Harry Ainsworth Ranch, upper grove looking north to mountains. Present day Highland Oaks School would be located about where trees block the end of the row of citrus trees.
A Japanese family (child, mother, father) pictured by small house they lived in on Harry Ainsworth Ranch which was just east of intersection of Santa Anita and Orange Grove Ave. The father was the head gardener for Ainsworth. Name unknown.
Entrance to Harry Ainsworth Ranch which was just to east of intersection of Santa Anita and Orange Grove Avenue. In this view we are on ranch property looking west through gate toward town of Sierra Madre. Tall eucalyptus are on Santa Anita Avenue. Car is driving through stone-based pillars of gate. Wistaria vine in blossom covers frame over entry.
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.
