 Glendale in the 1870's This history of the neighborhood plays a vital part in the identity of its residents. If you have lived in the neighborhood for many years, the neighborhood history is a heartfelt reminder of days gone by. If you have just come to call the neighborhood home, it is a way to learn more about the new community you have joined. We would love nothing more than to be able to share the history of neighborhood name with all who reside there. If you are interested in writing a brief history of the neighborhood to share with the community, please contact us! |
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Glendale HistoryThe area was long inhabited by the Tongva people.
José María Verdugo, a corporal in the Spanish army from Baja California, received a grant of the Rancho San Rafael in 1798, an area he had been farming since 1784. In 1860 His grandson Teodoro Verdugo built the Verdugo Adobe, which is the oldest building in Glendale. The property is the location of the Oak of Peace where early Californio leaders including Jesus Pico met in 1847 and decided to surrender to American General John C. Frémont.
Verdugo's descendants sold the ranch in various parcels, some of which are included in present-day Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, and Highland Park neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Glendale, 1910.In 1884 residents gathered to form a town and chose the name 'Glendale'. Residents to the southwest formed 'Tropico' in 1887. The Pacific Electric Railroad brought streetcar service in 1904.
The City of Glendale was incorporated in 1906 and Tropico was annexed 12 years later. The most important civic booster of the era was Leslie C. Brand, who built in 1909 a grand estate El Miradero in a stunning blend of architectural styles. Brand built a private airstrip in 1919 and hosted 'fly-in' parties. The grounds of El Miradero are now city-owned Brand Park and the mansion is the Brand Library. One of the city's main thoroughfares is Brand Boulevard.
Brand Blvd. - 1915
Looking on Brand Blvd, 1915.The city grew quickly. Its population rose from 13,756 in 1920 to 62,736 in 1930 before slowing down. The Forest Lawn Memorial Park opened in 1917. Pioneering endocrinologist and entrepreneur Dr. Henry R. Harrower opened his clinic in Glendale in 1920, which for many years was the largest business in the city. The American Green Cross, an early conservation and tree preservation society, was formed in 1926 (it disbanded three years later and the current organization of that name is unrelated).
Grand Central Air Terminal, October 2005The 'Grand Central Airport' was an important facility to the city and to the history of aviation. It provided the first paved runway west of the Rocky Mountains in 1923. In 1928 it opened its terminal, making it the first official airport in Greater Los Angeles. For the next two decades it was the main airport in the county and references to 'Los Angeles Airport' from that era generally refer to the Grand Central Airport, not to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which was known as Mines Field at the time (commercial airline operations at LAX did not begin until 1946).
Jack Northrop built his first aircraft factory here in 1927, though it was soon moved to Burbank's 'United Airport' (now Bob Hope Airport). The first regularly-scheduled airline service between Southern California and New York City was initiated on July 28, 1929 by Transcontinental Air Transport, with owner Charles A. Lindbergh piloting the first flight. Among the passengers on the 48-hour trip were Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Pioneering female aviator Laura Ingalls became the first woman to fly solo across in the country when she landed at Glendale in 1930. The first transcontinental flight by African American pilots, Albert Forsythe and Charles Anderson, was completed at Glendale in 1933. Howard Hughes built his innovative and record-setting 'H-1 Racer' in a plant next to the airport in 1935. During World War II it became a P-38 base where the 319th Fighter Wing trained.
After the war the airport eventually returned to private use but its runways were too short for jet planes and the airport was closed in 1959. The Grand Central Air Terminal building, with its control tower, was designed by Henry L. Gogerty. The building is currently owned by The Walt Disney Company, though the terminal and tower were made uninhabitable by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The airport was the setting of several films, including Hughes' 1930 Hell's Angels, Shirley Temple's 1934 Bright Eyes, and the musical Hollywood Hotel with Dick Powell. The city of Glendale is also part owner of the Bob Hope Airport (formerly 'Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport').
The Bob's Big Boy chain of hamburger restaurants started in Glendale in 1936, and the Baskin-Robbins, '31 Flavors' chain of ice cream parlors started there in 1945.
In 1964, Glendale was selected by George Lincoln Rockwell to be the West Coast headquarters of the American Nazi Party. Its offices, on Colorado Street in the downtown section of the city, remained open until the early 1980s.
The Glendale Public Library contains one of the largest collections of books on cats in the world, over 20,000 volumes.[1] It was donated to the library in the 1950s by the Jewel City Cat Fanciers Club, with the understanding that it would be made into a special collection and kept permanently for club members to use and enjoy. [2]
The skyline of downtown Glendale.The city saw significant development in the 1970s. Completion of the Glendale Freeway (HWY 2) and the Ventura Freeway (HWY 134), redevelopment of Brand Boulevard, renovation of the 1925 Alex Theatre, and construction of the Glendale Galleria shopping mall, all contributed to the resurgence of the city.
In 1994, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen formed DreamWorks SKG, a diversified entertainment company. The company's 'southern campus' is located in the city's Grand Central Business Park on a tract of land formerly occupied by a Sparkletts Water bottling facility. The Walt Disney Company also has a large campus located in the Grand Central Business Park that includes the headquarters for its Imagineering division and KABC-TV.
On January 26, 2005, 11 people were killed in a Metrolink train crash just south of downtown Glendale.
As of 2005, construction began in downtown Glendale for developer Rick Caruso's 'Americana on Brand'. Americana on Brand is scheduled to open in 2008 and plans include movie theaters, cafes, restaurants, and shopping.
