Dictionary:
Al·ta·de·na (ăl'tə-dē'nə)  |
An unincorporated community of southern California at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena. It is mainly residential. Population: 42,600.
Altadena
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Altadena (ăltədē'nə) , uninc. residential city (1990 pop. 42,658), Los Angeles co., S Calif., just N of Pasadena, on the slopes of the San Gabriel Mts.; founded 1887. There is light manufacturing.
| Weather: Altadena, CA |
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| Wikipedia: Altadena, California |
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007) |
| Altadena, California | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: 34°11′19″N 118°8′5″W / 34.18861°N 118.13472°W | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| Area | |
| - Total | 8.7 sq mi (22.5 km2) |
| - Land | 8.7 sq mi (22.5 km2) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,358 ft (414 m) |
| Population | |
| - Total | 42,610 |
| - Density | 4,898.9/sq mi (1,891/km2) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| - Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP codes | 91001, 91003 |
| Area code(s) | 626 |
| FIPS code | 06-01290 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1652662 |
Altadena is an unincorporated census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center. The population was 42,610 at the 2000 census.
Featuring spectacular views of the San Gabriel Mountains, Altadena was developed as a suburb of Pasadena in 1887. It has long refused annexation by neighboring Pasadena. Its unincorporated status allowed it to become a major settlement area for working- and middle-class African-Americans during a period in which non-whites were forbidden to live in the vast majority of greater Los Angeles.
The name Altadena derives from the Spanish alta, meaning "upper", and -dena from Pasadena; the area is adjacent to, but at a higher elevation than, Pasadena.[1]
Contents |
Government
Altadena is part of the County of Los Angeles and is politically run by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who have executive, legislative and judicial powers. There are five members of the Board of Supervisors, elected by geographic district. Altadena is in District five, presently represented by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. In 1975, a group of Altadenans formed The Altadena Town Council with the help of Los Angeles County Supervisor Baxter Ward and the Pasadena Chapter of the League of Women Voters.
The Altadena Town Council acts as an ombudsman group to express to county, state and federal agencies the will and wishes of the Altadena community. Altadena is identified collectively by eight census tract, (U.S. Census Bureau) from each of which two resident census tract representatives are elected. The Altadena Town Council meets monthly at the Altadena Community Center to provide a forum for residents and government officials to convene. The council has no legislative powers and makes no legal decisions for the community; it only operates to express consensus to governmental officials.
Official tree and flower
Official tree: The Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara). Indigenous to the Himalayas, the deodar was brought as seeds to Altadena in 1883 by Founder John Woodbury who saw the beautiful trees in Italy. After growing the trees for two years, the trees were transplanted to Santa Rosa Avenue where they now stand majestically as Christmas Tree Lane.
Official flower: The California Golden Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). Indigenous to the southland, the golden poppy was a landmark to Spanish sailors who recognized the area by a sweeping gold carpet. The sailors referred to the marvelous vision as sabanilla de oro, or, "altar cloth of gold."
Points of interest
Christmas Tree Lane is a 0.7-mile (1.1 km) stretch of Santa Rosa Avenue from Woodbury Road to Altadena Drive. It has been a holiday attraction since 1920 and it is the oldest large-scale outdoor Christmas lighting venue in the world. Each December, members of the Christmas Tree Lane Association festoon the 110 still standing giant deodars that line the street with thousands of Christmas lights. Christmas Tree Lane was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, and is a California Historical Landmark.
Among Altadena's Christmas lighting attractions is the Balian Mansion, which collects worldwide tours for its Christmas lighting display. The Balian Mansion has been lighted since 1955 and is arguably the pioneer of home holiday lighting. The Balian Mansion is located at the 5-point junction of Mendocino Street, Mendocino Lane, Allen Avenue, and East Glenview Terrace.
The historic Mount Lowe Railway was once a scenic railway that carried passengers to any four resort hotels high in the San Gabriel Mountains above Altadena and Pasadena. Although the mountains and the remains of the railway are not strictly in Altadena, the most direct trail to the sites, the Sam Merrill Trail, starts in Altadena at the top of Lake Avenue and leads to Mount Echo, about 3 miles (4.8 km). Chaney Trail, just west of the intersection at Fair Oaks Avenue and Loma Alta Street, is a forestry service road leading to the old right of way. The Mount Lowe Railway was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The Cobb Estate at the top of Lake Avenue is now a free botanical garden of the United States Forest Service. It is guarded by its historic gates which are easily bypassed to allow visitors and hikers to ascend its long and winding paved driveway to the site of what was once one of Altadena's premier mansions. This is found alongside the Sam Merrill Trail which accesses Las Flores Canyon on the way to Echo Mountain.
Farnsworth Park located on Lake Avenue is a large county park that offers picnic grounds, play areas, and a club house and amphitheater. It was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Geography
Altadena is located at 34°11′19″N 118°8′5″W / 34.18861°N 118.13472°W (34.188605, -118.134795).[2]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.7 square miles (22.5 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 42,610 people, 14,780 households, and 10,671 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,898.9 people per square mile (1,891.0/km²). There were 15,250 housing units at an average density of 1,753.3/sq mi (676.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 47.30% White, 31.42% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 4.24% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 10.19% from other races, and 6.14% from two or more races. 20.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 14,780 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,549, and the median income for a family was $66,800 (these figures had risen to $77,020 and $86,778 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[4]). Males had a median income of $49,098 versus $38,054 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $27,604. About 7.4% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
In the state legislature Altadena is located in the 21st Senate District, represented by Democrat Jack Scott, and in the 44th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Anthony J. Portantino. Federally, Altadena is located in California's 26th and 29th congressional districts, which have Cook PVIs of R +4 and D +12 respectively[5] and are represented by Republican David Dreier and Democrat Adam Schiff respectively.
