-
- Town
43,037
71%
$100,806
46%
America/Los_Angeles
91104 91001
Welcome:
The WikiXM 'Altadena' platform is your gateway to becoming an active part of our vibrant community, regardless of your age or how long you've called 'Altadena' home. It's more than just a news platform; it's a thriving hub where the collective wisdom of every 'Altadena' resident converges to ignite discussions, foster learning, and empower one another with knowledge about our beloved town.
Here in 'Altadena', we have a diverse tapestry of residents. Some have roots that run deep, their knowledge steeped in the rich history of our town. Others are students, dedicated to keeping us updated on school activities, while many are committed to sharing the ebb and flow of daily life.
What's more, from a civic and political perspective, there are countless opportunities for you to join in. Many in our community offer updates on policies and decisions, offering their unique insights. This platform is where all these local perspectives meld together, creating a better place for everyone to live, regardless of your age or how long you've been a part of 'Altadena'.
So, whether you're a long-time resident or a newcomer, young or old, WikiXM is your invitation to dive into the heart of our community, to engage, and help us all create a more vibrant, inclusive, and connected 'Altadena'. Join us and let's make a difference together!
Altadena, CA - History
We would like to provide the residents of Altadena a basic history overview.
Welcome to the Altadena Home page. The Altadena Home page provides as much information as possible on Altadena. Knowing Altadena’s history is essential to guiding its future. Within Altadena’s Home page, you will also find Altadena’s Founders, Holiday, and Birthday sections.
Altadena has a population of 43037. 46.9% of Altadena’s inhabitants are Male, and 53.1 are female. 49.5% of Altadena is married and 70.7% own their own home. The Average Home price is $798,684, and the average rent is $1,781. Household median income in Altadena is $100,806, and the individual median income is $36,915. Altadena’s Ethnic is the following: White(53.2%), Hispanic(29.5%), Black(19.7%), Other(14.3%), Multiple(6.9%), Asian(5.2%), Native(0.6%), Pacific(0.1%).
In the mid-1860s, Benjamin S. Eaton first developed water sources from the Arroyo Seco and Eaton Canyon to irrigate his vineyard near the edge of Eaton Canyon. This made possible the development of Altadena, Pasadena, and South Pasadena. He did the construction for B. D. Wilson and Dr. John Griffin, who jointly owned the Mexican land grant of Rancho San Pascual, about 14,000 acres (5,700 ha), that would be the future sites of these three communities.
They hoped to develop and sell this land in a real estate plan called the San Pasqual Plantation. Their efforts failed by 1870, despite Eaton's irrigation ditch that drew water from the site of present-day Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the Arroyo Seco, because the land was relatively inaccessible and few believed crops could thrive that close to the mountains. Eaton tried to sell the land for the partners, and in late 1873 he helped broker a deal with Daniel Berry, who represented a group of investors from Indiana, to buy 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of the rancho.
This included the land of present-day Altadena, but they developed a 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) section further south as Pasadena. In 1881, the land that would later become Altadena was sold to John and Fred Woodbury, brothers who launched the subdivision of Altadena in 1887. The land remained primarily agricultural, though several eastern millionaires built mansions along Mariposa Street, and a small community developed through the 1890s and into the next century. In 1880, Capt.
Frederick Woodbury, and his brother, John Woodbury of Marshalltown, Iowa, purchased 937 acres (379 ha) 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 friend, George Gill Green, had built mansions on what was to become Millionaire's Row; Mariposa Street near Santa Rosa Avenue. Newspaper moguls William Armiger Scripps and William Kellogg built homes side by side just east of Fair Oaks Avenue.
A bit farther east, Zane Grey bought a home from Arthur Herbert Woodward, and added a second-floor study. The famous Benziger Publishing Company built a mansion on the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue (Christmas Tree Lane) and Mariposa. Mariposa was taken from the Spanish name for a butterfly. 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. Redlining policies prevented African Americans from acquiring land or purchasing property in much of California. One of the areas exempt from these policies was Altadena Meadows, which thrived and became one of first middle-class African American neighborhoods in the area.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. Had the annexation succeeded, Pasadena would be the 108th largest city in the United States. While Altadena long refused wholesale annexation by neighboring Pasadena, the larger community nibbled at its edges in several small annexations of neighborhoods through the 1940s.
With early-1960s redevelopment in Pasadena, the routing of extensions of the 134 and 210 freeways, and lawsuits over the desegregation of Pasadena Unified School District, there was white flight and convulsive racial change in Altadena. In 1960, its black population was under four percent; over the next 15 years, half the White population left, and was replaced by people of color, many of whom settled on the west side of town after being displaced by Pasadena's redevelopment and freeway projects. In 1993, the Kinneloa Fire, begun accidentally on the slopes above Eaton Canyon, burned dozens of homes in Altadena and neighboring Kinneloa Mesa as part of a rash of late October wildfires driven by Santa Ana winds in Southern California.
One man died of complications from smoke inhalation and dozens were injured.In 2022, Altadena gained local coverage in Los Angeles as the place of the first land return to the Tongva since the arrival of Europeans in the Los Angeles Basin area, after a resident donated her 1 acre property to the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy.
It was described as marking the first time in nearly 200 years that the Tongva have had land in Los Angeles County.Altadena gained national media coverage, as it was the location where a single lottery ticket was sold which would win a world record $2.04 billion USD Powerball jackpot.
With various live chat features, you can engage with locals in a virtual conversation.
Create & post topics in "town" you love like Sports, Entertainment
Ask questions about local services, where to find local activies or get other local advice from those that live in your town.
Create a local group in an area of your interest like Mt. Bikiing, Hiking, a book group.
See what we've included about your town and how can get to know your towns history much better and participate in its future.
The Altadena, CA founder's page is dedicated to those people in the Altadena, CA area that initially made the Altadena, CA WikiXM news a reality. Without their initiative, foresight and social fortitude the Altadena, CA WikiXM news would not have happened.
No Founding Member in Altadena, CA.
The Altadena, CA founder's page is dedicated to those people in the Altadena, CA area that initially made the Altadena, CA WikiXM news a reality. Without their initiative, foresight and social fortitude the Altadena, CA WikiXM news would not have happened.
No Articles in Altadena, CA.
The Altadena, CA's Reporters play an important role in keeping their communities informed. They investigate stories, write articles, and inform the public about what is happening in their area.
No Reporters in Altadena, CA.
Start a discussion, not a fire. Post with kindness.
Sign in Now to take part in the Live Chat
No Live Chat in Altadena, CA
KNOW YOUR TOWN REPRESENTATIVES
Los Angeles County REPRESENTATIVES
Los Angeles County Sheriff
Los Angeles County Assessor
Los Angeles County District Attorney
ASSEMBLY REPRESENTATIVES
SENATE REPRESENTATIVES
FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES
Access Denied
Introducing Your Local Garage where you can post and sell everything you have wanted to sell.
Post upto 5 items for free. After that it's just $20 a year to post up to 50 items in your own Garage.
Directly Communicate with buyers.
Get direct feedback from Buyers to improve your postings.
Receive updates and reminders on items posted but not sold to improve sales.
Selling analytics
Your Garage will come with more selling features to help you get your items sold fast!
The site is protected by reCAPTCHA
