SIC TRANSIT EAGLE ROCK
The Garvanza and Eagle Rock Railway-Boom and Bust
A RAILROAD ROW.
The Eagle Rock Branch Removed Under Protest.
AN INJUNCTION AVOIDED.
The Work Commenced After Nightfall—Legal Trouble Anticipated To-day.
One of those exciting episodes, which occasionally occur during railroad construction, enlivened the Eagle Rock valley yesterday, to the disgust, however, of the residents of that place. The Garvanza, or Rogers Railroad, as it is better known, has been so often mentioned in these columns that a detailed description of it is unnecessary. A section of it, about 4 1/2 miles in length, was built from Garvanza west into the Eagle Rock valley last spring, but was never used for more than a week, as it was claimed that the patronage was not sufficient for its support. In point of fact, it was only a "boom" road conceived by Rogers when things were at their best, and although Eagle Rock Valley is not thickly populated the inhabitants on having pointed out to them the immense advantages which were to accrue to them through the road, subsidized, it is said, the affair to the amount of $15,000. They therefore regarded the line to a certain extent as their own and although it was not in operation they jealously watched it when the Rogers lines, including of course the Eagle Rock branch, were transferred to the Nathan Cole syndicate. They were somewhat aroused shortly afterwards, for the rumor got about that Eagle Rock was to be boomed up again, but their hopes fell with a terrible crash when, a few weeks ago, the road passed into the hands of a company controlled by Captain John Cross, the President of the Los Angeles, Glendale and Pacific Road. The announcement was then made that the main line was to be extended into Pasadena at once, but although it was not openly declared, it was generally understood that the Eagle Rock branch had been declared useless by the company. The dwellers of the little valley determined, however, to keep their road where it was, and Captain Cross and party realizing the situation determined to bring the matter to a focus by taking up the track at once. The plan of action was, however, kept very quiet, and Contractors McCrabbe and Backman were instructed to have a force of men and teams on hand on Saturday last after nightfall, and to start in and remove the disputed branch line.
IN THE SHADOWS OF NIGHT.
At 9 o'clock on the night appointed, 110 men and sixty teams drew into Garvanza, and at once commenced the task before them. They removed the bolts and spikes, and by daybreak yesterday were hard at, work tearing up the rails and ties and freighting them into Garvanza. The residents of the Eagle Rock Valley soon got wind of what was going on, and came down in force and ordered the workmen to desist. It looked at one time as if a big row would occur, but the contractors explained that their laborers were simply acting under orders from headquarters. An endeavor was then made to get a writ of injunction, but it being Sunday this was supposed to be impossible, Capt. Cross having laid his plans to thus prevent any legal interference. There was nothing to be done, therefore, but to look on at the work of destruction, and at 7 in the evening the last wagon-load was started, and the unpleasant task of the workmen was over. Altogether about 320 tons of material were removed and freighted into Garvanza, where it now lies and will be used on the extension of the main line. The citizens, in the neighborhood affected, declare that they will not let their rights be over-ridden in such a manner, and the affair will doubtless get into the courts to-day.
AN ACCIDENT OCCURS.
