This circa 1915 photograph shows us Orange Grove Ave in Pasadena. It gained a “Millionaire Row” nickname when people with money (often from back east who’d come to Pasadena to escape the brutal Northeastern winters) built large estates. We can see one in the background with a distinctive domed turret. It belonged to the impressively named Professor Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe. According to Wikipedia, he was “an American Civil War aeronaut, scientist and inventor, mostly self-educated in the fields of chemistry, meteorology, and aeronautics, and the father of military aerial reconnaissance in the United States.” He was also that Lowe that Mt Lowe north of Pasadena was named after.
(My thanks to Johnny Yuma for his help with this post.)
Here are some clearer photos of The Blossoms:
This December 2020 view of Orange Grove Ave shows us how high those palm trees have grown in the intervening 100 years.
** UPDATE ** – Rick S says: “They are not the same trees. The palm trees in the historic photos are California Fan Palms and were undoubtedly lost for street widening. They are barrel-trunked and grow to about 30′. They line the down-town streets in Palm Springs with their manicured beards. The palms in the current photo are Mexican Fan Palms and look to be about 20 years old. They can grow upward to 90′. The cluster of palms on the left are Phoenician Date Palms. Here is a pic of both a Mexican (left) and California Fan palms.”
Wasn’t he the Lowe of the Mt. Lowe railway that you’ve covered here before?
Someone on Twitter just told that that he was!
I like the sweeping vistas of the open landscaping of the yards back in 1915 better. Makes it seem even MORE majestic.
MUCH more!
An incredible house.
Found the original location to be listed as 955 S. Orange Grove Avenue, Pasadena…(these days that part of the street is Blvd not Avenue). You can note the sweeping incline seen in the original photos… leading to an unremarkable apartment complex.
Very unremarkable.
I always KNEW there was something MORE to your photo blog than just dreamy pictures.
https://www.studyfinds.org/nostalgia-pain-relief/
It’s science!
Ya’ll missed the most incredible connection to the property…. granddaughter Florence Lowe “Pancho” Barnes – Among this unique woman’s accomplishments was as a Pioneer Aviatrix par excellence.
I didn’t know he was related to Pancho. Thanks for that interesting tid bit, Matt!
You though Pancho came from an “average” background? (Just funn’in.) More trivia: Pancho discovered legendary photographer George Hurrell & talked him up to her move star friends, literally starting his Hollywood career. More info on Hurrell & Pancho:
https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/captured-in-his-lens/
https://disciplesofflight.com/pancho-barnes-history/
Wish true originals like Pancho were still around –
I knew that Ramon Novarro brought Hurrell to the attention of Norma Shearer, who in turn brought Hurrell to her husband, Irving Thalberg, head of production at MGM. But I never knew it was Pancho who brought Hurrell to Novarro’s attention. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Always a pleasure –