Historical information on Baldwin Lake, the four-acre body of water that adjoins the Queen Anne Cottage in the historical section of the Los Angeles County Arboretum, is presented. The history of lake extends from time of the Native Americans (they called their village Aleupkigna), to Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's ranch in 1873, to the movies and television shows in which it has appeared. Baldwin Lake played host to movie stars Johnny Weismuller, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. The lake has appeared in Safari, Roots, and Fantasy Island. See also VF "Arboretum" for hard copy of article.
The history of the peafowl from Indian and Java that live in Arcadia is presented. Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin imported three pairs from India in the 1880s. His daughter Anita Baldwin added some birds from Java. The peacock is official bird of Arcadia, is protected, and should not be fed. See also VF "Peacocks" for copy of article.
A photo with a caption shows the Hugo Reid statue's move from Los Angeles County Park to a place outside the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum. The statue is of Hugo Reid, his wife Victoria Reid, her children, and the family dog.
The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to donate the Hugo Reid Family Statue to the city of Arcadia. The city will relocate the statue from Arcadia Community (County?) Park to the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum. The article includes some history about Hugo Reid.
A Scots or Scottish pioneer Hugo Reid, came to Southern California in 1832, from Scotland. He was the first private owner of Rancho Santa Anita and an elementary in Arcadia carries his name.
The statue saluting Hugo Reid and his family will be donated to Arcadia by the county if the city pays cost of moving it and restoring the parkland. It will be moved to a spot near the Arcadia Historical Museum.
Dr. Charles H. Strub brought horse racing back to Arcadia. After the state made it legal again in 1930, Anita Baldwin tried to revive her father, Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's dream of a Santa Anita Racetrack. She worked with Joe Smoot but he couldn't achieve this, even though Arcadia City Council licensed his Santa Anita Jockey Club. San Francisco dentist Charles H. Strub (pronounced Stroob), owner of the San Francisco Seals baseball team, got a license for the Los Angeles Turf Club and founded Santa Anita Park with Hal Roach and other promoters. The track was designed by Gordon Kaufman and opened December 25, 1934.
Arcadia celebrates its 100th birthday on August 5, 2003. The date reflects the anniversary of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors certifying the results of the cityhood election. Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin was talking about creating a city as early as 1886. He wanted to name the city Baldwin. On July 27, 1903, thirty-nine residents voted for cityhood.
Anoakia Estates model homes to open for viewing by this spring. The community is made up of 31 luxury homes. Developer is Tom Hover. The homes were constructed on the site of Anoakia, an estate owned by Anita Baldwin, daughter of Arcadia city founder, Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin, at Foothill Boulevard and Baldwin Avenue. The homes will be 2-stories, and 5,000-6,000 square feet.
Construction begins on Anoakia luxury housing development, on the former site of Anoakia, Anita Baldwin's mansion, on the corner of Baldwin Avenue and Foothill Boulevard in Arcadia. The Anoakia Mansion was demolished last August to make way for 31 homes to be built by Hover Development Inc. of Newport Beach. Anita Baldwin, daughter of Lucky Baldwin, lived there until her death in 1939. It was used as a girls' school from 1941 to the late 1970s. The new housing development is 19 acres.
If a 1948 plan by the Rapid Transit Action Group to salvage a portion of the Pacific Electric Red Car system had become a reality, Arcadia and Monrovia would have been enjoying the benefits of light rail transit for the last 54 years. Arcadia Weekly writer Charles Cooper provides historical information and rider statistics of the old rail lines.
The water in Baldwin Lake at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, which is actually a sag pond, is evaporating, and the water is not being replenished by the artesian well because of low levels in the water table. The lake is famous from the television show Fantasy Island. The last time Baldwin Lake was dry was 1991.
Arcadia's new city government first formed in 1903 and its first meeting took place at Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's Oakwood Hotel, located at First Avenue and Santa Clara Road. Baldwin's hotel featured gambling and fine dining along with city government. The Oakwood Hotel burned down in 1911, and the city government moved to the McCoy Building at First Avenue and St. Joseph Street. Two years later, City Hall moved across the street to the Hibbard Building. In 1917, the first building was constructed as a City Hall at Huntington Drive and Second Avenue (?). A two-story colonial building was built for $18,000. This City Hall opened on July 13, 1918. City Hall moved in 1949 to a 13-acre parcel between Huntington Drive and the Pacific Electric railroad tracks.
Charles Cooper continues his Arcadia city centennial series "Memories of Arcadia" with a story about Arcadia's mayors. A. N. Multer was the first person to be given the title of mayor of Arcadia. City founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin was the city's first presiding officer, but he held the title of president of the Board of Trustees. The title of mayor was not adopted until 1927, when the Board of Trustees changed to the City Council. Arcadia will have 4 mayors this year to mark the city's centennial. Each city council member will rotate into the position. More interesting facts: Floretta Lauber was the first woman to serve as mayor. She paved the way for Mary Young, Barbara Kuhn, and Gail Marshall to follow. Other history of mayors is recapped. The first city manager was William J. Richards in 1951, when a charter was adopted. The longest serving city official was City Clerk Christine Van Mannen, who held the job for 32 years. See hard copy in VF Arcadia (City) History.