The City Council voted to allow the developer, Anoakia Oaks, to proceed with the tearing down of Anoakia, the 1913 Anita Baldwin mansion, and to build 31 houses on the property.
Fall of the House of Baldwin. Part 2 of a 6 part series: Anoakia's lifespan. History of Anita Baldwin's residence, a mansion named Anoakia. By Galen Patterson. See hard copy in VF Baldwin, Anita
The Anoakia estate will most likely be demolished in three months, but its destruction could prompt the city to identify and protect other historic buildings.
Fall of the House of Baldwin. Part 3 of a 6 part series: What happened to the Jinks Room murals by Maynard Dixon? The Jinks Room had nine Dixon murals. The Lowry B. McCaslin family, which owned Anoakia at the time, held onto three murals, the rest were donated to the University of Southern California (USC). The McCaslin family bought the Anoakia estate after Anita Baldwin passed. By Galen Patterson. See hard copy in VF Baldwin, Anita
Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of Santa Anita Park race track, which is in bankruptcy reorganization hearings, filed a plan that would cancel its 2005 agreement with Rick Caruso to develop the 830,000 square feet Shops at Santa Anita on the race track's south parking lot. Caruso filed an objection to the move in bankruptcy court, citing "substantial economic harm" to Santa Anita Associates, LLC, the legal entity that was going to develop the project. Santa Anita LLC has so far invested over $25 million to the project's development. Caruso is committed to developing the project in Arcadia. If the contract is indeed terminated between the parties, Magna would have to start from scratch with new plans, new environmental impact reports, and new hearings to propose another development.
A developer who wants to replace the historic Anoakia estate with a 31-home gated community received tentative approval Tuesday night from the Planning Commission.
Fall of the House of Baldwin. Part 1 of a 6 part series about Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's younger daughter Anita Baldwin. By Galen Patterson. See hard copy in VF Baldwin, Anita
Fall of the House of Baldwin. Part 5 of a 6 part series: the Pantophagist. An account of Anita Baldwin's cookbook "The Pantophagist." By Galen Patterson. See hard copy in VF Baldwin, Anita
Fall of the House of Baldwin. Part 4 of a 6 part series: This issue of Arcadia Weekly is missing. By Galen Patterson. See hard copy in VF Baldwin, Anita
Revisiting Anita Baldwin. Margaux Viera (photo) of Riverside, the great-great-great granddaughter of Arcadia founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin, has unexpectedly come into possession of some personal items that belonged to Anita M. Baldwin, the only daughter born to Lucky Baldwin and his third wife, Jane Virginia Dexter. The items were discovered by a farmer on a rural, central Nevada ranch once owned by the Baldwin estate. The items include Anita Baldwin's daily journal from 1935, a gold calligraphy pen and Art Deco glass bottle used as an inkwell, an address book with her name and signature, a leather passport holder with her name and a wallet containing several of her identification and membership cards. See hard copy in VF "Baldwin, Anita."
The Anoakia School, soon to be renamed the Anita Oaks School, won a victory against staunch opponents of the relocation when the Duarte City Council unanimously approved the move to property owned by New Life Assembly of God Church.
Despite opposition from residents, the Arcadia City Council cleared the way for a property owner to build a 7,730 square feet home on a 27,000 s.f. corner lot on the city's north side, on 1100 block of San Carlos Road. The council's 3-2 vote overturned the Santa Anita Oaks Homeowners Association's Architectural Review Board and the Planning Commision. The owners are Hourig Baghdadlian and her husband.