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Historical Notes

The area was long inhabited by the Tongva people (or "People of the Earth"), who were later renamed the Gabrieleños by the Spanish missionaries, after the nearby Mission San Gabriel Arcángel.

In 1798, José María Verdugo, a corporal in the Spanish army from Baja California, received the Rancho San Rafael from Governor Diego de Borica, formalizing his possession and use of land on which he had been grazing livestock and farming since 1784. Rancho San Rafael was a Spanish concession, of which 25 were made in California. Unlike the later Mexican land grants, the concessions were similar to grazing permits, with the title remaining with the Spanish crown.

Historical Notes

In 1860, José María Verdugo's grandson, Teodoro Verdugo, built the Verdugo Adobe, which is the oldest building in Glendale. The property is the location of the Oak of Peace, where early Californio leaders including Pio Pico met in 1847 and decided to surrender to Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont.

Historical Notes

In 1884, residents gathered to form a townsite and chose the name "Glendale" (it was bounded by First Street (now Lexington Drive) on the north, Fifth Street (now Harvard Street) on the south, Central Avenue on the west, and the Childs Tract on the east). Residents to the southwest formed "Tropico" in 1887. Residence to the north lived in the Casa Verdugo community.

Glendale incorporated in 1906 and annexed Tropico 12 years later, in 1918.

In March of 1926, a vote for annexation passed and Casa Verdugo also became a part of the city of Glendale.

Historical Notes

Here was drafted the Treaty of Cahuenga on January 12, 1847, signed the following day in Cahuenga Pass. When the home was owned by Dr. and Mrs. Ernest G. Bashor, they named it "El Roble de la Paz" ('The Oak of Peace').

Although the tree died from natural causes in 1987, remnants can still be seen at its original site.

Historical Notes

The adobe had previously been the home of Fernando Sepulveda and his wife, Rafaela Verdugo de Sepulveda, whose father had owned the vast Rancho San Rafael.   The restaurant was originally to have been called La Ramada (“The Arbor") but soon became known as Casa Verdugo after a Los Angeles reporter incorrectly identified the Adobe as the home of Teodoro Verdugo, Rafaela's nephew.  The name stuck, Casa Verdugo opened on January 21, 1905, and the restaurant was an immediate success.^

Historical Notes

Leslie C. Brand and Henry E. Huntington purchased hundreds of acres of what had been the famous and vast Rancho San Rafael which included the Casa Verdugo adobe. They decided to remake the old house into a tourist destination in the form of a restaurant specializing in Spanish dishes intended to delight the tourists and give them a real “taste” of old California in the most literal sense of the word.^

Historical Notes

In 1905, the Casa Verdugo restaurant opened in the Sepulveda Adobe, operated by Piedad Yorba Sowl. Brand and Huntington recruited Mrs. Sowl due to her experience in the restaurant industry. Her first restaurant, El Famoso, also served authentic dishes of Mexican origin. The restaurant capitalized on the romanticized image of Old California that became widely popular during the late 19th century. Casa Verdugo quickly became an early tourist attraction in Glendale as evidenced by local ads and postcards of the restaurant. The area around it became a popular destination as evidenced by the growth of the population of Casa Verdugo area in 1910 from 1,200 to 1,500 persons.*

To make the old adobe accessible to the tourists, Huntington arranged for his Pacific Electric Railway to extend up Brand Boulevard, adding a terminus station at the entrance to the restaurant and its surrounding park, which was named “Casa Verdugo” in honor of Maria Sepulveda’s great-grandfather, Jose Maria Verdugo, the original “Don” of Rancho San Rafael.

Historical Notes

Surrounded by pepper trees and other mature vegetation, the picturesque old adobe had a commanding vista towards downtown Los Angeles from its wide sheltering corridor that ran the entire length of the long narrow facade.

Historical Notes

Huntington and his development syndicate expended thousands not only on the adobe itself, but in transforming the surrounding acres into a lush park with meandering pathways winding their way around exotic plantings including varieties of cacti and a fragrant grove of oranges that was intended to represent the type of gardens found in the old California days.^

Historical Notes

From the time of its opening in early 1905, the Casa Verdugo was a big hit. Heavily advertised by the Pacific Electric, the Casa Verdugo rode the crest of the wave of public fascination with the romantic days of California’s Spanish and Mexican past and visitors made their way in droves “Out Glendale way” to partake in a Spanish dinner and stroll about the lush grounds.

