GARVANZA RAMBLE







Dooley striking a pose on the sidewalk in front of a Garvanza sign



Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography's map pf Garvamza



Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography's map of Northeast Los Angeles (Monterey Hills has been added since)

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EARLY HISTORY OF THE AREA

SPANISH & MEXICAN ERA

EARLY AMERICAN ERA







Sheep grazing near Frances Campbell-Johnston's Church of Angels ca. 1889

BIRTH OF GARVANZA -- OR GARVANZO







Los Angeles and San Gabriel Railroad bridge under construction over the Arroyo Seco (1885)







The Garvanza Hotel (1887)

ANNEXATION





Detail of LA Travel and Hotel Bureau's Map of Los Angeles, California Rail Systems (1906)

Detail of J.R. Prince's Territory Annexed to Los Angeles, 1781-1916 (source: Big Maps Blog )



View of the Arroyo Seco Park and Channel looking northeast after the construction of the Pasadena Freeway, ca.1941

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GARVANZA

ART SCENE







A modern mural at Burbank Middle School



A mural created by several artists and the Hathaway Family Resource Center

JUDSON STUDIO and the LOS ANGELES SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS



Professor Judson's College of Fine Arts building at the USC, ca.1910

OTHER GARVANZA STRUCTURES OF NOTE







The McClure House



Pisgah Home (image source: Wikipedia)





Clyde Browne

Ohio-born printer/typographer. Around 1902, Browne and his wife moved to Los Angeles where he began working for the Los Angeles Examiner in 1904.After leaving the paper, he co-founded the printing firm of Browne and Cartwright in 1910. For more than thirty years they printed USC's The Daily Trojan and The Occidental Weekly.

was an-born printer/typographer. Around 1902, Browne and his wife moved to Los Angeles where he began working for thein 1904.After leaving the paper, he co-founded the printing firm ofin 1910. For more than thirty years they printedand



In 1915 Browne began building the Abbey San Encino on his property out of found and scavenged materials. He even built a small-gauge rail to carry stones from the Arroyo Seco. It was mostly completed by 1921 but the family didn't move in until 1926.

Clyde Jack Browne, continued to work in the newspaper business -- although he developed an interest in jazz and was apparently a talented musician. Browne was stationed in Germany during the 1940s on a job assignment with the Stars and Stripes newspaper and it was there that his wife gave birth to their sons, Jackson and Edward Severin Browne. The two brothers, who grew up to be musicians of note, were raised alongside their sisters, Roberta and Gracie, in Abbey San Encino. The cover of Jackson Browne's second album, Clyde Browne's son,, continued to work in the newspaper business -- although he developed an interest inand was apparently a talented musician. Browne was stationed induring theon a job assignment with thenewspaper and it was there that his wife gave birth to their sons,and. The two brothers, who grew up to be musicians of note, were raised alongside their sisters,and, in Abbey San Encino. The cover of Jackson Browne's second album, For Everyman , is a photo of the courtyard of the Abbey which, on the day of my most recent visit, appears to still be undergoing repairs.



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Ruins of the Tower of Amon Sûl?





Typical Garvanza homes



GARVANZA

CHURCHES







Church of the Angels (annexed by Pasadena)



Good Shepherd Lutheran Church



Hansammul Church



Garvanza Foursquare Church (image source: Floyd B. Bariscale )



PARKS





Garvanza Park sign





Another view of Garvanza Park





San Pascual Park

MUSIC & FILM OF

GARVANZA

GETTING THERE AND GETTING AROUND







A stairway connecting Lantana Drive and Avenue 64



Hough Street Stairs in Garvanza



A view of the tiles of Hough Street Stairs (and Dooley's hind quarters)







One of the many Stop the 710 banners





GARVANZA EATS (AND DRINKS)







