Red Car Remnants

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 27, 2009. Pacific Electric 6 1/2" railroad spike. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Bob Inman, who grew up near Monte Sano, remembers collecting the steel spikes left after the Red Car Trolley tracks were pulled up throughout the neighborhood. Occasionally, a spike will still turn up on the Red Car Property. Today, they're more likely to show up in old collections remaining in gardens and basements in neighborhoods surrounding the old Red Car lines.

La Canada Fire* from Rick's

Photo: Todd H., August 29, 2009. The calm winds at midday and clear skies have created unusually colorful reflections in the smoke rising above La Canada. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

*This fire became known as the Station Fire.

Almost Landacre's POV

Photo: Russell Bates, August 28, 2009. The La Canada Fire from Oak Glen overpass on the 2 Freeway is similar to Paul Landacre's 1937 print, Death of a Forest. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Station Fire from Corralitas Drive

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 29, 2009. The La Canada Fire, now known as the Station Fire, provided dramatic photo ops around 12:30 PM today. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 29, 2009. The fire continued to provide tragically beautiful views at 7:15 PM. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Riverside Drive: Red Car Remnants

Photo: Clarence Inman Collection, undated. Red Car Trolley viaduct foundation & staircase at Riverside Drive & Glendale Blvd. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Long after the Pacific Electric Red Car Trolley viaduct crossing Riverside Drive at Glendale Blvd. was demolished, the foundation and staircase remained. The staircase previously provided pedestrian access from Riverside Drive to the Monte Sano trolley stop.

Parts of Riverside Drive must have seemed like some kind of archaeological site: viaduct footings at Fletcher, staircase to nowhere like the one above at Glendale Blvd. and bridge footings in the LA River. The staircase was finally demolished about the time of construction of the apartment building at Riverside & Glendale in the late 1980s.

1959: Changing Landscape of Riverside Dr.

Photo: Mack, Herald Examiner, June 16, 1959. Cranes dismantling the Pacific Electric Red Car Viaduct crossing Riverside Drive at Glendale Blvd. Monte Sano stop was on the left; the LA River, right. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Pacific Electric Glendale Line was decommissioned in 1955. It was another four years before the two viaducts at Fletcher & Riverside Dr. and this one, at Riverside Dr. & Glendale Blvd. were removed.
Photo: Clarence Inman Collection, 1959. Monte Sano still sits atop Waverly and Glendale Blvd. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Compare this photo with the 1954 Inman photo. The Red Car tracks and the viaduct are gone. The original 1904 Pacific Electric Ivanhoe power substation is gone, but the larger structure, built in 1930, remains in 1959, sitting below grade of Monte Sano Hospital at Glendale & Riverside at the viaduct remnants.

Bob Inman, who grew up a few doors away, recalls the substation stood for a few years after all the equipment was removed. The building was unsecured and Inman, as a kid, "would wander through the one big room full of trash and broken glass."

Monte Sano Hospital removed their traffic circle median by 1959. Perhaps they needed the additional parking lot square footage since they were no longer public transit convenient.

Homes and industrial businesses on Riverside Drive were removed to clear the path for the 5 Freeway, between Riverside Drive and the LA River.

Monte Sano Hospital & Sanitarium

Postcard undated. Monte Sano Hospital & Sanitarium, 2834 Glendale Blvd. (at Waverly), Silver Lake. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Monte Sano was California's first osteopathic hospital, built in 1923 and closed sometime in the 1970s. According to The Merger M.D.s & D.O.s in Early California, Monte Sano was "envisioned as the perfect recuperation resort on its hill of health."

There's not a lot of information on Monte Sano available online. There is a reference to a person born at Monte Sano, as well as references to people staying at Monte Sano, but not much else. See also: American College of Osteopathic Surgeons for a general history of osteopathic hospitals (with mention of Monte Sano).

Photo: Clarence Inman Collection, 1954. Monte Sano is on the corner of Glendale Blvd. & Waverly Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Bob Inman grew up a few doors away from Monte Sano in the 1950s. His father, the late Clarence Inman, shot the terrific aerial photos we're seeing this week. Clarence Inman was a professional photographer who worked for the City's Recreation & Parks Dept.

Bob remembers Monte Sano was founded by a Dr. Brigham. His son, Dr. Creighton Brigham, was also a doctor at Monte Sano while the Inmans lived nearby.

According to Inman, the Spanish style house at 2727 Waverly was the first house built on that part of the street. It was built for the founder of Monte Sano. "For years, the Brighams had some sort of huge cage unit on their property just north of the crest. It was concrete and wire as I remember it - it could have been an aviary although it always seemed large for that."

