The Hugo Reid Adobe still stands in disrepair at the Los Angeles County Arboretum five years after preservation and restoration efforts should have started. At issue is whether it should be preserved as the Hugo Reid Adobe or reinterpreted as the Elias J. ("Lucky") Baldwin Adobe.
The dead body of 24-year-old Nancy Christina Sanchez, of Baldwin Park, was found in an alley behind Alice Street near Santa Anita Avenue. In an unrelated case, 60-year-old Gisela Fischer died at Arcadia Methodist Hospital after she was found floating in the hot tub at the Elite Westerner Motel at 161 Colorado Place.
Carol Libby and Scott Hettrick of the Arcadia Historical Society are both on the Baldwin Adobe Restoration Committee, which wants to restore the Hugo Reid Adobe on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum. They want to re-create the adobe as it was in its heyday, when Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin lived there from 1875 until he died in 1909.
A pilot program called "Arboretum Explorers" teaches children about nature. It is a 5-day summer camp. Natalia Chang, 8, of Arcadia is shown in a photograph.
Peggy Zabel, a computer aide at Hugo Reid Elementary School, went on a road trip on historic Route 66. The trip totaled 6,240 miles and she e-mailed her journal and photos to students at Hugo Reid Elementary School.
Raising a failing preservation grade. The Los Angeles Conservancy has given Arcadia an "F" in historic preservation. The city is working to remedy this with a preservation effort started over a year ago. A city-wide intensive level survey will enable the city to gain a better understanding of where significant historic resources are located and to plan for their preservation. The next step would be to pass a historic preservation ordinance.
Police identified the partially clothed body of a woman found in alley near First Avenue and Alice Street as Nancy Christina Sanchez of Baldwin Park. The cause of death is unknown at this time.
Projected Marriott hotel development breaks ground in 2018; Seqoia trees already down (on site of Santa Anita Inn). The developer did try to save some redwood trees on the site.
Arcadia City Council puts restructure of zoning on hold; exempts Highlands from historical preservation due to ongoing lawsuit that Highlands residents filed against City Council. The lawsuit, filed in March by a group called Save the Arcadia Highlands, seeks to force the City Council to rescind its approval of two construction projects that would replace existing mid-20th century homes with significantly larger homes. Council members Tom Beck, Sho Tay, and Mayor Gary Kovacic voted to move forward with establishing historic preservation guidelines and exempt the Highlands HOA territory from the forthcoming ordinance.
The Los Angeles Conservancy graded local cities on their efforts to preserve historic buildings. Arcadia was deemed a preservation truant and received a report card grade of F.
Arcadia Unified School District upgraded and improved four campuses over summer break, costing nearly $10 million. Funded under the district's $218 million Measure I Bond, the four schools that got updated classrooms and facilities are Arcadia High School, Camino Grove Elementary, Hugo Reid Elementary, and Highland Oaks Elementary schools.
Historic preservation coming to Arcadia. City is in process of drafting ordinances on historic preservation aimed at safeguarding historic districts, structures and buildings. Ordinances are expected to provide defined procedures and criteria for property owners and communities to judge their historic relevance. Correction: see Arcadia Weekly, p. 10, February 22, 2018 and another correction Arcadia Weekly, p. 13, March 1, 2018. Correction to the Historic preservation coming to Arcadia article. Arcadia Weekly recently ran an article about the Arcadia City Council drafting a historic preservation ordinance. It incorrectly read, "The draft would demand the consent of 60% of property owners along with Planning Commission review and City Council adoption." The corrected statement reads, "The Draft Historic Preservation Ordinance proposes that at least 60% of properties within the district must contribute to the historic significance of the district and 75% of the property owners within the district need to consent to the designation."