Iron gate and concrete posts of one entrance to Santa Anita Rancho with sign above showing only part of letters which read "Santa Anita Rancho." Entrance was on Huntington Drive.
South entrance to Rancho Santa Anita seen circa 1939. There is a man on a bicycle. A sign reads "Entrance to Rancho Santa Anita Park and Lake." 2nd sign reads "Curves Drive Slowly Through Park."
Sheep grazing beneath trees and apparently alongside a body of water (note extreme lower right section of photo). Believed to be on Rancho Santa Anita. Caption beneath one copy reads: "A pastoral scene on Santa Anita Rancho in 1890, just north of present Colorado Place."
American Institute of Architects, Southern California Chapter, held their Annual Hi-Jinks on Rancho Santa Anita. Photo shows baseball game in progress.
Photo and text of an L.A. Times newspaper article titled "Historic Santa Anita Tract Deed Delivered to County," describing the transfer of deed for 111-acre tract from Rancho Santa Anita, Inc. to the Los Angeles County Supervisors. The article states that the property will be converted into an arboretum.
Six men are seen standing in a group. L-R:Los Angeles County Supervisor John Anson Ford, Superintendent William A. Smith, Superintendent Raymond V. Darby (Chairman), F. Wesley Davies (Manager Rancho Santa Anita, Inc.), and Superintendent Leonard J. Roach. Davies is seen handing deed to 111-acre tract of historic Rancho Santa Anita to Superintendent Darby. This was to be developed into the Arboretum.
Photo of portion of two story Baldwin Ranch boarding house (built 1919 by Anita Baldwin). Was east of gate house on present day Old Ranch Road. Reid Greer remembers it as deserted and he and his friends used to explore it c. 1932. note: see Arcadia VF Arcadia-History-Rancho Santa Anita-1909-1939(Anita Baldwin) item #22 for description of boarding house.
Photo taken at Rancho Santa Anita with three oak trees in center and one man on either side looking toward camera. Same men appear to be in photos #1540 and 1542. Handwritten note, "Showing three pronged oak where road takes a turn to so. west."
Three dignitaries present when plaque was placed commemorating 100th anniversary of the granting of Rancho Santa Anita to Hugo Reid. L-R: Palmer Conner, author of Romance of the Ranchos, Marshall Stimson, authority on Southern California history, and Don Smith, President of Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Tallac Knoll road at Rancho Santa Anita with two men standing on either side. Men appear to be the same as in photo #1540 and 1541 and was most likely taken on the same date. Handwritten note on back reads, "View of proposed road to magazine on south slope of knoll." note: "magazine" was probably for a movie scene (ammunition)
Photo of Rancho Santa Anita with one man standing near an oak tree on left and another man standing to the right. Houses are visible in the background. The men appear to be the same as in photos #1541 and 1542. Handwritten note on back reads, "Showing where proposed road turns from so. slope knoll towards south."
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.
Photo of log cabin bearing a sign which reads:"Old Log Cabin. In the early 1880's E.J. Baldwin had this log cabin transported from his father's farm in Hamilton, Indiana, where he spent his early boyhood, to Rancho Santa Anita." We have been told signs like this identifying the various places of interest on the Baldwin Ranch were prevalent.
Spring 1935. Santa Anita Rancho field crops of many varieties were grown. View is toward the north. San Gabriel mountains completely across the photo. Chantry Flats Road visible at right side. White barn prominent in center of photo.
Dewey Butler's Sweet Corn Stand is shown next to the Santa Anita Motor Inn, which opened in 1938. There are four cars parked in front of the stand. Hand written note in scrapbook states, "Dewey Butler's - Golden Bantam Corn, and Melon Stand on Huntington Drive just west of the Santa Anita Motor Inn. The Sweetest corn and melon's you ever tasted, grown in the matchless soil of Old Rancho Santa Anita."
Aerial view of Rancho Santa Anita taken above Dairy, looking north, with 5,000,000 gallon reservoir in lower left, and Baldwin's one mile training track built in 1876 with stud barn buildings on south end of track. Eaton's Santa Anita at Colorado Boulevard and Michillinda Avenue just visible at top of photo.