If anyone has any documentation, photos or sources relating to Monte Sano or the possible aviary at the Brigham house, send it to us: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

Red Car Canyon: Stolen Honda Abandoned

Photo: Todd H., Tuesday, August 25, 2009. Black Honda license plate: 5BQK248. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

At least they didn't set it on fire. The brush has yet to be cleared from the slopes of the Red Car Property, despite being Red Tagged by LAFD on August 6. Neighbors report the car was dumped sometime between 7AM & 7PM Monday. Several other neighbors report hearing noise back in the canyon around 10PM Monday night.
Photo: Daniel S., Monday, August 24, 2009. Three tires missing, parts ripped out of the dashboard, trunk and hood opened and ajar, red & black soccer ball inside. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

UPDATE 8-25-09: Car was hauled away today.

1954: Red Car Stop at Monte Sano

Photo: Clarence Inman Collection, 1954. The Ivanhoe Substation marks the Red Car Trolley Stop at Monte Sano Hospital. (Click on photo to enlarge with street names & landmarks.)

Monte Sano was the last trolley stop on the Silver Lake side of the LA River, before the Pacific Electric Glendale Line headed into Atwater, en route to Glendale from Downtown Los Angeles.

If you enlarge the photo above, the Ivanhoe Substation is on the Riverside Drive side of Monte Sano Hospital. The substation supplied electric power to the Pacific Electric trains. According to the Electric Railway Historical Association, the larger structure was built in 1930, adjacent to the original brick structure from 1904.

Riverside Drive appears to be a 6-lane highway. Today, it's down to 4 lanes with the 5 Freeway between the LA River and Riverside Drive.

From Monte Sano, the tracks crossed Riverside Drive (at Glendale Blvd.) and the LA River. In 1904, like the Fletcher Viaduct, the bridge was all-wooden trestle. It was prone to washouts. Like the Fletcher Viaduct, in 1928, the bridge was rebuilt in three sections with steel to accommodate the paving of Riverside Drive.

Hyperion Bridge: Red Car Crossing LA River

Photo: Walter Abbenseth, undated. Monte Sano Hospital is on the right, on the Silver Lake side of the LA River. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

In 1928, Red Car Trolley viaducts were rebuilt at Fletcher and Glendale Blvd./Riverside Drive. At the same time, the section of Pacific Electric Red Car bridge crossing the LA River was rebuilt with large concrete footings in conjunction with construction of the Hyperion Bridge.

The footings are still in place today, adjacent to the Hyperion Bridge. In fact, park advocates strongly suggest the footings be reused to support a new pedestrian/bicycle/equestrian bridge.

Related Hyperion Bridge links: LA Eastsider

If you have any photos (prior to 1928) of the all-wood trestle LA River Red Car bridge, please send them (with photo credit/source) to us: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

1953: Silver Lake & LA River

Photo: Clarence Inman Collection, 1953. Silver Lake Reservoir to Glendale, showing the LA River, Hyperion Bridge, Fletcher Viaduct, Waverly Neighborhood and Monte Sano. (Click on photo to enlarge with street names.)

Silver Lake is often the forgotten neighborhood when politicos, park agencies and City planners talk about plans for the LA River. The topography of Silver Lake makes them forget just how close we are to the River. The 2 & 5 Freeways also make it challenging for us to access the river. Yet we persist in finding our way to the River. In fact, a new park between the 5 Freeway and the LA River near the Hyperion Bridge is in the planning stages, but there are no plans for public access to it from Silver Lake.

When you talk to people who grew up in the neighborhoods closest to the Red Car Trolley tracks, they all talk fondly about coming down out of the hills, crossing the Red Car tracks and collecting frogs in the LA River. They also share stories of neighbors who built staircases and pathways on their own private property so they could access the Red Car Trolley stops from their backyards.

I've had a few requests for historic photos showing the Waverly Neighborhood near the old Monte Sano Hospital site at Waverly Drive and Glendale Blvd. The Waverly Neighborhood it is just on the other side of Fletcher from the Red Car Property Neighborhood and, in fact, the neighborhoods were linked by the Fletcher Red Car Viaduct.

Bob Inman recently shared some of his father's photographs and recollections of the Waverly Neighborhood near Monte Sano. So this week, we'll look at photos from the Clarence Inman Collection as well as the history of Monte Sano.

Bob Inman grew up in the Waverly Neighborhood a few doors from Monte Sano. Clearly, the neighborhood with its public staircases and walkways inspired him to write the book: A Guide to The Public Stairways of Los Angeles.

