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.
Special events to be featured at the second annual Lucky Baldwin Day Community Picnic on October 27 include sack races, a spelling bee, and pumpking carving contest. The highlight will be the drawing to select a boy or girl to ride on the city's Rose Parade float.
Writer Richard P. McKee, a past president of Californians Aware, an open-government advocacy group, thinks Arcadia City Council closed session meetings about the "southerly parking area of the Santa Anita Park race track property" are suspect.
Westfield America may feel threatened by Caruso Affiliated's proposed outdoor mall and residential complex on the parking lot of the Santa Anita Park race track.
Two articles describe the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park this year. One is about Victor Espinoza riding a horse called Casino Drive on the track's new Pro-Ride Synthetic surface. The other article is about a 4-year-old filly named Zenyatta, ridden by jockey Mike Smith, that won the first all-female card in Breeders' Cup history.
The "Hugo Reid Family" sculpture created in 1937 by artist Preston Prescott will be moved to the Arcadia Historical Museum. The museum has purchased a portrait of Lucky Baldwin created in 1906 by Maynard Dixon. The article includes a profile of items on display at the museum.
The Arcadia High School Class of 2001 graduated 780 students at the Santa Anita Park race track. Valedictorian Vincent Auyeung gave a speech. This was the second year the graduation was held at the race track.
Santa Anita Park was named last week to a list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Places" because of owner Frank Stronach's plans to create a retail-entertainment center in the historic race track.
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.
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.