Mystery History -- Solved

Thursday 11:30 a.m. UPDATE to the post below: I'll be the first one to admit when I've erred. Liz's (Pasadena Adjacent) 11:02 Tuesday guess "The completion of the bridge at Devils Gate dam (before it was a dam)" was close enough, so she wins this week's fabulous prize. And so maybe I won't go so easy on you next week!

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How can it be that I stumped everybody two weeks in a row?

I figured that with Hahamongna being in the news lately, it would be fun to post another photo from the 1890s outing to Devil's Gate that I featured in a prior Mystery History won by Bellis last year.

What the group was looking up toward is lost to the ages. A hawk? Someone atop a canyon wall?

One man brought a fishing pole all the way up there, which I love.

Click on the "prior Mystery History" link above for more history of Devil's Gate.

Just as I did the last time I stumped everyone two weeks in a row, I promise to go easy on you next week!

Mystery History -- Solved

Bellis wins with her Tuesday 9:10 a.m. guess “It's an outing of early Pasadenans to Devil's Gate (before the dam). You can see the devil in the background - someone's climbed on his head!” Bellis, please email me at pasadenapio@gmail.com and I’ll tell you all about your fabulous prize.

In the undated photo above, presumably shot in the late 1890s, a group on an outing stops at Devil’s Gate.

There’s not much more than a puddle of water in the photo.

Here's the same location with much more water, probably shot in winter or spring.



And here's a 1934 shot, probably in the summertime, when it was dry as a bone:


Benjamin Eaton named the gorge Devil’s Gate because of the stone formation that looked like a devil's profile, right down to the horns.

Eaton, a visionary engineer and later a district attorney and judge, was a founding resident of the Indiana Colony who designed pipelines between 1865 and 1874 that brought water southward from Devil’s Gate and the canyon now named after him, making possible the eventual development of Pasadena.

The three-mile pipeline out of Devil's Gate brought water directly to a reservoir near the present-day Pasadena Museum of History (Walnut Street at Orange Grove Boulevard). At the south end of this reservoir, another pipeline brought water to the southern portion of the Indian Colony in what is now South Pasadena.

Here's an early photo in which you can see a section of pipeline along the lower left wall of the gorge.


With water for agricultural irrigation and domestic use, the settlers’ vision was becoming reality.

Here are selected scenes from the 15-minute film "Eaton's Water" that was produced with the intention of including water studies in local sixth-grade curriculum:



I've never seen the entire film. Does anybody out there have it?

How did the dam come to be?

After torrential floods in 1914 and 1916 that devastated the Arroyo Seco, a bond issue to fund construction of a flood-control dam was placed on the ballot in 1917 for all Los Angeles County voters. It passed.

Here are couple of photos of the 100-foot-tall dam under construction in 1920:




And here's the completed project:


I like this long shot that shows the vast upper Arroyo Seco, including where Jet Propulsion Laboratory would someday be built.



With the construction of the dam, there was no longer any public access to the devil’s profile. Many years later the formation was covered in gunite, rendering it nearly unrecognizable.


There's much more detailed history that I could go into -- the fight for water rights, improvements to the dam, more flooding, the many plans over the years for the future of Hahamongna -- but I'll let you research all that on your own time.

Fast-forwarding to the present, take a look at the current Hahamongna Watershed Park Master Plan, including Devil's Gate Dam information.


Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library, Arroyo Seco Foundation and Pasadena Museum of History.

Mystery History -- Solved

No winner this week. Admittedly, this was a hard one.

Continuing the presidential theme, this decorated locomotive is nearly ready to carry President Benjamin Harrison's train to Pasadena on April 23, 1891.

President Harrison was on a 30-day, 9,332-mile round trip from Washington, D.C., to the Pacific coast and back.

Here are some excerpts from an extensive article in the Pasadena Weekly Star dated April 29, 1891:

. . .The presidential train was booked to arrive here at 7 o’clock but it was a quarter to eight before its whistle was heard. . .

