Saturday, June 14, 2008
Coyotes
Early Friday morning as I was getting ready for work, I heard the dog barking the kind of bark that means someone or something is in the yard. I walked out to see a coyote in the chicken coop holding a brown chicken in its mouth. I yelled at the coyote and it ran out of the coop still with the bird. Eventually it dropped the chicken, jumped the fence and it ran down the street. I checked the coop and all six of our chickens were gone.
We know there are coyotes in the area and know that neighbors have lost pets. We've been very careful about protecting the chickens and our cats too. But Thursday night apparently the coop door didn't completely latch shut. One mistake on one night was all the opportunity the coyotes needed. It is sad to lose Big Bertha, Brit and the others. And its sad to walk by an empty quiet coop.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Cogswell/Rhoades House -- from East Pasadena to Porterville to Disneyland
The hotel and the Cogswell/Rhoades house are long gone from Pasadena. But, part of the old Victorian house still survives at The Happiest Place on Earth. Here’s the story:
In the mid-1940’s, the Cogswell/Rhoades house was sold to an up and coming studio in nearby Burbank – the Walt Disney Studio. Disney moved the house up to Porterville where it was used on the set of So Dear to My Heart, a 1948 movie. They modified the old Victorian into a general store and the house appears in the movie as Grundy’s Mercantile.
You probably recognize So Dear to My Heart as Burl Ives’ first full length film. But, it was also one of Disney’s first live action films. So Dear to My Heart contains both live action and cartoon characters that appear every so often during the movie. The movie is great family fare – entertaining with a pronounced moral to the story. My kids both liked it.
Not long after So Dear to My Heart, Disney embarked on building his theme park in Orange County. Park visitors would enter the park on a street that recalled town centers from a time gone by. As Walt Disney described it, "Main Street, U.S.A. is America at the turn of the century - the crossroads of an era. The gas lamps and the electric lamps, the horse drawn car and the auto car. Main Street is everyone's hometown...the heartland of America.”
As related by the Villaloa Neighborhood History Society, after So Dear to My Heart was filmed, Disney removed the decorative Victorian trim from the old Cogswell/Rhoades home and placed in storage for later use. The trim quickly found a place on the turn of the century buildings that line Disneyland's Main Street. Seems kind of fitting that trim from the Cogswell/Rhoades home that dates back to Pasadena's pioneer days and recalls the bygone era of the Sierra Madre Villa, was saved and is being re-used on Main Street USA.
The photo is interesting. Its a scan of a glass magic lantern slide. The slide was the work of Los Angeles photographer Frederick Hamer Maude and was probably made around 1890. If you click on the photo, the Victorian trim comes into better focus.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Acorn Woodpecker
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Growing Tomatoes
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Cats 4 Moles 0
Monday, May 26, 2008
Victory Park on Memorial Day
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Camping at Gould Mesa
Monday, May 12, 2008
William Cogswell, Famous Artist and East Pasadena Pioneer
White House Historical Association (White House Collection)
So, what is the White House portrait of President Abraham Lincoln doing in an east Pasadena blog?
Answer: Artist William F. Cogswell was an east Pasadena pioneer and founded the world-renowned Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. He was also a noted portrait artist. The best known of his works is this 1864 portrait of President Abraham Lincoln that is part of the White House Collection.
Cogswell is a fascinating guy. A self-made painter, he painted portraits of many of the most prominent men and women of his era. Then, seemingly at the peak of his fame, he left the east coast for a California adventure. Here is some of his story.
Born in upstate New York in 1819, Cogswell’s gifts were evident early and, even as a child, he reportedly loved art and color. As a young man, he worked briefly as a color mixer at a Buffalo paint factory. From the paint factory, he moved to New York City where he started his career as a professional painter. But, as the Pasadena Evening Star reported in Cogswell's obituary, the artist "never received a lesson in his life." He was entirely self-taught, which made his accomplishments all the more amazing.
Cogswell had a spirit for adventure and travelled extensively. In 1849 he came to California as part of the gold rush. For a year, Cogswell painted gold rush scenes. He then returned east traveling over the Isthmus of Panama. He created large dioramas of gold rush scenes and of Panama which he exhibited on the east coast.
His big break came in 1864 when he was invited to the White House to make sketches of President Lincoln. Cogswell then used the sketches and possibly a photograph of Lincoln to create his famous Lincoln portrait. The painting shows Lincoln on the White House porch with the Capitol dome in the background and the President’s black coat and tall hat on the chair in the foreground.
As Cogswell finished his work, Congress issued a call for artists to submit portraits of Lincoln and appropriated $3,000 to be awarded to the winning artist. Cogswell submitted his portrait and won the competition. The Lincoln portrait became part of the White House collection where it remains today.