During its heyday, Casa Verdugo regularly entertained hundreds and sometimes even thousands of visitors at a time including a memorable 1907 Shriners outing that brought 5,000 visiting potentates to the old adobe.^

Within a few years of the restaurant opening a small community had developed and called itself Casa Verdugo after the restaurant.  A commercial district grew along Brand Boulevard and Central Avenue, including a department store, groceries, a meat market, hardware store, drug store, the Mission Theatre and a post office where tourists could have their picture postcards of the restaurant postmarked “Casa Verdugo, California.”  The droves of tourists, and the postcards they mailed home, helped make Casa Verdugo a well-known destination throughout the country; visitors had to see the missions, the Mt. Lowe Railway, Santa Catalina Island and the famous Casa Verdugo.    

Historical Notes

Both the food and the setting were real treats. Diners could enjoy their peppery selections in a variety of inviting locations, from the fireplace-warmed main sala with its thick adobe walls and old beamed ceiling festooned with strings of red peppers to al fresco settings under venerable pepper trees or vine-covered bowers. A most popular spot was, no doubt, the wide veranda where the pleasure of a sunset dinner was enhanced by the heady scent of orange blossoms wafting through the dusky air.

Although its setting was charming in the extreme, Casa Verdugo’s true success was the result of its exceptional proprietress, Piedad Yorba de Sowl, whom Huntington and Brand had wisely granted a five-year lease to run the property upon its opening in 1905. Under de Sowl, Casa Verdugo rapidly became a “must do” for anyone visiting Southern California.

In 1910, because of a disagreement with de Sowl, the Pacific Electric would not renew her lease and hired another proprietor. de Sowl, however, had both trademarked and copyrighted the name “Casa Verdugo” and now claimed infringement. A nasty court battle followed, which de Sowl decisively won in 1911 and the Pacific Electric was forced to suck lemons and come up with a new name. They ultimately settled on “La Ramada”. de Sowl opened a "New" Casa Verdugo Restaurant in her nearby residence and over the next decade the two restaurants operated side by side in an uneasy truce, but one clearly favored by de Sowl. In evicting de Sowl, the Pacific Electric had naively thought people had come to Casa Verdugo to see a building. They hadn’t. They came for an experience, and de Sowl was the one who provided it.^

On May 1, 1923 the original Casa Verdugo Restaurant (formerly the Sepulveda adobe), located in what is now the 1200 block of North Maryland Avenue, was demolished.

Historical Notes

Because of her success at the original Casa Verdugo Restaurant, Senora Piedad Yorba de Sowl and her husband Charles had been granted by a then grateful Pacific Electric the northeast corner of the Casa Verdugo property where, in 1907, they built a beautiful Mission-styled home, which the couple dubbed “Soledad.” 

In 1910, when de Sowl could not get an extension of her lease at the original Casa Verdugo Restaurant because of a disagreement with Pacific Elelctric, she simply reopened “Casa Verdugo” in her former dwelling, taking the staff and most all of the patrons with her, and which she pointedly advertised as “not the railroad place.”

Historical Notes

When Piedad Yorba Sowl moved her restaurant around the corner (literally) after the Pacific Electric Railway declined to renew her lease in 1910, she had a set of postcards printed featuring the new location. This is the first one.

Historical Notes

Piedad Yoba de Sowl’s new Casa Verdugo brought the same charms that were so successful to Casa Verdugo vieja. As before, diners could choose indoor or al fresco dining. Those choosing indoor seating had their choice of a series of charming spaces, each with its own unique name and personality such as the Indian, the Red or the Green Room. And to make sure diners didn’t have to rely on the hated Pacific Electric to visit the Casa, de Sowl had a beautiful garage constructed, that housed any number of visiting machines in Mission-styled splendor.

Piedad Yoba de Sowl was such a success she opened a “Casa Verdugo  Segunda” at 736 South Spring Street in 1913 so diners in downtown Los Angeles could enjoy the same style food and service found “Out Glendale Way.” 

Operating in this location until April of 1921, de Sowl and the Pacific Electric both sold out to a consortium of three school teacher sisters, Ida , Jeannette and Myrtle Baldwin from Dayton, Ohio.  The combined transaction for the two properties being described as the largest real estate deal to date in Glendale area for the considerable sum of $100,000.  The Casa Verdugo name remained a potent one in L.A. restaurant up into the 1960’s.  By that time, however, Piedad Yorba de Sowl had long passed, dying at the age of 84 in 1948.  Her former home and restaurant, however, has survived, an accomplishment as remarkable as the woman herself, and remains today a treasured landmark in northern Glendale (1235 North Louise Street at the corner of Randolph).^* Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

In October 1784, José María Verdugo petitioned Pedro Fages, Governor of Alta California, for a grant of land. This grant was the first and one of the largest made. When parts of Rancho San Rafael were sold, Tomás Sánchez, Sheriff of Los Angeles County, purchased a tract of 100 acres and in 1865 built this artistic adobe of the hacienda type, restored in 1932.