. . .When the trained pulled in at the Santa Fe depot, closely followed by Governor Markham’s special, the park and streets about the Hotel Green and the station were packed with people who had patiently waited there for an hour and more. Great cheering greeted the party as they disembarked and walked into the hotel between Company B drawn up one side to receive them and the veterans of the Grand Army on the other, while Steil’s battery of one gun boomed forth in thunderous salutation. . .

. . .Then the south doors were opened, and for an hour the immense throng outside filed through and past the presidential party. The officers and men of Company B, who had been doing difficult guard duty outside, lent their efficient services in keeping the lines in order, and in hastening the passage of the multitude through the corridor. It was a trying ordeal for the president, but he bravely kept his post and shook hands with each man, woman and child as they were presented by Governor Markham, as did also the postmaster-general and the secretary of agriculture. It is estimated that at least 2000 people were thus taken by the hand. It was half-past ten before the reception was over. . .

Here’s what the Hotel Green looked like in the 1890s:


Later in the evening there was a special banquet at the hotel. Another excerpt from the Pasadena Daily Star article:

. . .The company arose as the president entered amidst loud applause and waving of napkins. After a short blessing asked by Rev. J.B. Stewart of San Francisco, the first course was served. The menus are lovely mementos of the occasion. The title page, printed in black on white satin, contains a fine lithographed portrait of the president, with the words “Welcome to Our President” over it. . .The second page, of light blue satin, contains the menu, as follows:

Blue Point Oysters
SOUP
Cream of Asparagus
FISH
Baked Mountain Trout
Cucumbers, New Potatoes, Sliced Tomatoes
REMOVES
Supreme of Chicken, Mushroom Sauce
Roast Spring Lamb, Mint Sauce
Asparagus Tops, Spinach, String Beans
ENTREES
Fillet of Beef, Truffle Sauce
Sweet Bread Patties, Parisian Style
Green Peas
Mayonnaise
Lobster, Boars Head, Shrimp
Roman Punch
Boned Turkey, Aspee Jelly
Dressed Lettuce, Water Cresses
DESSERT
Assorted Cakes, Macaroons, Cigarette Wafers
Champanue Jelly, Ice Cream, Frozen Pudding
Apples, Oranges, Loquats
Bananas, Strawberries
Coffee
WINES
Zinfandel, Burgundy, Eclipse
Haut Sauterne
Sherry, 15 Years Old
CIGARS

The article goes into great detail about speechifying, what the ladies were wearing, who sat on the various welcoming committees and other fascinating bits that are too lengthy to include on my humble little blog.

Here’s more of the article, at the point where it describes a presidential tour through Pasadena:

…The president’s carriage, which had been beautifully trimmed with acacia by Mrs. Masters and Mrs. B.M. Wotkyns, was drawn by four beautiful horses, two blacks and two grays. . .

Here’s a photo of President Harrison’s carriage during a stop at the Los Angeles House hotel in Pasadena.


The tour through Pasadena must have taken all day: The designated route was Colorado to Marengo, California, El Molino, Walnut, Raymond, back to Colorado, Fair Oaks, Orange Grove, back to California, to Pasadena Avenue, Bellefontaine, back to Orange Grove, Columbia, the Raymond Hotel, back to Columbia, Colorado, "through Mrs. Carr's grounds," back to Colorado, and then back to Raymond and the Hotel Green.

The route was announced well in advance so as many people as possible could line the streets to welcome the president and his party.

...The point of greatest interest was on South Marengo avenue, where an immense crowd had congregated, including about 2000 school children. Handkerchiefs were waved and some cheering indulged in, but the lack of music made the demonstrations of this kind not as noisy as they should have been. Marengo avenue presented a beautiful appearance. Just below the crossing of Kansas street the party passed beneath an imposing arch built of calla lilies and surmounted by pampas plumes. The north front of the apex bore a large portrait of the president, and beneath were the words, in letters made of oranges, “Welcome to our Guests.” Below hung the monogram “B.H.” in pink and white roses. The white lilies had a background of evergreen at some points. . .

Here’s a photo of the Marengo arch:

There was also a lot of lobbying that took place during the president's trip to Pasadena, and it paid off: The following year, by official order, Harrison established the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve, later to be called the Angeles National Forest (which is currently burning). It was the first such reserve in California and the second in the U.S.