One very sad incident was connected with the occurrences of the day. One of the teamsters named Fuller, while engaged in his work had the ill-luck to get his horses scared, and they ran away, throwing him to the ground and running over him with the heavy wagon. Both of his arms and one of his legs were broken, and he also received a severe scalp wound. He was taken to his home, where he now lies in a precarious condition, although the doctors say that his injuries are not necessarily fatal. (Los Angeles Herald 4/15/1889-California Newspaper Collection-UCR)
This topographical map shows more clearly the intent of the proposed transportation improvements. The Boulevard Tract was platted with the intent to extend the development boom West into the large tract of land purchased by Andrew Glassell in 1871 at the grand partition of the Rancho San Raphael. The boom seems to have busted before many of the lots were sold. Much of this area was incorporated into Los Angeles with the Occidental Addition in 1916. (Vintage advertisement-Huntington Library)
This fantasy view of the railway route shows it proceeding from Garvanza, the nearest rail head, to its terminus in the center distance in the farming hamlet of Eagle Rock. The road from center left through a nonexistent pass toward Pasadena was never built. The lake and farmhouse in the lower left belonged to Andrew Glassell as did the land depicted in the lower portion of the illustration. The lake and stream complicated the path to Los Angeles on the route which would later become Eagle Rock Boulevard. (Vintage Advertisement-Huntington Library)
When the railroad opened the citizens of Eagle Rock awaited its arrival en mass. Apparently very few of them rode the route. (Murdock Family Collection-ERVHS)
The 5 Line - Gateway to a New Suburb
5 Line sign around 1914. Eagle Rock City existed from 1911 to 1923. Occidental College opened in Eagle Rock in 1914. (ERVHS)
The Eagle Rock trolley departs downtown in front of the new Post Office and Federal Building in this postcard sent in 1911. (ERVHS)
The Conductor and Motorman pose at an unknown stop in 1915. Note the Occidental College destination sign. The area around the dirt boulevard seems quite undeveloped. (ERVHS)
Architect Myron Hunt surveys the area where Occidental College would be built. The streetcar line runs straight along the right side of the photograph. Drains channel the water under the road and the tracks from the low-lying area that made travel to downtown by road unreliable. (Occidental College Library Special Collections)
The railway track passes Yosemite Drive at Eagle Rock in the mid 1920’s. A heavy shower has flooded Yosemite Drive, the natural drainage from the rock stream. Bits of the then oiled roadway are floating in the stream. (LA Public Works Archive)
George Diddock's real estate office is on the southwest Corner of Eagle Rock and Colorado in 1909. Both streets are still unpaved. The side of the College Inn building is visible on the right. In the center right the newly built Eagle Rock School is visible in the distance. On the left is the Los Angeles Railways trolley from downtown, heading for the end of the line at Townsend Avenue (Published in the Los Angeles Herald Sunday Magazine)
Mrs. E. Becker’s real estate office probably was on Colorado opposite the intersection with the southern part of Townsend Avenue, here in 1909. (Published in the Los Angeles Herald Sunday Magazine)
The Bailey Block sits isolated on Townsend Avenue at the end of a widened but still dirt street. Behind us the Eagle Rock Road to Garvanza and Pasadena was small and unimproved. Long known as the Murfield block, the building now houses Tritch Hardware. (Courtesy the Elena Frackelton Murdock family)
The business center at Eagle Rock and Colorado Boulevards had continued to grow in 1927 with the construction of the three story Ritchy Hardware building on Caspar, and the post World War I addition of a trolley waiting area and flag pole in the center of the intersection, dubbed the "Merrie Go Round”. The concrete structure became a great obstacle to increased auto traffic and was removed in the mid-thirties perhaps embodying a shift of priorities from rail to automotive transit. (ERVHS)
The Glendale and Eagle Rock Railway
The opening day of the Glendale and Eagle Rock Railway was March 13,1909. Said to be a “wedding between Glendale and Eagle Rock.” This photo was taken looking southeast at the corner of Glendale Avenue and Broadway in Glendale. On the left is Motorman J. S. Alpine, then Conductor, John Marvel. Above the “X” is E. D. Goode, “the moving spirit behind the enterprise.” (LAPL Security Bank Collection)