Historical Notes

Casa Adobe de San Rafael has been designated a California Historical Monument (No. 235). It is located in a city park and is now furnished with furniture, cooking utensils and other relics of its time. Location:1330 Dorothy Dr, Glendale.

Historical Notes

During the area's first little boom, the Hotel Glendale was built at a cost of $60,000 in 1887-1888. It was a grandiose structure, but it didn't even open! The boom busted too fast, and the hotel became a school (St. Hilda's Hall, School for Girls). It later became the Glendale Sanitarium until 1924 when the building was razed.*

Historical Notes

Glendale Sanitarium opened in 1905, a year before Glendale was incorporated as a city. It occupied the beautiful 75-room Victorian structure (Hotel Glendale) and stayed until moving out in 1924 to a new location at 1509 Wilson Terrace.  There it evolved into the well-known Glendale Adventist Health Center that exists today.

Historical Notes

CCasa Verdugo was originally a part of the Rancho San Rafael land grant that was given to Jose Maria Verdugo in 1784. Verdugo’s granddaughter, Rafaela Verdugo de Sepulveda, subsequently owned the land after the Great Partition in 1871.

In 1883 the real estate firm Wicks, Wright, Hodgkins, and Watts purchased 500 acres of land from Valentine Mand, which included the Sepulveda Adobe. A portion of the property was sold to clergyman George Baugh in 1886 who subdivided the tract and lived in the Sepulveda Adobe with his family. In 1900, Baugh sold the property to J.D. Bliss who with the help of his brother operated Bliss Ranch on the property.

Finally, in 1903 Leslie Brand, who would become a civic leader in Glendale, purchased Bliss Ranch and 175 acres of surrounding land. In 1904, Brand sold a stake of the tract to Henry Huntington, the owner of the Pacific Electric Railway Company. This resulted in the creation of the Glendale line that ran from downtown Los Angeles to Broadway in Glendale. At the time, the Los Angeles Interurban Railway served as the operator, which was later succeeded by the Pacific Electric Railway. In November 1904, the line was extended a half-mile north along Brand Boulevard to Mountain Street.**

Historical Notes

The Glendale Line was pioneered by L.C. Brand and associates starting in October, 1902, through their corporation, "The Los Angeles & Glendale Electric Railway". On June 29, 1903, Brand received a franchise from the Los Angeles City Council for an electric railway line running from Los Angeles to Glendale.  The franchise was soon sold to Henry E. Huntington, owner of Pacific Electric Railway Co., who would bring the "Red Cars" to Glendale by 1904 under the name of Los Angeles Interurban Railway (later changed to Pacific Electric).

A 1906 San Rafael Investment Co. and Pacific Electric Railway promotional brochure reads:

The fame of this ride, decidedly the most picturesque to any suburb, attracts thousands of tourists, requiring many additional cars on Sundays and holidays, while the hundreds of commuters going daily to and from business and home are rapidly increasing in numbers. 

The passage through the city, passing Central Park, traversing Figueroa Street, Lake Shore Drive (today, Glendale Blvd.), skirting Echo Park, through Edendale and the Pass between Elysian and Griffith Parks to the point where the most enchanting of all valley panoramas burst upon the view, is accomplished in fifteen minutes.  The scene is framed on the north, in ascending order, by the San Rafael hills, Verdugo mountains and the San Gabriel range, showing Mts. Lowe and Wilson in the foreground, while far to the east Mt. Cucamonga’s dome and the other snow-capped peaks of the San Bernardino mountains rising eight thousand and nine thousand feet are discovered.  The flight along the borders of Griffith Park, over the trestles spanning Los Angeles River, and through Tropico to the fine depot at Brand Boulevard and Fourth Street (today, Broadway), Glendale occupies but ten minutes. 