. . .Senator Heacock and Mayor P.J. Barber, of Santa Barbara, were here last night as a committee from that city to see that the president didn’t stay too long before leaving with them for their lovely town. . .

Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library (Martha Camacho rocks!), Los Angeles Public Library, Pasadena Museum of History and University of Southern California.

Mystery History -- Solved

I stumped everybody again! I love this image so much that I assumed it must be iconic.

In the photo above, Jeanne Carr is standing on a balcony at her 22-room home "Carmelita" at 470 Kensington in 1892, the last year she would live there.

Here's a portion of the home from a different angle:


The 42-acre property was bordered by Colorado Street to the south, Orange Grove Boulevard to the west and Fair Oaks Avenue to the east.

And here's another side of the home, this one covered in wisteria:


Mrs. Carr was quite an accomplished woman in her day. She was an expert horticulturist who planned and planted what would become known as Carmelita Gardens and, years later, Carmelita Park.

Her husband, Dr. Ezra S. Carr, was a medical doctor and career educator who had been a professor of chemistry, agriculture and natural history at the University of Wisconsin before moving on to UC Berkeley and then spending the twilight of his career as the superintendent of public instruction for the State of California from 1875 to 1880.

Here's Dr. Carr relaxing in the shade of the wisteria:


While living in the Bay Area, the Carrs traveled many times to Pasadena. During one such trip they purchased the 42-acre property and planted orange groves that were a highly successful venture for them as they planned and saved for eventual retirement to the area.

Once they moved permanently to Pasadena in 1880, they opted out of the citrus business and built a boarding house of sorts on the property.


It was actually an early cultural center where many famous people came to stay for extended periods of time, including John Muir, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Helen Hunt Jackson, Theodore Lukens, William Keith and Helena Modjeska.

Mrs. Carr also established a successful horticulture school for women on the property.

Here are the Carrs at a rustic cabin that was on the property when they purchased it. They loved it so much they could never bring themselves to demolish it.


Helen Hunt Jackson wrote part of her novel “Ramona” in this little cabin.

Mrs. Carr set the standard for refined Pasadena landscaping in that era, such as using hedges instead of fences, planting flowering shrubs and trees, etc.

Carmelita had the most extensive garden in Pasadena, filled with plants from all over the world.

Some were planted by John Muir himself. He had been a student of Dr. Carr's at the University of Wisconsin; Mrs. Carr was a mentor to Muir and encouraged him to get his papers published.


Here's a letter from John Muir to Jeanne Carr written on Aug. 12, 1877:

Dear Mrs. Carr:

I've seen your sunny Pasadena and the patch called yours.

Everything about here pleases me and I felt sorely tempted to take Dr. Congar's advice and invest in an orange patch myself. I feel sure you will be happy here with the Doctor and Allie among so rich a luxuriance of sunny vegetation, How you will dig and dibble in that mellow loam! I cannot think of you standing erect for a single moment, unless it be in looking away out into the dreamy West.

I made a fine shaggy little five days' excursion back in the heart of the San Gabriel Mountains, and then a week of real pleasure with Congar resurrecting the past about Madison. He has a fine little farm, fine little family, and fine cozy home. I felt at home with Congar and at once took possession of his premises and all that in them is. We drove down through the settlements eastward and saw the best orange groves and vineyards, but the mountains I, as usual, met alone. Although so gray and silent and unpromising they are full of wild gardens and ferneries. Lilyries!--some specimens ten feet high with twenty lilies, big enough for bonnets! The main results I will tell you some other time, should you ever have an hour's leisure.

I go North to-day, by rail to Newhall, thence by stage to Soledad and on to Monterey, where I will take to the woods and feel my way in free study to San Francisco. May reach the City about, the middle of next month. . . .

Ever cordially

J. M.

In 1892 the Carrs sold the property to Simeon Reed, founder of Reed College in Oregon. He and his wife Amanda had great plans for building a new home for themselves at Carmelita, but Simeon Reed died of a stroke in 1895. Mrs. Reed continued to live in Pasadena until her death in 1905.

