If you are interested in Arcadia's rich history, visit either the Arcadia History Room located at the Arcadia Public Library or the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum. 

The Arcadia History Room and its contents are shown by appointment only.  Call 626-821-5569 for more information on the Library's collection or 626-574-5440 for more information about the Museum's collection.

Sturtevant Camp [Click here for a larger image.] Photograph courtesy of the Arcadia History Collection, Arcadia Public Library.  ID#968 (Aug/Sept2010)

Historic Sturtevant Camp is the sole survivor of resort-styled camps from the bygone Great Hiking Era (1880s-1930s), during which hiking was a favorite pastime and families would spend their vacations at hostelries in the San Gabriel Mountains. Sturtevant Camp was established in 1893 by mountaineer Wilbur Sturtevant, a drifter from Ohio who came to California for mining opportunities. By 1898, improved Sturtevant Camp facilities included a store, dining room, and a number of small cabins and tents. It was, and is still, located in Big Santa Anita Canyon, above Arcadia and Sierra Madre, is only accessible by foot (4 miles from the trailhead), and employs a pack train to deliver supplies.

In this photograph, taken July 3, 1916, a large group is pictured near the entrance to the Sturtevant Camp dining room. Only one person here has been identified. John C. Juvinall of Monrovia, is standing in the back row, on the left, wearing a dark shirt and necktie next to the pillar. If you can identify anyone else, send an email to: yng@ci.arcadia.ca.us

Happy Father’s Day!

Photograph courtesy of the Arcadia History Collection, Arcadia Public Library.  ID#1052 (June/July2010)

Since a mother was featured here the last two months, it would only be fair to feature a father now. This c. 1916 shows John Rutherford Ott and his family in front of their home at 124 East Bonita Street, in Arcadia. John Rutherford Ott was a native of St. Louis, Missouri and served as the City Marshal of Arcadia in 1914.

From left to right are: Mr. Ott’s wife, Eleanora Dengler Ott, his daughter Eleanora, son Marshall, the honorary father John Rutherford Ott, and his son Donald Ott, seated with the family dog, Booze.

The granite boulders used in the wall and foundation were undoubtedly hauled from the Santa Anita Wash.  A sign hangs from the porch endorsing “Cline for Sheriff.”

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Happy Mother’s Day!

Photograph courtesy of the
Arcadia History Collection,
Arcadia Public Library.  ID#309

As a tribute to our mothers--the wonderful women that shaped our lives by first taking us to the library--we are pleased to feature this endearing 1953 photograph of a mother and son entering the Arcadia Public Library, at 25 North First Avenue. Many local residents remember this building from their childhoods and fondly refer to it as the “old” Arcadia Public Library. It was located there from 1930 until 1961, when the “new” library was opened at its current location, 20 West Duarte Road.  Even though the old library building was demolished, a historical marker, placed at the northwest corner of Huntington Drive and First Avenue, documents its existence and importance to the history of Arcadia.

Also shown in the photograph are library employee Eleanor Gilbert, working at the circulation desk, and a patron, browsing the 7-day book area.

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Photograph courtesy of the Arcadia History Collection, Arcadia Public Library.  ID#850 McLean’s Garage was established in 1917, very close to the present day corner of Campus Drive and South Santa Anita Avenue. McLean’s Garage offered a full range of services and products, including expert automobile repair, day and night tow service, Calpet gasoline, Ventura motor oil, and a complete line of Ajax tires, tubes and accessories. In this circa 1928 picture, the view is looking east toward McLean’s Garage, located at 808 South Santa Anita Avenue. Standing in front is its proprietor Mr. C. A. McLean and an unknown boy.  North of the garage and service station are the Arcadia Cash Market and Arcadia Fruit and Vegetable Market at 804 South Santa Anita Avenue. It is believed McLean’s Garage was in business until circa 1936.

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The Arcadia Public Library is pleased to feature this photograph in conjunction with the current exhibit at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum, called “Only What We Could Carry: the Santa Anita Assembly Center,” showing from November 7, 2009 until January 16, 2010.    [Click here for a larger image.] Photograph courtesy of the National Archives, Washington, D.C. and Arcadia History Collection, Arcadia Public Library.  ID#649

During World War II, the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, forced the evacuation of people of Japanese ancestry from their homes, first to temporary assembly centers, then to more permanent internment camps. Horse racing went dark at Santa Anita Park when its grounds were transformed into an assembly center for over 18,000 west coast Japanese-Americans. Some arrived by train, others in their own cars. In this April 1942 photograph, evacuees are shown arriving at the Santa Anita Assembly Center for the Japanese, from San Pedro. They are lined up with their vehicles loaded and waiting to be checked in. Life inside the assembly center could not have been easy, but the people tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy that was documented in the camp paper, Santa Anita Pacemaker. See the library’s digitized collection here: ../home/index.asp?page=1565.