Here, midway the broad valley, its beauties and surpassing advantages are fully realized.   But five minutes are required for the remainder of the trip down the center of Brand Boulevard, a thoroughfare 130 feet in width, flanked by seventy-two monoliths, eleven and one-half feet high, capped by electric lights, with the space between the broad cement walks and curbs filled by graceful palms, on to Mountain Avenue.  Here at the end of the line is found the choicest residential portion of the valley, at the foothills.  This is not a picture of a dissolving view, but one as eternal as the everlasting hills.*

Historical Notes

The Inter-Urban streetcar route began at the Huntington Building (aka Pacific Electric Building) in downtown Los Angeles, passing Central Park, traversing Figueroa Street, Lake Shore Drive (today, Glendale Blvd.), skirting Echo Park, through Edendale and the Pass between Elysian and Griffith Parks, over the trestles spanning Los Angeles River, through Tropico and then down the center of Brand Boulevard to the depot at Brand Boulevard and Fourth Street (today, Broadway), and finally further north on Brand to the end of the line at Mountain Avenue, the location of Casa Verdugo.

Historical Notes

The Edendale Cut was an unpaved road (some of which is now known as Silver Lake Ct.) and was the former route of the Glendale and Burbank interurban railway lines operated by Pacific Electric. The line crossed Fletcher Drive over a viaduct before continuing along a hillside ledge to the Monte Sano stop at Glendale Blvd. and Riverside Drive.

Historical Notes

In 1904, a nearly 454 foot long bridge, the Fletcher Viaduct, was built by Pacific Electric over Fletcher Drive, which ran forty feet below. The viaduct stood until 1928 when it was replaced by a steel structure bridge. Click HERE to see more.

Historical Notes

As a result of transportation innovations and the success of the restaurant, a commercial district was created in the Casa Verdugo neighborhood at the corner of North Central Ave. and West Stocker St. A theatre, various stores, a school, and a post office were established in the area, providing a solid economic foundation and increasing population growth that spurred residential construction. A flurry of developers, companies, and individuals participated in the purchase and subdivision of tracts in Casa Verdugo.

The development of Casa Verdugo was not the effort of any single developer or builder, but rather a number of individuals who produced a network of various tracts. Real estate investor James Wyvell played an active role in the subdivision and development of the neighborhood. From 1906 to 1908, Wyvell subdivided and sold a number of tracts both within and surrounding the proposed district. This included land adjacent to the Casa Verdugo restaurant property and lots sold as home sites to individuals. Wyvell’s own Casa Verdugo tract and the Casa Verdugo Villa tract spoke to the growing identity of Casa Verdugo as its own distinct community. ^^

Within a few years of the Casa Verdugo restaurant opening a small community had developed and called itself Casa Verdugo after the restaurant.  A commercial district grew along Brand Boulevard and Central Avenue, including a department store, groceries, a meat market, hardware store, drug store, the Mission Theatre and a post office where tourists could have their picture postcards of the restaurant postmarked “Casa Verdugo, California.”  The droves of tourists, and the postcards they mailed home, helped make Casa Verdugo a well-known destination throughout the country; visitors had to see the missions, the Mt. Lowe Railway, Santa Catalina Island and the famous Casa Verdugo. ^   

Historical Notes

Bliss was named for Bliss Ranch, owned by brothers John Dallett Bliss and Robert Parker Bliss from about 1894 to 1900, when LB Brand bought the property. He then sold a tract to Huntington for Pacific Electric. The Bliss stop was at the base of the Verdugo mountains, just after the Casa Verdugo stop (corner of Brand Boulevard and Mountain Street).

Historical Notes

Glendale, the Casa Verdugo community, and surrounding area experienced a significant growth spurt beginning around 1904, due in large part to the arrival of the Pacific Electric line.

Casa Verdugo held on to the unique identity that emerged during this time and refused to annex to the city of Glendale for sixteen years. Opponents desired an independent city while those in favor wanted the advantages of utilities and services offered by the larger city. In March of 1926, a vote for annexation passed and Casa Verdugo officially became a part of the city of Glendale on April 17, 1926.

Historical Notes

Brand Boulevard was named after Leslie Coombs Brand, “The Father of Glendale”. Brand was an important civic booster who built an estate in 1904 called El Miradero featuring an eye-catching mansion whose architecture combined characteristics of Spanish, Moorish, and Indian styles (today’s Brand Library and Art Center).  His most important contributions to Glendale, though, was when he partnered with Henry E. Huntington to bring the Pacific Electric Railway, or the "Red Cars," to the area also in 1904.

The First National Bank of Glendale seen above was the city’s second bank. It was founded by Leslie Brand in 1905. Brand's friend and business partner, Dan Campbell, served as the bank's vice president and manager.