In 1868, Cogswell painted a portrait of General Ulysses S. Grant which is now part of the collection of the United States Senate. Grant dabbled with water colors and it is not hard to imagine that he and the talented Cogswell may have struck up a friendship. Cogswell is said to have been a Grant family favorite and painted a life sized portrait of the entire Grant family.
Though well established on the east coast, at the age of 54, Cogswell again moved west. In 1873 he purchased 473 acres of wild mesa land in what is now east Pasadena. In its natural state, this land was said to be covered with greasewood so thick a jack rabbit couldn't penetrate it. But, the mesa offered unimpeded views that likely captured the artist's eye and imagination. There was the waiting San Gabriel Valley below and an ocean view that took in Catalina Island and steamers making their way to San Pedro.
With the aid of 70 Chinese laborers, Cogswell's land was cleared and planted with citrus trees and grape vines. Water was transported from the water fall downhill by flume or clay pipe to irrigate the land. A beautiful Victorian home was built on the northern edge of the property. At the suggestion of friends, in 1876, Cogswell and his son-in-law William Porter Rhoades founded the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel on the site. For a brief time, the Villa was the premier winter resort west of the Mississippi. That's a photo of the Villa in the masthead for this blog. I’ll have more on the Villa in later posts.
Cogswell continued painting at a prolific rate. He was commissioned to paint portraits of many of the early California governors. His works dot the walls of the state capitol in Sacramento. Cogswell also produced a replica of his Lincoln portrait. He sold the portrait to the State of California and it now hangs in the State Assembly Chambers behind the speaker’s podium. A photo of the portrait is at the Capitol Museum website.
Other subjects of Cogswell portraits included: President McKinley, General Sheridan, Supreme Court Justice and Treasury Secretary Saloman Chase, naturalist Louis Agassiz, Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford, business titans Mark Hopkins and Jay Cooke. Cogswell also travelled to the Kingdom of Hawaii where he painted the portraits of King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarchs.
Cogswell died December 24, 1903 at his daughter's home in South Pasadena.
Friday, May 2, 2008
1877 Map
Some of the names of the early landowners are familiar. The names of Craig, Rose, Chapman, Eaton and Bailey all live on through namesake streets and places.
Santa Anita Road is also familiar. Though not as dusty, Santa Anita Road is still in place today as Altadena Drive.
An early landowner whose name you may not recognize is that of William Cogswell, who owned the pie-shaped piece of property north of the Rose and west of the Chapman properties. In coming posts, I’ll talk about Cogswell, how his property became world-renowned and his interesting connection to Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses. S. Grant.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Chantry Flat Fire - Day 4
Seems like good news this morning. Yesterday, we awoke to the strong smell of smoke and ash. This morning, clear and quiet.
I hiked up to the Sierra Madre Debris Basin staging area this morning. This photo, taken a little before 7 am, is looking east from the dam. That's part of Upper Hastings on the ridge with the debris basin and dam in the foreground. And the sun streaming through. We'll hope for news that the fire is over.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Chantry Flat Fire Day 2 -- Staging Area
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Chantry Flat Fire
Garden Shots on a Sunny Day
With the warm weather, we've had some great times building a garden this year. These are some of the things our five year old daughter noticed while wandering the yard. The top photo is an apple blossom on a young tree we planted this year. In the middle is Matty prowling near the hose. And the bottom shot is my favorite photographer. Great stuff.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Alligator Lizard
Friday, March 28, 2008
Eaton Canyon Area Development - 1967 Plan
The plan projected many new recreational features and trails from New York Drive all the way to the city's southern border. Let's take a section-by-section look:
Eaton Wash Reservoir and Dam. The plan shows the Eaton Canyon stream running under New York Drive and emptying into the reservoir area as it does today. However, the plan for the reservoir is dramatically different. It calls for five separate, but interconnected, bodies of water that would be part of a migratory wild bird preserve.
South of the Dam to Sierra Madre Blvd. Under the plan, the wild bird preserve continues south of the dam to four more separate but interconnected ponds. The plan shows an unchanneled stream running down to Sierra Madre Blvd.
Trail System. The plan calls for an extensive trial system over the entire plan area. Trails extend south from Eaton Canyon Park and nature center, and under New York Dr. into the reservoir area. Trails curve around the reservoir and ponds between New York and Sierra Madre Blvd. and then had south under Sierra Madre Blvd. The trails then run alongside the wash or the Edison right of way all the way to San Pasqual St. As planned, the trail system would accommodate hikers and bikers. A bridal path is also shown.
Edison Right of Way. The plan suggests a lease of the Edison right of way for "landscaped open space, trails, play areas and extension of proposed facilities."
