The Monte Vista Hotel was a building which had been formerly located at the intersection of what today are Fenwick Street and Floralita Avenue in the Sunland-Tujunga district of Los Angeles. It was considered the first structure built in the district [1] as well as the last surviving structure of a larger, pre-existing facility known as the Monte Vista Lodge. [2]
The Monte Vista Hotel was constructed in 1885 [3] (or 1887) [4] by Frank H. Barclay, who had previously inaugurated a health colony upon the site. [5] In its early years it served as a luxury hotel and lodge for wealthy hunters who visited the area, which in those times was renowned for its game. It also helped to attract potential developers and homesteaders to Sunland, where Barclay owned most of the land. [6] During this period the Monte Vista Hotel was recognized for its French chef and personal fireplaces equipped in each room. [3] The Depression of 1882–1885 caused a downturn in the Monte Vista Hotel's fortunes, forcing Barclay to let go of the property. [3] It was acquired by Quentin Rowley, whose family would later construct the Rowley House, a homestead with a natural stone façade which survives to the present day. In 1903, Rowley sold the Monte Vista. [7]
In 1898, the Monte Vista Hotel briefly became involved in a local scandal involving Harry Clark, the young scion of a local wealthy family. [8] After murdering a Chinese immigrant, Clark fled into the foothills of La Crescenta whereupon he came across Philip Begue, a local off-duty police officer, and asked him for directions to the Monte Vista Hotel. Begue, who had been warned to stay alert for Clark's presence, arrested the fugitive without incident. [9]
Subsequently, the Monte Vista Hotel changed hands several times, becoming over the course of the decades a private home, a hotel again, a rooming house, and finally a retirement home. In its final guise, the facility was renamed Cypress Manor. Although the interior had remained mostly intact, by the 1960s the exterior had been extensively remodeled to the point where the original structure was difficult to discern. [3]
In 1960, the owner of the Cypress Manor, Robert Christopher, proposed the construction of a 50-bed hospital upon the site. [10] After failing to accomplish this, the building was abandoned in 1961. Two years later, ownership passed to Duncan Rimmer, a developer from Brentwood. After having been vacated, the structure became much vandalized, deteriorating to the point that local residents petitioned the city to have it demolished. In 1964, the Monte Vista Hotel was razed. [6]
La Crescenta-Montrose is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The community is bordered by Glendale to the south and west, La Cañada Flintridge to the east, and Angeles National Forest to the north. According to the United States Census Bureau, the La Crescenta-Montrose CDP measures about 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2), and the population was 19,653 at the 2010 census, up from 18,532 in 2000.
Sun Valley is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California in the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood is known for its overall youthful population and moderate racial diversity. There are three recreation centers in Sun Valley, one of which is a historic site. The neighborhood has thirteen public schools — including John H. Francis Polytechnic High School and Sun Valley High School — and four private schools.
State Route 118 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs west to east through Ventura and Los Angeles counties. It travels from State Route 126 at the eastern edge of Ventura immediately northwest of Saticoy, then through Saticoy, in Ventura County east to Interstate 210 near Lake View Terrace in Los Angeles. SR 118 crosses the Santa Susana Pass and the northern rim of the San Fernando Valley along its route.
Lake View Terrace is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California.
The Verdugo Mountains are a small, rugged mountain range of the Transverse Ranges system, located just south of the western San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, Southern California. The range is sometimes known as the Verdugo Hills or simply the Verdugos.
Shadow Hills is a neighborhood in the Verdugo Mountains and northeastern San Fernando Valley, within the city of Los Angeles, California.
Foothill Boulevard is a major road in the city and county of Los Angeles, as well as an arterial road in the city and county of San Bernardino, stretching well over 60 miles (97 km) in length, with some notable breaks along the route. Like its name implies, Foothill Boulevard runs across the foothills of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.
Michael Dennis Antonovich is an American politician who was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He represented the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, including the Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.
California's 28th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California, in Los Angeles County. The district is regarded as a Democratic stronghold and has been held by the Democratic Party since 2003 and is currently represented by Democrat Adam Schiff.
Sandberg is the name of a post office and small surrounding community that was attached to The Sandberg Lodge, located on the Ridge Route highway in the Sierra Pelona Mountains of Southern California. The Ridge Route linked the Greater Los Angeles area to the San Joaquin Valley and Central California from 1919 through 1933.
The Sportsmen's Lodge is a hotel located on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, Los Angeles, California. Operating under various names since the 1880s, the Sportsmen's Lodge is a San Fernando Valley landmark and remains a popular spot for celebrations, dinners and public events. Located in the heart of the Valley's studio district, the Sportsmen's Lodge was a popular gathering spot for cast and crew in old Hollywood, including Clark Gable, Bette Davis, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
Bolton Hall is a historic American Craftsman-era stone building in Tujunga, Los Angeles, California. Built in 1913, Bolton Hall was originally used as a community center for the utopian community of Los Terrenitos. From 1920 until 1957, it was used as an American Legion hall, the San Fernando Valley's second public library, Tujunga City Hall, and a jail. In 1957, the building was closed. For more than 20 years, Bolton Hall remained vacant and was the subject of debates over demolition and restoration. Since 1980, the building has been operated by the Little Landers Historical Society as a local history museum.
Area codes 818 and 747 are California area codes that primarily cover the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California.
Area code 818 was created in a split from area code 213 on January 7, 1984. On June 14, 1997, area code 818 was split to form area code 626 for most of the San Gabriel Valley. On May 18, 2009, area code 747 went into service as an overlay.
Rancho Tujunga was a 6,661-acre (26.96 km2) Mexican land grant in the western Crescenta Valley and northeastern San Fernando Valley, in present-day Los Angeles County, California. It was granted in 1840 by Mexican governor Juan Alvarado to Francisco Lopez and Pedro Lopez.
Los Angeles City Council District 2 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. The 2nd District began its existence in the Hollywood area but now covers much of the far eastern and southeastern portions of the San Fernando Valley and parts of the Crescenta Valley. The current representative is Paul Krekorian.
Sunland-Tujunga is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles located by the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the Crescenta Valley. Though Sunland and Tujunga began as separate settlements, they are today linked through a single police station, branch library, neighborhood council, chamber of commerce, city council district, and high school and various civic organizations. The merging of these communities under a hyphenated name goes back as far as 1928. Sunland-Tujunga contains the highest point of the city, Mount Lukens.
William Ellsworth Smythe, known as W. E. Smythe (1861–1922), was a journalist, writer and founder of the Little Landers movement, which aimed to settle small suburban lots with people who would farm their own properties, live off the land and sell or trade the surplus for needed income. In 1908 he set up such a colony in the Tijuana River valley, and in 1913 he joined in developing a similar venture in Tujunga, California. Smythe described the basic structure of the Little Land philosophy as colonies that "would provide low priced land, a public irrigation system and a cooperative market for the colony's products."
The Verdugos is a region of Los Angeles County, California including the areas in and around the Verdugo Mountains.
Coordinates: 34°15′41″N118°19′4″W / 34.26139°N 118.31778°W