OK, so fast forward to 1941.

The property was gifted to the City of Pasadena on the condition that the Pasadena Art Institute could be located there. The institute leased the property for 20 years on the condition that a permanent museum be constructed on the site.

Since 1975 the Norton Simon Museum has occupied about seven acres that are still owned by the City of Pasadena.

Some of the trees and shrubs in the Norton Simon Museum gardens are more than a century old and planted by Jeanne Carr and others, but most of the gardens are more recent.



Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena Museum of History, University of Southern California and Norton Simon Museum.

Mystery History -- Solved

The person who signed in as TAMMY wins. A couple of people emailed me to remind me that I had not changed the file name of the photo to Mystery History but instead still had it named for what was happening. I could presume that TAMMY got the answer from the photo's first file name (before I changed it), or I could give her/him the benefit of the doubt.

Under the circumstances, I'm giving TAMMY the benefit of the doubt. Contact me, TAMMY, and I'll let you know about your fabulous prize!

In the photo above, R.L. Daugherty (center), chairman of Pasadena's Board of City Directors, presides over the opening of a time capsule in January 1931. (The others in the photo are not identified.)

In 1903 the time capsule had been cemented into the cornerstone of the first City Hall owned by the City of Pasadena. It was at the northeast corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Union Street and stood for 29 years before being demolished. (The Container Store is now at that corner.)

Here's a color-tinted postcard that is not dated, but note the horse and buggy and dirt streets.

HEY, WAIT A MINUTE -- HOLD YOUR HORSES!

If the City of Pasadena was incorporated in 1886 and this first City Hall was built in 1903, where was city business conducted all the years in between?

Just about everywhere, it seems!

The first municipal business was conducted from June to August 1886 in E.C. Webster's office over Stevens Hardware Store -- the building on the left in the photo below -- on the south side of Colorado Street between Raymond and Fair Oaks. Webster had been elected to the first board of trustees, which years later would become the city council.

Then it was on to more spacious quarters from August 1886 to Jan. 2, 1887, over A. Cruickshank's Dry Goods Store at the southwest corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Kansas Street (now Green Street). We couldn't find a photo of that building.

From Jan. 3 to March 20, 1887, municipal offices were back with E.C. Webster, this time in his Carlton Hotel on what was (and is) known as the Exchange Block on the north side of Colorado Street between Raymond and Fair Oaks.

Here's a color-tinted woodcut of the Carlton Hotel from the Pasadena City Directory of 1888:

And then the municipal government hit the relative big time when it occupied the entire Old Central School building from March 21, 1887, to Dec. 10, 1889.

The school had been built in 1878 on the south side of Colorado Street. It was moved to Raymond Avenue at Green Street and leased to the City of Pasadena to serve as the City Hall. There's no mention on the back of the photo below about who's who on the front steps of the building, but I presume they were the civic leaders at the time.


When that lease expired, the city leased a brick building owned by C.T. Hopkins on the northwest corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Union Street beginning Dec. 11, 1889. We have no photos of that building.

Then, on Feb. 27, 1893, the move was made to the other side of the street to the southwest corner of Fair Oaks and Union -- a brick building owned by George W. White. We couldn't find any photos of the building in that era, but here it is today:


Continuing the love affair with this intersection, the very first taxpayer-owned City Hall opened for business Nov. 3, 1903, at the northeast corner (note that in this later photo there are automobiles and the streets are smoother).


And of course, this architectural treasure opened for business on Dec. 27, 1927 (just in time to collect the fees for the Rose Parade, as the old joke goes). This photo pre-dates the opening by several weeks.

And here she is today.


To see construction photos of our current City Hall, click on any or all of the links below:

When City Hall was a Hole in the Ground

More Original City Hall Historic 1920s Construction Photos

Historic City Hall 1920s Construction Photos, Continued

By Popular Demand...

The Light through City Hall's Secret Windows

Many thanks to crackerjack reference librarian Dan McLaughlin for helping me with the research for today's post, and thanks to Pasadena Public Library and Pasadena Museum of History for use of some of the historic photos.