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Serving Altadena since 1935

The Altadena Historical Society (AHS) was founded in 1935. We gather, preserve, and share print and digital information about the people, places, and events that have shaped the Altadena community.

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'Altadena Topics' August 1950 We have a collectio

'Altadena Topics' August 1950

We have a collection of monthly newsletters from Altadena's own financial institution, First Federal Savings & Loan. It was originally located on the northwest corner of Lake and Mariposa, but later moved to Lake and Calaveras (the current location of Aldi's). Here's one from 72 years ago with a lot of good advice for us still today:
"Residents of our modern community are within easy access of abundant recreation opportunities which better fit them to solve present day problems thrust upon them by the present world crisis."
—- On the second set of images - Wagner's Plunge (lower left) was a privately operated pool near Eaton Canyon. It's location is not certain.
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#topics #monthly #newsletters
#financial #institution #savings #bank #abundant #recreation #goodadvice #solve #problems #mountwilson #observatory #summer #living #foothills #modern #easy #access #sports #vacation #recreation #relaxation #positive #thoughts #picnic

Amenities at Ye Alpine Tavern, c. 1920. Another i

Amenities at Ye Alpine Tavern, c. 1920.

Another item from our Trent Steele Collection is a promotional brochure for the Mt. Lowe Railway. On one of its pages, several amenities available at Ye Alpine Tavern are pictured, one of which is a tennis court on a ridge top! We've posted another view of that tennis court with a current 2022 view of the site.
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A Mt. Lowe souvenir, c. 1915. In our Trent Steele

A Mt. Lowe souvenir, c. 1915.

In our Trent Steele Collection, we have many photos and artifacts from the famous and long-gone Mt. Lowe Railway. For many years, all visitors had their photos taken at the top of the incline at Echo Mountain by photographer Charles Lawrence. For a price, you could have one of these souvenir cards mailed to you after your trip. The front is a photograph of your incline car, and the reverse is a description of the railway. A special note is made that the incline cable is tested to 100 tons, far more than necessary. Safety first!
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A little school district history, April 1963 We c

A little school district history, April 1963

We came across a front page from an old Altadenan newspaper that gave complete coverage of a pressing issue: what to do now that the La Canada community had split off to form their own school district. (Until 1963, La Canada students attended John Muir High School.) Here is a map and a couple of headlines from that issue.
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Another look at Altadena Elementary through the ye

Another look at Altadena Elementary through the years...

As with our post last Friday, here are more photos from an old photo album with several images of activities at Altadena's first school. From the 1920's, there is a 'Roman Legion,' a playground pet show, and a class photo. From 1939, a picture of the crowds at the School PTA carnival, and a set of blurry photos from a 1940 circus on the playground.
#altadenahistoricalsociety #altadena #altadenahistorical #altadenaelementary #friday #old #photoalbum #images #activities #1920s #roman #legion #romanlegion #playground #petshow #classphoto #1939 #crowd #pta #schoolpta #carnival #blurry #photos #1940 #circus #playground

This Saturday afternoon at the Altadena Community

This Saturday afternoon at the Altadena Community Center!
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