The Los Angeles Conservancy gave an F grade to Arcadia, Bradbury, Diamond Bar, El Monte, Industry, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Monterey Park, Rosemead, Santa Fe Springs, Temple City and Walnut, in a report card of local cities. The cities were judged on whether or not they had an ordinance allowing designation of historic landmarks, how many landmarks are designated, if cities provide for implementation of the Mills Act and other criteria.
Representatives of the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that Santa Anita Park race track has been named to their list of the country's most endangered historic places. Efforts mount to preserve Santa Anita's architectural integrity.
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 Los Angeles Conservancy opposes The Shops at Santa Anita mall, saying the proposed project may threaten the historic integrity of the 1934 race track. Conservancy officials are most concerned about the 1938 saddling barns and the historic grandstand.
A history of the Van de Kamp's windmill atop the Denny's Restaurant currently at the northeast corner of Santa Anita Avenue and Huntington Drive. The Arcadia windmill was built nearly 40 years ago as part of an architectural movement called programmatic architecture, or roadside vernacular, wherein the buildings reflected their tenants. See hard copy in VF "Buildings."
Westfield Group has nominated Santa Anita Park to the National Register of Historic Places, claiming development plans by Caruso Affiliated constitute a threat to the racetrack. Magna Entertainment, owner of the race track, would have to agree to the track being placed on the register. However, placement on the list would not restrict development on the site.
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.
The city welcomes construction of two office buildings at 225 and 255 Santa Clara Street. The buildings will be occupied by the law firm of Hart, Mieras, Morris and Peale, LLP, and Los Angeles District Church of the Nazarene.
Monrovia's Aztec Hotel is showcasing fine art in its non-profit Aztec Art Center Route 66 Gallery. Visitors are not just from Monrovia, but from Pasadena, Duarte and Arcadia. A painting by Manuel Barillas is pictured. The hotel is owned by Kathie Reece-McNeill. The hotel was designed in 1925 by English architect Robert Stacy-Judd and was inspired by Mayan and Aztect structures. The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976.
10-year-old Arcadia resident Natalia Sanchez-Nigolian started a "Save the Trees" fund to maintain trees on Paloma Drive, where she lives. She plans to start an environmental club at Hugo Reid Elementary.
Construction of the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum is experiencing delays. The city can charge penalties to BEGL Construction Company for delays of up to $500 per day. The project is 3 months past the completion date.
A home built by the Barker family of Barker Brothers fame will be the Pasadena Showcase House of Design. Designed by architect Roland Coate in the early 1940's, the house sits on a large corner lot in the Upper Rancho area of Arcadia.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined a $16 million program to finish all public building projects for Arcadia in three years, as part of the city's five-year capital budget. The spending would include a new $6.5 million City Hall, a $1.3 million upgrade to Fire Station 106 on Baldwin Avenue. The city plans to build a new fire station to replace Fire Station 105 on Santa Anita Avenue. A city gym for the civic center property is in planning stages. The city plans to re-roof the community center for $150,000 and to put up 1/2 of the $800,000 cost to make the high school sports field an all-weather facility.
A newly discovered geologic fault has quashed plans for a new gymnasium at Foothills Middle School that would have been shared with the City. The City and school district will now focus on building a gym at Dana Middle School.
Arcadia officials approve expansion and seismic retrofitting plans for Arcadia Methodist Hospital. Expansion plans include a new five-story patient tower, a new ambulance bay, a larger emergency room and a larger critical care unit.