Peacock with its feathers spread is seen on what is thought to be Pig Hill, part of Tallac Knoll where Anita Baldwin kept her pigs. There is a fence behind the peacock and a number of pigs visible.
The Los Angeles State and County Arboretum plans to open its 3 acre rain forest exhibit in July featuring several hundred plant specimens from around the world.
One of the houses on the north cove of the lake at the Arboretum which was built for the filming of the movie "Road to Singapore," starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, and Bob Hope. The house is up on stilts in the lake. The movie was filmed in 1940.
The possibility of a fee for admission to both the Arboretum and Descanso Gardens is being considered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. At a hearing, Hal Roach, a member of the Board of Governors expressed the hope that the Supervisors would not resort to charging a fee. The fee would NOT be used to keep up the Arboretum, but would go into the County General Fund.
A rugged, two-tier rock drinking fountain, family-built and designed, now sits in a palm-shaded grove at the Arboretum. It is a tribute to retired Pasadena Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Sprankle.
Man is riding bicycle on a path inside Rancho Santa Anita Park and Lake (later, the Arboretum), with many palm trees. Sign reads "Open to the Public Daily until 7PM, private property" and "Curves, drive slowly through park." The following information is from Sandy Snider: This is indeed, today’s Arboretum, but at the time the property was owned by a real estate syndicate named Rancho Santa Anita Inc. The enterprise was headed by the Chandler family (Harry until he died), and they bought the land from Anita Baldwin in 1936 for purposes of residential development. About 1939 they opened “the park” to visitors in hopes of encouraging land sales. About 30 acres surrounding the lake was sort of set aside as Santa Anita Park and Lake, that was roughly the area made available for movie location rentals and clearly for bicyclists, etc. 1939 is the circa date for this photograph, but it could have been anytime between 1936 and 1947 (when the land was sold to State and County for use as an Arboretum). The granite boulders lining roadways were typical Baldwin Ranch landscape features, and the pillars seen in the photo are also from Baldwin times. In the background you can see more boulders in a circular sort of shape – likely the old Baldwin Lily Pond.