Lacy Memorial

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 18, 2009. Charles Lacy Memorial, Red Car Canyon. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

LAFD Red Tagged Red Car Property

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 16, 2009. LAFD red tagged the Red Car Property on August 6. Brush on the slopes has still not been cleared. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Jimsonweed Attracts Really Big Moths

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 2, 2009. Native Jimsonweed (Datura wrightii) found on the Red Car Property meadow, is blooming throughout the dry hillsides. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Jimsonweed attracts large moths that hover like hummingbirds. Earlier this year, a neighbor shared her photos of a White Lined Sphinx Moth, a known pollinator of Jimsonweed. While the plant can self-pollinate, it uses the moths for cross-pollination.

Now Blooming on "Lot C"*

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 12, 2009. For all the misuse "Lot C" receives, it also has beautiful flowers in bloom right now. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

*4-19-10 UPDATE: A reader suggests these are non-native Belladonna Lilies (Amaryllis belladonna). CalFlora agrees.

Red Car Property: Elusive Hawks

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 28, 2009. Hawk on Red Car Property near Adelbert.

There have been many reports of hawks in the neighborhood this summer, and not just the usual Red Tail Hawk sightings. Neighbors have been frustrated in their efforts to get good photos of this year's hawks. (Thus, the poor quality photos we're posting here will have to suffice for now.)

On several occasions a young Red Shouldered Hawk has been seen circling above the Viaduct Footings and flying between the trees on the Adelbert end of the Red Car Property. If you have home on Lake View above Adelbert, there may be a nest in the trees up there.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 30, 2009. Small hawk on Red Car Property at Rose Scharlin Preschool.

Since the end of May, several neighbors reported seeing a hawk slowly flying as low as 6 feet above the ground between India and Red Car Canyon, just south of Rose Scharlin Preschool. Unfortunately, the above photo is the only one we've gotten so far.

It looks like a gigantic Kestrel. Yet it's still a smaller hawk with golden feathers on it's chest; blue gray feathers on its back; large vertical black stripes on its tail and very long legs. It may be a Cooper's Hawk or a Sharp Shinned Hawk. Both are bird-eating raptors who like wooded areas. According to a neighbor who is also a LA Zookeeper, Cooper's Hawks are known to hang out in the canyon area. There are lots of Mourning Doves (prey) in Red Car Canyon.

Two neighbors report seeing the hawk literally fly past their heads (in several different incidents) at the top of the Corralitas Public Staircase. It's also been seen flying between the trees in the canyon area between Silver Ridge and Corralitas. The mockingbirds often chase it between the trees.

On August 3rd, a Riverside Place neighbor wrote, "I keep seeing your bird (I think) it's a smaller sized bird of prey. Very pretty, it's very elusive though. I run in for the camera and it's gone. Saturday I saw it take a dove and was sitting on a power line with it only about 20' away in full view!"

UPDATE: Will Campbell has a fantastic photo of a Cooper's Hawk, with prey, on his blog from just a few weeks ago shot in his Silver Lake neighborhood south of Sunset.

If you have neighborhood hawk or wildlife photos, send them to us: redcarproperty@gmail.com. Do not attempt to feed or touch wildlife.

Seen on Silver Ridge Ave.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 14, 2009. If it comes out of your dog's butt, pick it up. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Stalled Devlopment Week: 2316 Silver Ridge Ave., 4 Years Later...

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 14, 2009. Neighbors of 2316 Silver Ridge at Lake View wondered if work would ever begin again after all signs of progress ceased about 2 years ago. Permits were obtained in May 2005 for this very difficult site to build. Work began shortly thereafter. Yesterday, a contractor stated, and confirmed by Building & Safety's website: a new owner has taken over the property as of July. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

NOT Silver Lake Court

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 13, 2009. Neighbors contacted LAPD when a large generator was left overnight on August 12 for a movie shoot scheduled for August 13 -18. Film LA was under the impression the Red Car Property was a City Street: Silver Lake Court. Neighbors were alarmed at the proximity to the slope with uncleared dry brush (red-tagged by LAFD on August 6). Film LA is not requiring a Fire Marshall on set. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 14, 2009. Production company vehicles were permitted by Film LA to park on Silver Lake Court. This is NOT Silver Lake Court, it is the Red Car Property, 2129 W. Silver Lake Ave. Clearly, Film LA is confused by the number of large vehicles already parked on "Lot C" of the Red Car Property. It doesn't help that Google Maps is wrong in identifying the Red Car Property as Silver Lake Court. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
UPDATE August 19, 2009: The City Finally picked up the pile of brush (above) today.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 19, 2009. This is Silver Lake Court, an unbuilt City street right-of way on the Lake View side of the Red Car Property. ZIMAS correctly identifies Silver Lake Court's location. Silver Lake Court begins at the Silver Lake Ave. Public Staircase and ends about 100 feet past the Roselin Public Staircase. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Stalled Development Week: 2562 Corralitas