E. D. Goode was a pioneer in both Eagle Rock and Glendale. It is unclear when he moved to Glendale. At the time of the railway’s founding the Los Angeles Herald stated, “ E. D. Goode can always be depended on to take a leading and active part in whatever is proposed for the upbuilding of Glendale.” He organized the Glendale Union High School to which Eagle Rock sent its students until Eagle Rock High School was built, advocated for the incorporation of Glendale and the building of the Pacific Electric Railway along the foothills. (Los Angeles Herald)
Elena Frackelton Murdock’s railway pass, issued by E.D. Goode. Mrs. Murdock recalled that Goode’s son Ray was the first successful birth among the English-speaking residents of the valley. (Murdock Family Collection, ERVHS)
A map of the Eagle Rock branch of the then Glendale and Montrose Railway. The railway played a vital part in the building of our city, delivering freight to Eagle Rock from the railhead in Glendale. It ran west from Brand on Broadway, jogged north on Glendale to Wilson, west to Broadway then Colorado to Eagle Rock Boulevard. In 1917 a rail spur was built running south, parallel to the boulevard, probably along the alley behind the stores. A small station may have been built along this line but no record of its location has been found. (Southern California Railway Museum)
Frank Hilliard posed in the door of the streetcar on Broadway in Glendale headed toward Eagle Rock. E. D Goode’s son Ray stands by on the street. The building in the background was the Glendale Sanitarium, ancestor of todays Glendale Adventist Medical Center. It was built as the Glendale Hotel in the center of Glendale at the height of the boom of the 1880’s. It also served as St. Hilda’s Academy, an Episcopalian High School and the first Union High School, serving Glendale, Eagle Rock and several other small communities. (Glendale Public Library)
The streetcar, headed toward Glendale, is shown in front of the station on Glendale Avenue. (Los Angeles Herald)
The Glendale and Montrose car to Eagle Rock has turned on Broadway from Wilson in the background. William Nagle stands at the corner. The bench advertises Eagle Rock Drug Co. “Buy your drugs ice cream sodas etc.” “Kodak supplies a specialty” (Glendale Public Library)
The streetcar heading toward Glendale in front of the Bessolo house at the top of the hill. The house, considerably remodeled, still exists. The four-story Colorado Terrace building now hides it. (ERVHS)
The streetcar heads west just past Ellenwood Drive. The sign advertises commercial lots on Colorado to be sold by Edwards and Winters. In later years, boys delighted in greasing the tracks, causing the car to slide backwards down the steep hill. (ERVHS)
In 1913 a longer extension of the line was constructed to connect Glendale to the burgeoning community of Montrose to the north. This shifted the focus of the railway to the longer branch. This map of the whole Glendale and Montrose Railway system shows the relative scale of the two branches and the route up the Verdugo canyon to Montrose. (Southern California railway museum / Ray Younghans Collection)
The caption reads “DING DONG-DINKEY – That was the name coined by foothills residents for the tiny trolleys that provided transit in La Crescenta as well as inter valley service to Glendale Montrose and Los Angeles (Eagle Rock ed.). Car No. 3 was one of four single specimens built in 1919 by the American Car Co. and is shown ready to bob along the center of Montrose Avenue at he Corner of Honolulu. The short line faded into history with the last runs on Dec. 30, 1930.” (Foothill Ledger)
“TROLLEY BARN IN MONTROSE- Yes, indeed! The streetcar barn shown in this historic picture is still located in Montrose, even though the famed red cars and tracks of the Los Angeles trolley system are long gone. The barn is on the property of the Anawalt Lumber and Materials Company and is now inside a larger structure constructed by Anawalt” This is the only remaining physical remnant of the Glendale and Montrose line. (Foothill Ledger)
This ad ran in the Eagle Rock Sentinel Twentieth Anniversary edition in March of 1930. Its text read in part “All through the years in fair weather and foul, the little car has operated, interchanging passengers between the two communities, counting up some 70,000 miles of operation annually.” Ironically, in August of that year the line petitioned successfully to abandon all of its lines. (Eagle Rock Sentinel)
The State Highway to Pasadena (and Glendale)
