages coming from the servants and Chinese on the ranch.
Christmas morning was always the opening of an eventful day. I well recall Christmas of 1878. After breakfast I was taken out to the front of the house and there stood my donkey, which was given me two years before to ride and I named her after my Mother, Jennie, and there she was hitched up to a two wheeled cart made to order with a swell leather seat, the running gear was painted red and the body black, the harness was black with shining brass buckles. The guests all stood round enjoying my delight. I took Mother in at once and we drove off in style and many were the happy days I had with the children at the Villa in that turnout.
Christmas morning the coach that ran to the San Gabriel Southern Pacific Railroad Station daily for the mail and passengers, was ready to take any who might wish to go to the Episcopal Church in San Gabriel, as was the custom on Sundays. Then the day passed and all were in readiness for the big event in the evening with the Christmas tree.
********
Rhoades goes on to describe the evening festivities that took place in the hotel parlor with the Rhoades family and hotel guests attending. Christmas carols were sung and the tree was "stripped." There was a gift exchange with Villa's many Chinese workers. Rhoades reports that, to the delight of hotel guests, the workers would enter the parlor with a flourish. Dressed in fine silks, the workers had "their heads freshly shaved with their cues hanging down their backs with red ribbons braided into their hair." They came bearing gifts of sweet lichi nuts, ginger and dainty cakes. In turn, the workers were given a fattened pig for roasting.
********
The Sierra Madre Villa Hotel was a famous West Coast resort located in the foothills of what is now East Pasadena. The Hotel is the namesake of Pasadena's Villa Street and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, which served as the access to the old hotel. If you're interested to know more, I've a dozen or so posts on the Villa that are categorized under the Labels heading on the right side of this blog.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Snakes and Lizards
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Mystery of Pasadena's Missing Lincoln Portrait
In recognition of Presidents' Day and a recent contact I received from descendants of East Pasadena pioneer and artist William Cogswell, I'm reprising a September, 2008 post. The post tells the story of a rare portrait of Abraham Lincoln that Cogswell painted and gave to the City of Pasadena. City records and an Evening Star article documented the portrait. However, sometime after 1961 the portrait vanished and its disappearance remains an unsolved mystery.
Now, let's see if this old blog still works.
Cogswell's obituary ran on page 1 of the Pasadena Evening Star December 26, 1903. The full obituary is here. The title and lead refer to a Cogswell painting that was a replica of his famous Lincoln portrait and says that the painting hangs in the Pasadena Public Library.
In fact, the enterprising Cogswell appears to have painted at least three replicas of his White House Lincoln portrait. One of the portraits is in the California State Capitol in Sacramento and hangs over the Speaker's podium in the Assembly. Correspondence in the Pasadena PL's Cogswell file indicates that a another portrait hung in the Royal Palace in Honolulu, Hawaii. (In 1890 Cogswell travelled to the islands to paint Queen Liliuokalani and Hawaiian royalty).
A third Cogswell replica of his White House Lincoln portrait was in the possession of the Pasadena Public Library and the Pasadena Historical Society. It appears the Lincoln portrait hung in the library from at least 1903 to 1961. A 1961 letter to the Pasadena Public Library and correspondence with the Library of Congress and Frick Art Reference Library state that Cogswell's Lincoln portrait belonged to the Pasadena Historical Society and was hanging in the Pasadena Public Library.
But, sometime after 1961, the portrait seems to have vanished.
So Where is the Lincoln Portrait Today?
After learning Cogswell's story and that of Pasadena's Lincoln portrait, I wanted to see the portrait. How incredible, I thought, that our library should have one of the few replicas of Cogswell's official White House Lincoln portrait -- a replica like the one hanging in the California State Assembly. And given Cogswell's connection to Pasadena's pioneer days, I thought it very appropriate that the library should have a replica of Cogswell's most famous portrait.
So I went to the library to see the painting. But, there was no painting. I called the Historical Museum and the city. But neither had any record of the painting.
I emailed the Hawaiian State Archivist asking about the Lincoln portrait in Hawaii. But the archivist emailed back stating they had no record of Cogswell's Lincoln portrait.
So, we seem to have a mystery. Based on Cogswell's obituary and the 1961 correspondence, we know that from at least 1903 to 1961 Cogswell's replica of his famous Lincoln portrait hung in the Pasadena Public Library. Based on the 1961 correspondence from the Hawaiian Historical Society, we know that Cogswell left another replica of his famous Lincoln portrait in the Royal Palace. It wouldn't seem that such paintings could just vanish, but that is what seems to have occurred. So, where is the Lincoln portrait that hung for so many decades in the Pasadena Public Library?
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