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 30, 2009. Piles of trash at 2562 Corralitas Drive have been there since July 11, 2009. The site has not changed since these photos were taken two weeks ago. (click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 30, 2009. There's also a big pile of trash in the garage. So much for that Building & Safety rule about keeping trash in an enclosed container on construction sites. The fence isn't secure either. Neighbors report people rooting around the construction site on weekends, but no actual work seems to take place. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 11, 2009. After a year of inactivity since the owner/developer died, neighbors were hopeful when the site was cleaned up in April; scaffolding went up in late June; a layer of stucco applied in early July. However, there has been no new activity on the site since July 11, 2009. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Developers wonder why neighbors get hostile. They broke ground in February 2007.

10 AM Update: Neighbors report a worker on site who seems to be prepping the exterior for paint.

See all : 2562 Corralitas Drive posts.

Stalled Development Week: Adelbert Retaining Wall

Photos: Diane Edwardson. Above left: May 2005, record rainfall caused a landslide below 2596 Adelbert at the Red Car Property. Right: April 9, 2009 grading began for a retaining wall and support pilings to repair the slope. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photos: Diane Edwardson. Above left: April 10, 2009. Right: April 23, 2009, work progressed reasonably, contractor drilled holes for pilings; rebar forms are waiting to be placed. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photos: Diane Edwardson. Above left: April 24, 2009, concrete forms were being placed. Right: May 5, 2009, concrete pilings already poured and rebar was being placed for retaining wall. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photos: Diane Edwardson. Above left: May 9, 2009, work progressed on the retaining wall. Right: June 20, 2009, the wall appears complete. Yet it would be another month before they returned in July to complete the soil compaction. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The lack of activity on the site in June and July attracted illegal dumping. Construction vehicles were left on site leaving neighbors to wonder when this work would be completed. The crane finally left this week, and some rubble appears to have moved. Perhaps this stalled construction site will soon be complete.

Stalled Development Week: Piles of Rubble Might Soon Leave Red Car Property

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 11, 2009. For months, the rubble pile sat near the construction site of a retaining wall between the Red Car Property and 2596 Adelbert. This week, some of the rubble made it into the truck that hasn't moved in months. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 30, 2009. A month since the last activity on the slope, the rubble just sat outside the empty truck. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 6, 2009. Taking a cue from the neighbors who store their heavy vehicles on "Lot C," the contractor stored the crane here for the past month. The piles were here so long, people dumped more trash on the rubble pile. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 11, 2009. The last time the crane seemed to be in use was a month ago. As of August 11, the crane was gone. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

"Crane" may not be the right term for the above piece of equipment. It seems to be a multi-use piece of hillside construction equipment with interchangeable heads for the extendable arm. If you know the appropriate term for this equipment, please email us: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

Tomorrow, we'll review construction of the retaining wall.

Stalled Development Week: 2463 & 2467 Corralitas Pits of Doom

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 11, 2009. Corralitas Pits of Doom (a dozen 8 -12-foot deep holes) remain covered by plywood alone. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photos: Diane Edwardson. Above left: August 1, 2006. Right: March 12, 2008. Beginning in August 2006, after cutting into the hillside, they built houses, but not the required retaining wall adjacent to the public staircase. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photos: Diane Edwardson. Above left: October 3, 2008. Building & Safety cited unsafe conditions. Above right: July 30, 2009. Corralitas Pits of Doom remain covered with plywood and no fence around the site as required by B & S order to comply. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Three years after breaking ground, 2463 & 2467 Corralitas Drive are still unfinished. The developer obtained a building permit for the retaining wall in January this year. There has been no significant activity on site for the past 16 months. Only after LAFD issued a Red Tag notice, they finally did the brush clearance this past weekend.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 18, 2008. Of course, this is the same developer who refused to paint out graffiti for months, instead of the 24 hours as required by the City. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

You may remember, the same developer also gave us Ugly Rooftops and an Illegal Billboard. Developers wonder why neighbors get hostile.

See all Pits of Doom posts.

Stalled Development Week: 2463 & 2467 Corralitas Drive

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 10, 2009. This weekend, brush clearance finally happened at 2463 & 2467 Corralitas Drive. Yet they couldn't chop down the dead bamboo. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 10, 2009. However, they seem to have used a leaf blower to thin out the bamboo, leaving a pile of it on the sidewalk across the street at Rosebud. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Tomorrow, we'll catch up with the Corralitas Pits of Doom on the same construction site.

Squirrels Running Amok

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 1, 2009. An overabundance of squirrels have stripped all the nuts from the California Black Walnut trees on the Red Car Property this year. (Click on photo to enlarge.)