This map shows the route taken by Colorado Boulevard to Pasadena and the location of Huntington’s Eagle Rock Park; the bridge crossed the stream on the northwest edge of the park below the Rock. The current route follows the then El Modena Avenue. This route was problematic due to a substantial hill where “Pillerhenge” is now and an oft flooded area where Colorado Boulevard meets La Loma Road. The area still floods today in heavy rain. (ERVHS)
This postcard shows the bridge built to further the connection of the San Fernando Valley through Eagle rock to the San Gabriel Valley via State Highway 134. The route ran up what is now Eagle Vista Avenue and crosser the valley about where the freeway crosses now. The Arroyo Seco Bridge completed this connection in 1913. (ERVHS)
This rustic bridge crossed the stream in Huntington’s park below the Eagle Rock. Visible on the left above center is the bridge that led from Eagle Rock to Pasadena. This was the easiest crossing of the highly variable stream seen in the foreground. The stream still flows in the open through the MWD land, under the dump road and behind the commercial buildings on the east side of Figueroa St just below the 134 Freeway exit bridge. (ERVHS)
The Scoville Bridge across the Arroyo Seco Stream was the first built to carry cars across the water. It was a reused section of a railway trestle. The dam impounded water to irrigate the orange orchards in the arroyo. (ERVHS)
The floods of 1914 destroyed the Scoville Bridge. The destructive power of the stream in flood is shown in this photograph (Photo by Charles Lummis-Ebay)
The Arroyo bridge under construction building west from Pasadena. (Huntington Library)
Nothing new. The traffic jam, probably on opening day, clogged both roads from Eagle Rock converging on the bridge across the Eagle Rock stream and headed for the Arroyo Seco. The view is from the top of the Rock looking east. (ERVHS)
This photograph was taken on opening day, December 13, 1913 by Pasadena photographer Frank P. Blodgett. It appeared on a promotional calendar fir 1914 which he produced. (Photo by Frank P. Blodgett , ERVHS)
The finished bridge with the streambed in the foreground. The remains of the Scoville Bridge and its dam are visible behind the bridge columns. (ERVHS)
The Sentinel celebrated the completed bridge. As part of the 1914 progress celebration O. J. Root organized an auto parade across the new bridge down to the river through Pasadena, west to Glendale north to Colorado Boulevard and back to Eagle Rock. The focus of transportation began to shift to the automobile. Root was the west coast representative for the Moline Automobile Company. (Eagle Rock Sentinel)
The bridge roadway facilitated both auto and pedestrian traffic. The original low railings presented a sad temptation to the suicidal. (ERVHS)
The 5 Line - Cars and Streetcars
The streetcar is stopped at York Boulevard in the postwar 1940’s. To the right are the Occidental Presbyterian Church and a gas station. This seems to be a peak period for gas stations in Eagle Rock. Note that the absence of cars in this and many of the succeeding photographs is mostly due to the photographers, who were fail fans, efforts to document the line. Car traffic was increasing and would continue to do so. (Southern California Railway Museum)
Stopped at Westdale. The boulevard narrows at this point as we pass into the area of Eagle Rock City. The buildings to the left and right still stand. (Southern California Railway Museum, Ray Younghans photograph)
Stopped at Addison Way. The building at left is the Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church, which was badly damaged in the 1972 earthquake and subsequently torn down. (Southern California Railway Museum, Jeff Paul photograph)
Stopped at Merton Avenue. The sign probably concerns the tracks on Colorado, which were being removed in 1948. (Alan Weeks photograph)
This more realistic view captures a streetcar surrounded by car traffic as it turns south on Eagle Rock. (Alan Weeks photograph)
6. The intersection of Colorado Boulevard looking east from Eagle Rock Boulevard. The passenger boarding area is shown to the left of the tracks. The sign for Wynn’s Chevrolet dealership is in the center of the photograph. (Southern California Railway Museum, Statsdust photograph)
This view from the front door of the streetcar looking west from Caspar shows the tiny passenger loading area in the middle of Colorado. (Southern California Railway Museum, Lane Collection)
The streetcar is stopped at Argus Drive. We look west in March of 1948 just before the tracks were removed. The building to the left was incorporated in the Piller’s store. The Women’s Twentieth Century Club building is in the foliage to the right. (Alan Weeks photograph)