South of Sierra Madre Blvd. to below Orange Grove Blvd. The plan calls for a three par golf course in this area.
South of Orange Grove to the 210. The plan calls for an assemblage of new recreational venues including an ice rink, outdoor skating rink, amphitheater, and pet farm. It also proposed to relocate the Gerrish Swim Club to this area.
210 south to Colorado. The bridle trail, hiking and biking trail continues under the freeway and down past Colorado Blvd. following the Eaton Wash channel.
Colorado south to San Pasqual. The trails continue south along the Eaton Wash channel to the city's southern border. The Edison right of way is landscaped open space. An area around Ability First is shown devoted to Senior Citizen use with shuffleboard, horseshoes and a putting green. The area around what is now the Eaton Blanche park is shown as an active park. An overnight group camp is shown on the east side of the wash from Eaton Blanche park. The hiking and biking trail is shown extending south beyond the city limits following the wash and Edison right of way.
Like the1932 plan, this plan never caught on. Since 1967, some of the planned area has been set aside for parks. Other parts of the plan area have been developed into housing and office use. A large area east of Washington is in use by Los Angeles County DPW, which controls the Eaton Wash Dam.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Eaton Canyon Park -- 1932 Plan
After a really long time, 1932 and 1967 plans for an Eaton Canyon/Wash park are getting some well deserved attention. This is the 1932 plan reprinted from Pasadena's park master plan the council approved last year. You may not recognize many of the streets and proposed streets on the plan. To get oriented, it helps to find Orange Grove Blvd. or the then-planned Eaton Wash Reservoir and work out from there.
The gist of the 1932 plan was simple -- to reserve the areas around the reservoir, the Eaton Wash and Edison right of way as open space and to build a scenic roadway starting at the dam and running south to San Pasqual. However, the plan never caught on.
The following gives some background to the '32 and '67 plans and is from the city's Green Space, Recreation and Park Element and Master Plan:
“A system of channels, roads, dams, recharge basins and other flood control infrastructure bisects the eastern area of the city. In 1932 the potential use of these areas for recreation was documented in a plan entitled "Eaton Canyon Park". This plan proposed a system of park areas extending from the mouth of the canyon to the southern City limit. These areas were to form a continuous band of open space areas, similar to the Arroyo Seco, albeit on a much smaller scale.
In December 1967, Ronald B. Townsend, the City’s Director of Parks, approved a plan entitled "Eaton Canyon Area Development". This plan also proposed an interconnected system of parks and open space areas along the Eaton Canyon drainage. The proposed improvements were laid out in great detail and connections with the city’s existing park facilities, such as Victory Park and Eaton-Blanche Park, were included. This Master Plan revisits this concept and offers recommendations for implementation measures that would fulfill a portion of the vision that was expressed in the 1932 and 1967 plans.”
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
St. Luke's -- Proposed Development
At a neighborhood meeting on March 19, developer DS Ventures presented its proposal to build senior housing and medical offices on the St. Luke's site. Pasadena Now's report of the encounter is here.
In later posts, I may talk more about the developer's proposal, its treatment of the landmark St. Luke's buildings (interior and exterior), consistency with the Pasadena General Plan, impacts on traffic and views, and emergency and urgent care issues.
But, let's take a moment to look at this property, its landmark status and its traditional use in service to surrounding communities.
Certainly the St. Luke's buildings are architecturally significant. St. Luke's was one of the first buildings in East Pasadena to be declared a city landmark. In context of the East Pasadena community, which was largely built over the last fifty years, St. Luke's art deco facade stands out as perhaps the most impressive historic structure in this area.
But, the property is also significant because of its long-time use to serve the East Pasadena and Altadena communities. When the Sisters of St. Joseph opened St. Luke's in 1933, it was one of the San Gabriel Valley's first hospitals. As homes were built and the area grew, St. Luke's was there to serve the community's medical needs. The hospital use continued for nearly 70 years until it was closed down in 2002.
Among the many things I like about St. Luke's is the northward face of the hospital buildings. The front of the hospital faces north looking toward the Eaton Wash, Eaton Canyon and the San Gabriel Mountains.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
St. Luke's
In 2002, Pasadena City Council declared St. Luke's Hospital, the convent and the chapel as city landmarks. The hospital was built in 1933. In 1947, the chapel and convent were added immediately to the east of the hospital building. This photo, taken from inside the chapel, shows one of the beautiful stained glass windows that line the chapel. The artistry in the stained glass and the plaster relief is spectacular. You have to click the photo to really see the work.
Last year, the St. Luke's property was sold to developer DS Ventures. Pasadena Heritage has placed St. Luke's on its endangered list and has noted concerns about how the developer will treat the landmark buildings.
Unfortunately, landmark protections do not extend to interior features.