OK Chinese and the Dr. John Lawrence Smith Residence, visible in the background

GARVANZA

SOCIETIES

FURTHER READING



Ye Olde Trash Tree

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In the fall of 2012 I had the opportunity to house-sit in. During my stint in Los Angeles's easternmost neighborhood, I spent much of that time exploring that neighborhood with a good-natured dog named Dooley . This past fall I again returned toto house-sit once again and Dooley and I resumed our epic explorations. This time around we explored more than just El Sereno, extending our rambles into the nearby neighborhoods of, and on one warm autumn afternoon,Garvanza is a small neighborhood inoften considered to be part of. To its north areand the city of, to the northwest is(even more often considered to be part of Highland Park than Garvanza), to the west and south is Highland Park proper, to the southwest is(yet another neighborhood almost always considered to be part of Highland Park), and across theto the east is the city of. The population is of Garvanza today is roughly 61%, 24%, 12%, and 2%The original borders of the neighborhood wereto the northto the west,to the south, and the slope east ofto the east. Soon after its foundation, however, the northern border was moved toand other tracts, such as, andsoon expanded the community's borders.The earliest human inhabitants of the area were likely the ancestors of thepeople, who lived in the area at least as early as 13,000 years ago. A mere 10,000 years later a band of immigrants arrived from theto the east and either displaced or were absorbed into the indigenous population. These people, now usually referred to as the, established major villages nearby including, andThe Tongva's reign ended shortly after's overland expedition passed through the area in 1769, an event which set the stage for the Spanish Conquest . In 1771, theconquerors constructed the-- first in what's now known as. In 1776 the mission was moved to its present location in, nine kilometers to the southeast of what's now. A few years later, in 1781,was founded ten kilometers to the southwest. The land that now is part of Garvanza was part of a huge 36,000 acre territory granted in 1784 to Spanish soldier, who named the land "." Verdugo died in 1831, ten years afterbecame part of the new nation of. After his death, Verdugo's land holdings passed to his son and daughter.conqueringin 1848 didn't end the Verdugo's possession of San Rafael but a rather a defaulted loan did. In 1869, nineteen years afterbecame one of the United States, a portion of the rancho was purchased at a sheriff's auction byand. The two leased the land to sheepherders, whose animals must've grazed the supposedly-once-prevalent chickpeas rumored to have been planted by Verdugo (and from which Garvanza gets its name) out of existence.In 1885, thearrived in the area via an Arroyo Seco-spanning bridge built for the recently-acquired, a move which at once both ended's monopoly on the area and instigated a rate war which saw ticket prices fromdrop to just $1. That, in turn, helped fuel a housing boom and demand for land.Highland Park was established in 1886. That same yearandestablished "" because why not name your town after a legume with a rumored historical presence? The first home built in Garvanzo (or Garvanza -- early spelling variations seem to have quickly settled on the latter) was Andrew Glassell's, built in 1885 at the corner ofand. After the subdivision of the land, a few more followed. The grandest new structure was the-- a grandlodge designed by. The short-lived boom went bust in 1888 and residential development in the tiny village ground to a halt -- although Garvanza's handsome two-story schoolhouse was completed in 1889.was annexed byin 1895. In 1898, theformed to promote the paving of streets and planting of trees in community.remained its own municipality until 1899, when it too was annexed. After that, Garvanza was the northeasternmost corner ofuntil 1912, when theadded a small buffer to Garvanza's north and east.In a sense, Garvanza was annexed for a second time in 1922. That year the community joined, andin joining theand therein surrendering their individual identities. Their efforts to advance their lot by banding together behind Highland Park came to little against the onslaught of theNot all construction stopped during that era, however, as two major public works were completed in the. The Arroyo Seco below(built in 1920 by the) was paved and channelized, between 1935 and 1940, bycrews. At the same time, the adjacent(now the) was being constructed and opened in 1940.After theandended, many of the original residents of Garvanza and their descendants moved away to newer suburbs -- particularly those in theand. With their departure, the Garvanza name seems to have almost vanished -- although it was kept alive byas well as by historians, who when writing about the area, sometimes included phrases like "in what was formerly Garvanza." Thanks to the efforts of, Garvanza was officially recognized as a neighborhood once more by the City of Los Angeles in 1997.and the communities along thehave long been known for their vibrant arts scene, which was in its early years dominated bypainters ofand members of the. Theincluded, and. In 1906, a group of local artists organized. In 1909, that organization was disbanded and its members formed the, which remains active today. From 1909 until 1915, Garvanza was home toA beautiful building standing near the intersection ofandhouses. The building and others associated with the Judson family business have a somewhat complicated history that I will attempt to delineate as clearly as possible.In 1895,painter William Lees Judson was chosen to head's art department. In 1901 he became dean of thewhich met in aninspired building (pictured above) in Garvanza that unfortunately burned to the ground in 1910. Beginning in 1909, Judson had additionally headed the, whose nearby guild hall survived the fire unscathed. After the fire until 1920, when USC moved toin, the building was home to the USC'sIn 1897, after his fatherconvinced him to move west fromfoundedin. In 1906 the company changed its name to the. In 1920, the glass company relocated to Garvanza, where it remains (although the company's name was shortened simply to "" in 1931). In 1969 the building faced possible demolition and saved by being named a(and later listed on the).Though small, Garvanza is simply home to too much interesting architecture to mention it all here. The(the largest in) includes examples of, andhomes as well as quite a fewandstructures as well. I will mention just few of my favorites, then:- Then known as thewas apparently built as a "speculation house" in 1886. It's named after the doctor who purchased it in 1936. It was originally owned by a, one of the founders of the. Back in November,and I toured the renovated home and it was pretty cool.was the first physician in Garvanza. Hishome was built in 1887.