History
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007) |
In 1880, Capt. Frederick Woodbury and his brother John Woodbury of Marshalltown, Iowa, purchased 937 acres (3.79 km2) known as the Woodbury Ranch. John Woodbury established the Pasadena Improvement Company in 1887 with a plot plan of residential development referred to as the Woodbury Subdivision. They contacted Byron O. Clark who established a nursery in the foothills in 1875 and had since moved away. He called his nursery "Altadena Nursery", a name he coined from the Spanish "alta" meaning "upper" and "dena" from Pasadena. Woodbury asked if he could use the name "Altadena" for his subdivision and Clark agreed.
The newly sprouted community of Altadena immediately began to attract millionaires from the East. In 1887 Andrew McNally, the printing magnate from Chicago and his good friend Col. G. G. Green had built mansions on what was to become Millionaire's Row, Mariposa Street near Santa Rosa. Newspaper moguls William Armiger Scripps and William Kellogg built side by side just east of Fair Oaks Avenue. The grandson of Andrew McNally, Wallace Neff, became a famous Southern California architect. He started his career in Altadena with the design and construction of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church ( parish est.1918) which was dedicated in October 1926.
Altadena Plot map of 1887 developed by John Woodbury.
Over the years Altadena has been subject to attempted annexation by Pasadena. Annexation was stopped in 1956 by community campaigns though it has been resurrected several times since by Pasadena without success.
Notable Altadenans
- Claude Akins, actor
- Saul Bass, graphic designer & filmmaker
- Terry Crews, actor, former football player
- Andre Coleman, author, reporter
- Ivan Dixon, actor
- Gen. Charles S. Farnsworth, civic leader
- Richard Feynman, physicist
- Zane Grey, author
- Rodney King, police beating victim
- Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, American Civil War aeronaut, scientist and inventor
- Paul McCarthy, contemporary artist
- Andrew McNally, publisher
- Dan Neil, columnist, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Marni Nixon, actress & soprano
- Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society
- Jacque Vaughn, NBA guard
- Leslie Van Houten, murderess, member of the Manson family
- Eternal resting place of:
- Eldridge Cleaver, writer & Black Panther Party leader, at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum
- Charles Richter, physicist & inventor of the Richter Scale, at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum
- Malcolm St. Clair, producer, director, writer, actor, at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum
Population history
- 1960 — 40,568
- 1970 — 42,415
- 1980 — 40,510
- 1990 — 42,658
- 2000 — 42,610
Source: U.S. Census Bureau [1]
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Residents are zoned to Pasadena Unified School District schools.
Zoned elementary schools include:
- Altadena Elementary School
- Burbank Elementary School
- Edison Elementary School
- Franklin Elementary School
- Jackson Elementary School
- Loma Alta Elementary School
- Webster Elementary School
- Muir High School
- Pasadena High School
- John Marshall Fundamental
- Blair High School
Private schools
- Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian School[2]
- St. Elizabeth Catholic School[3]
- Saint Mark's[4]
- Pasadena Waldorf School
- Walden School
- Jane Warner's School
Charter schools
- Nia Educational Charter School
- Pasadena Rosebud Academy
- Aveson Charter School
- Odyssey Charter
Petition to Create Altadena School District
In 2005, some Altadena residents began discussing splitting off from the Pasadena School District to create a new, smaller district. In 2006, residents worked with the Los Angeles County Board of Education to create and file a petition to perform a feasibility study for the creation of a new district. As of June, 2009, petitioners claim to have more than the minimum 6291 signatures required to submit the petition the Superintendent of Schools of Los Angeles County, but continue to collect signatures with a goal of 7000.
Further reading
- The Altadena Historical Society
- Altadena Town Council
- Ives, Sarah Noble, Altadena. Pasadena, California: The Star-News Publishing Co., 1938. Out of print.
- Peterson, Robert H. Altadena's Golden Years. Alhambra, California: Sinclair Printing and Litho, Inc., 1976.
- Zack, Michele. Altadena: Between Wilderness and City. Altadena, California: Altadena Historical Society, 2004. ISBN 0-9747257-0-6
References
- ^ Manning, Mike. "ALTADENA, CALIFORNIA: an abbreviated history for the internet." Altadena Town Council. Retrieved on March 18, 2007.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=16000US5147064&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US51%7C16000US5147064&_street=&_county=altadena&_cityTown=altadena&_state=04000US06&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
- ^ "Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?". Campaign Legal Center Blog. http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-85.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
See also
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Altadena, California |
- Altadena Town Council
- Altadena Chamber of Commerce
- Altadena history
- Official Altadena timeline
- Altadena Library District
- Altadena Mountain Rescue Team
- Altadena School Petition Website
- Pasadena Weekly, Freedom!: Fed up with being ignored by the PUSD, Altadena residents fight for a separate school district
- Altadena, California is at coordinates 34°11′19″N 118°08′05″W / 34.188605°N 118.134795°WCoordinates: 34°11′19″N 118°08′05″W / 34.188605°N 118.134795°W
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