The streetscape looking east from Mt. Royal Drive is shown in 1946. The Dahlia Motors building is to the left. A gas station is on the corner to the right. (Southern California Railway Museum, Ray Younghans photograph)
The streetcar is shown near the end of the line at Townsend Avenue in 1946. The switch that allowed the car to return on the double tracked right of way is shown in the foreground. (Southern California Railway Museum, Ray Younghans photograph)
Stopped at the end of the line at Townsend Avenue. The building to the right is the Murfield Block. Now the home of Tritch Hardware. (Alan Weeks photograph)
A few years before the line was shot down this accident occurred. The streetcar accelerated due to gravity, coming downhill from Townsend Avenue. It failed to make the turn and crashed into parked cars on Eagle Rock Boulevard near where Chipotle is now. (ERVHS)
The news story. (ERVHS, publication unknown)
The trolley tracks are removed in this view East from Mt. Royal Drive in June of 1948. (Alan Weeks photograph)
The same view at Argus Drive looking west in June of 1948. The track and the raised boarding area are removed. (Alan Weeks photograph)
The 1409 car poised to depart from the new end of the line in 1955. The bus that would replace the 5 Line is to the right, in front of the Rexall emblazoned Edwards and Wildey Building. To the left of the car is the since demolished Security Bank Building. (Alan Weeks photograph)
On the last day of its run, May 21, 1955, the streetcar passes the Serv-Well Market. The Wong family, who owned the business, also owned a home in Eagle Rock. This was unique due to the systematic exclusion of Asians from housing at the time. (Alan Weeks photograph)
The car heads south at El Paso drive. (Alan Weeks photograph)
5 Line Sign, probably from near the end of the life of the line. (ERVHS)
The 134 Freeway (and Later the 2 Freeway)
This map of the possible freeway routings proposed in 1950 by Caltrans offered Eagle Rock three options, all of which would have obliterated Eagle Rock as we know it. Route 1 went partially through the hills but then descended to Hill Drive at the bend and proceeded, cutting off the Lemon Grove area and Eagle Rock Park. Route 2 followed Las Flores Drive. Route 3 followed Chickasaw Avenue. (Published in the Eagle Rock Sentinel)
Looking west on Las Flores Drive from Ellenwood Drive. Imagine the footprint of the freeway imposed upon this, one of our smallest streets. (Photo by Severin Martinez)
The first component of the new freeway across the Arroyo Seco is shown under construction. This gives a feeling for the scale of the roadway. (Photo by Herald Ohannesian-ERVHS Ohannesian Family Collection)
The bridge paralleling the Arroyo Seco Bridge was completed in 1955 and was widened as part of the Eagle Rock connection. (ERVHS)
Before the 134 was built through Eagle Rock, this is where the freeway ended and traffic was funneled onto Colorado Boulevard. The Freeway Association argued routes that did not incorporate it into the freeway would make it obsolete. This freeway stub would be converted into an on- and off-ramp. (Image credit: Google Maps)
This 1969 aerial view shows the freeway aimed squarely at Las Flores Drive. The portion through Glendale had already been completed. (Photo by Joe Friezer-Occidental college Library Special Collections Friezer Collection)
The provisions for the route 2 interchange, which would be completed later, hovered over the construction site for several years. (Photo by Joe Friezer-Occidental college Library Special Collections Friezer Collection)
This map, from an informational brochure published in 1969, shows the final route. Twenty years of lobbying by Eagle Rockers resulted in a much less destructive path. Still, over 200 houses were lost to the construction of routes 2 and 134 through Eagle Rock. (Caltrans brochure map)
The brand new freeway proceeds under the existing off-ramp, past the monopoles carrying Edison’s high voltage lines, through the once wild hills above town. (Photo by Joe Friezer-Occidental college Library Special Collections Friezer Collection)
This view along Figueroa Street where once the Eagle Rock creek flowed through Huntington’s Eagle Rock Park was taken from the 1955 off-ramp. In the distance is the freeway bridge and beyond it the road to Scholl Canyon dump. The Eagle Rock is diminished by the surrounding infrastructure. (ERVHS)
The 134 Freeway, 2 Freeway, and the Eagle Rock Plaza with double-decker parking lot surrounding it– a monument to the automobile-centric freeway era of Eagle Rock. (Photo by Severin Martinez)
An overall view of the 134/2 intersection shows the huge footprint of freeways, the 1950’s answer to the need for mass transit. (ERVHS)