(not pictured) was designatedin 1991.is, at least from the outside, one of the real gems of Garvanza. Its architect was(of).was a civil engineer and director of both a railway and the. The home was completed in 1889.movement was a faith healing cult led byin the early. Yoakum was injured in a buggy accident in 1894 and the following year moved to Los Angeles to recuperate. In 1897 he claimed to have discovered a way to prospect for gold using x-rays and subsequently offered stock in his new mining company. After first speaking in tongues whilst pursuing mining interests in Mexico, Yoakum began referring to his Garvanza home as, where he purported to reform "drunkards and outcasts." In 2000, the Pisgah Home received a preservation grant from theand in 2007 was added to theAs Dooley and I explored tiny Garvanza, we occasionally found that we'd strayed into other neighborhoods. First we crossed into Arroyo View Estates -- a neighborhood ofranch homes that looks quite unlike Garvanza. Thinking that we were back in Garvanza, I approached theas its bells chimed 3:00. The charming church was built in 1889, when the area was part of Garvanza. However, it was long ago annexed by Pasadena -- as part of theof 1923.- Dooley and I found ourselves standing in front of Thewhen the bellschimed 3:30. Built in 1922, it's the oldest of the's (a) churches in California.- When Dooley and I arrived at Hansammul Church it was 4:00 but no bells chimed. The church was built in 1940.- Thealso known as "" was was built in 1908.- The main park in Garvanza is, a fairly small park that's dominated by a baseball diamond and the old, which was designatedin 1989. In 2007, a skate park opened within the park. San Pascual Park - There's also. Though located on the west bank of the Arroyo Seco, it's mostly located within South Pasadena. As Dooley and I explored the park, we passed a group of day-drinkers on the Garvanza side of the park and after crossing into South Pasadena, saw a group of people playing baseball. Closer to the Arroyo Seco, along which the park is situated, we encountered a seemingly friendly hermit living in a lean-to.There's also the, the name of which begs the question -- are there senior citizens who aren't adults? A banner proclaims "seniors welcome" which I assume means that junior citizens are not so all I could do was stare through the fence at the rose garden, a sign reading "Shuffleboard Club," and an auditorium that hosts bingo.Other than Jackson and Severin Browne, my research didn't turn up any Garvanza-associated musicians. Walking in Los Angeles one is constantly exposed to all sorts of music from, to, and. As I walked along I encountered a man sitting on a porch listening to-- Los Angeles's onlystation (it's my belief thatis vastly more interesting than the FM band). Other signs of music included a skater in anT-shirt and a woman walking a bulldog rocking aT-shirt depicting the rapper wearing a golden crown. None of these talents are Garvanza natives, though. So as usual, if any readers know of and filmmakers, actors or musicians born in Garvanza, please let me know in the comment section. Same goes for films or television set in and/or filmed in Garvanza.Update:(ne),'s, andownerare all based in Garvanza although I'm not sure if any, besides apparently Surprise Vacation, are actually from the neighborhood originally.Being as small as it is, Garvanza is easily walkable and bikeable.gives the neighborhood a walk score of 75, a bike score of 68, and a transit score of 41. It's served by's, andlines as well as LA DOT DASH Highland Park/Eagle Rock line . Exploring the neighborhood I spied some of the oldtracks that once broughtand their passengers to and from the area. Although today thepasses through the neighborhood, its nearest stop is(located less than a kilometer outside of Garvanza).There are also public stairs, which have become popular destinations in and of themselves since the publication of's book,. I'm not sure if Garvanza is included in the book but there are plenty of public stairs in the vicinity. Thewere long ago artistically tiled by students fromThere are also efforts byandto extend the 710 freeway north to either the 2 or 134 Freeways. In 1997 a group of activists prevented the 710 from extending beyond its northern terminus at the intersection of Alhambra, El Sereno and University Hills. Two of the options that are being considered would extend the 710 through Garvanza. As I walked around I counted 8 "Stop the 710" banners and none in its favor.Early in its history, Gavanza was promoted with (among other methods) all-you-can-eat. There's still BBQ today -- atis a rally of food trucks that takes place in the neighborhood. There's alsofood truck,, andThere are also a few markets including, andThere's only one bar that I know of that's located in Garvanza --. There's also one liquor store,For those eager to get involved in Garvanza, there are at least two neighborhood organizations:(established in 1982) and(revived in 1985)For those interested in reading more about Garvanza, a neighborhood newspaper calleddebuted in 1887. After it was acquired by the improbably-namedin 1888, it was renamed thebut ceased publication after just seven months, in February of 1889.More modern histories include several books in theseries. They includeand the's(2010) and(2008).'s(2008) also includes some interesting history and photography from Garvanza.Back in 2007, LAist undertook a series called, which covered, and. Some of them are quite thorough for blogs -- far more than my own neighborhood pieces which I began at almost the same time. To read's piece,There's also a great Facebook page calledAs always, I welcome corrections, additions, and personal accounts of Garvanza experiences.