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Hollywood is more than 20 miles away, but it may surprise you to know that Arcadia has some historical ties to the movie and television industry. William Parker Lyon, Sr., curator of old west artifacts and owner of the Pony Express Museum (1935-1955) in Arcadia, said, “The movies get all their California historical props from me because they have to—I own ‘em all.” He rented his Wells Fargo gold scale to Paramount Pictures for $75, for use as a prop in the 1937 film “Wells Fargo,” which starred Joel McCrea and Robert Cummings. The Arcadia History Collection has just a few pictures of celebrities and this one is a gem. It was taken on June 5, 1975 and shows Andy Griffith (left), William Parker Lyon, Jr. (center), and an unknown person (right). This appears to have been taken when Harrah's in Reno, Nevada, auctioned off items that formerly had been on display at the Pony Express Museum.

Photograph courtesy of the Arcadia History Collection, Arcadia Public Library.  ID#839 To learn more about Arcadia’s Hollywood connections, stop by the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum to see the current exhibit "Roll 'em": Motion Pictures Filmed in Arcadia and Surrounding Communities. See it before it ends December 5, 2009.

A Woman’s Best Friend

Photograph ID#1161
Courtesy of the Arcadia
History Collection,
Arcadia Public Library. 

In this c. 1915 picture above, we see Anita Baldwin, one of her prize-winning English bulldogs, and an unidentified dog handler. Anita Baldwin was a serious dog breeder and dog exhibitor. In addition to English bulldogs, Anita Baldwin also exhibited English Sheepdogs, a Russian Wolfhound, and an Airedale Terrier. Anita Baldwin was well known for her love of animals and served as Chairman and Sponsor for the Los Angeles Branch of the American Red Star Animal Relief, an organization similar to the Red Cross, except that it served the medical needs of dogs, mules and horses.

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Harness racing at Santa Anita Park was discontinued over two decades ago, but luckily, we have photographic documentation of this type of racing. In harness racing, a Standardbred horse pulls a two-wheeled cart with bicycle-like wheels, known as a sulky. The sulky and horse are attached by a harness and a driver sits on the sulky to maneuver the horse, using long reins. Standardbred horses are smaller than Thoroughbreds, have longer bodies, and shorter legs. On the race track, the endurance of the Standardbred horse surpasses that of the Thoroughbred. Incidentally, the Standardbred horse gets its name from the distance that most harness races run, the standard one mile.

Harness Racing at Santa Anita Park Photograph courtesy of the Arcadia History Collection, Arcadia Public Library.  ID#1031 Photographer Milton Bell gives us an insider’s view of nine race horses with sulkies and drivers in this 1963 historic picture of harness racing at Santa Anita Park, complete with spectators and the grandstand in the background.  For more information about harness racing, see Crazy Good: the True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America by Charles Leerhsen or The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Betting on Horses by Sharon B. Smith, both available at the Arcadia Public Library.

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Photograph courtesy of the Arcadia History Collection, Arcadia Public Library.  ID#1102

Martin H. Ormsby, the sharply dressed man seen on the left of this 1943 picture, served as mayor of Arcadia for six years, from April, 1942 until April, 1948. Under his leadership, Arcadia saw the development of a citywide sewage system, the master zoning plan, the Colorado Street bridge, a park on Second Avenue, and the acquisition of land for the civic center at 240 W. Huntington Drive. Mr. Ormsby was born in Ossian, Indiana on November 17, 1875. He moved to Arcadia in 1935, after he retired from newspaper publishing, and died locally, at the age of 80. Pictured with Mr. Ormsby are City Treasurer Emma Hainer, seated, and City Clerk Clint Billig, on the right. They are in Mrs. Hainer's office in the City Hall that used to be at First Avenue and Huntington Drive.

The theme of this featured photograph coincides with an exhibit called “Honorable Mention: Mayors of Arcadia,” showing at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum from April 11 through May 30. Try not to miss it.

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Photograph courtesy of the Arcadia History Collection, Arcadia Public Library.  ID#870

“Won’t you get hip to this timely tip? When you make that California trip, get your kicks on Route 66.”

Everyone should be familiar with the Bobby Troup travelogue song that was recorded by Nat King Cole and numerous others. The Santa Anita Motor Inn, shown here circa 1941, at 101 W. Huntington Drive, served travelers on Route 66 from 1938 until it was torn down in 1974. Owners Mr. and Mrs. Ben F. Petre paid $50,000 to build the motel, described by hospitality experts, at that time, as one of the most attractive and well-equipped motor inns in the U.S. The Santa Anita Motor Inn was known as an auto court. Its fifteen architecturally modern units were designed around a courtyard with a fountain and landscaping. Each unit featured Heywood Wakefield furniture, Beauty Rest beds, personal Electroluxes, O’Keefe & Merritt stoves, tiled bathrooms, glass showers, and exquisite Mohawk rugs. It must have been a welcome stop for road-weary travelers. 

By 1985, Route 66 had been decommissioned from the U.S. Highway System, but one can still see signs indicating “Historic Route 66” on Huntington Drive. If you are interested in more Route 66 history, see the “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” exhibit at the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum, through March 28, 2009.

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