Historical Notes

The Glendale Line was pioneered by L.C. Brand and associates starting in October, 1902, through their corporation, "The Los Angeles & Glendale Electric Railway". On June 29, 1903, Brand received a franchise from the Los Angeles City Council for an electric railway line starting at the Southern Pacific's Arcade Station at Fifth, Central & Ceres Street in Los Angeles via Ceres, Sixth, Olive, Seventh, Figueroa, Second, Lake Shore Ave. (Glendale Boulevard) to Sunset Boulevard, and then northerly to the city limits. In Glendale, the line was to enter via a new thoroughfare, Brand Boulevard, thus creating a new business artery to the west of the then central business section on Glendale Ave. where the steam trains of the Los Angeles Terminal Railroad (U.P.) offered the only transportation via rail to the city.

Historical Notes

The Glendale Line was soon extended east on Broadway to Glendale Avenue where all cars terminated for a short time.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more Early Views of Brand Boulevard (1920 +)

Historical Notes

Note the two phone numbers at the top of the truck (S.S. 82 and HOME 682). Between 1906 and 1918, the San Fernando Valley Home Telephone Company and Sunset Telephone both operated in the Glendale area. Unfortunately, neither was compatible with the other therefore requiring patrons to have two lines--one for each company.

Historical Notes

In 1909, L. C. Brand invested heavily in the Home Telephone Company and installed new switchboards in company office at the Central Hotel Building on Brand Boulevard.***^

Historical Notes

From 1913 to 1918, the Glendale police and fire departments operated as a single entity out of Fire House No. 1 on Broadway between Louise and Kenwood Streets. Police officers and firemen were often required to perform double-duty when needed. In the upper right window are the twin sons of George Herald: Frank and George, Jr.***^

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Glendale Police Department (1919 +)

Historical Notes

The Glendale Bank was the first bank in Glendale. The building was constructed by Mr. Ayers.***^

Historical Notes

From 1909 to circa 1922, the Glendale Bank was located in this building. The wires and tracks of the Pacific Electric Railway are visible running down the middle of the street. The Pacific Electric local line ran along East Broadway from Brand Boulevard to Chevy Chase Drive.***^

Historical Notes

This building was lost to the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake.

Historical Notes

Tropico was put on the map as a fertile agricultural spot in the late 1800s. Shortly thereafter, the town began distancing itself from the rest of Glendale. In 1918, the neighborhood formally succeeded in becoming an independent entity for a short time.

Historical Notes

Tropico was the name of the southern portion of Glendale, south of Windsor Road, between the late 1800s and 1918. The name "Glendale"  had originated in the 1880s and was utilized north of Windsor Road. Political factions had divided the town in two.   By the turn of the century, the commercial center of Tropico was at Central and San Fernando Road and its population was 700.*

Historical Notes

Tropico was just a sleepy little village in the early 1900s. The business district included a few wooden buildings containing a general store, a blacksmith shop, meat store, livery stable, real estate offices and a few other small concerns. The buildings were all clustered near the intersection of San Fernando Road and Central Avenue. But within a few short years, the wood-frame buildings were replaced with brick, business boomed and the community became vibrant. The Tropico Art Tile Works stood just west of the railroad tracks, employing many people, and Tropico also became the shipping center for the strawberries raised in the area.

Because of its proximity to Los Angeles, the area became a popular residential spot. The Tropico Chamber of Commerce organized in 1910, along with the Bank of Tropico, and soon the community realized it needed a city government.

With so many of its residents commuting into Los Angeles, many favored annexing to Los Angeles. Others, seeing Glendale's successful example of home rule, wanted to be part of Glendale, which had incorporated in 1906.^

Historical Notes

With so many of its residents commuting into Los Angeles, many favored annexing to Los Angeles. Others, seeing Glendale's successful example of home rule, wanted to be part of Glendale, which had incorporated in 1906.  They felt that since the two communities were adjacent and in the same valley, they should be affiliated. Those favoring annexation with Glendale (mainly in the northeast part of Tropico) approached Glendale officials in 1911 and asked that an election be called.

The publishers of the Tropico Sentinel vehemently opposed annexation, and the issue failed. Instead, Tropico incorporated as its own city, with Elkanah W. Richardson, son of Tropico's founder, W.C.B. Richardson, serving as a member of the board of trustees.

The new city government immediately embarked on a badly needed improvement of the roads, but the annexation issue didn't go away.  Petition after petition was filed, each one eventually failing, until finally, in 1918, the annexation proposal passed.  The upper half of Tropico voted to go with Glendale, and the lower half voted to merge with Los Angeles. Today, that portion makes up the area known as Atwater.^

Historical Notes

The Tropico Post Office building was owned by WCB Richardson and was located near the corner of Central Avenue and San Fernando Road.

Historical Notes

Edward Henry Weston has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography."  Over the course of his 40-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of subjects, including landscapes, still-lifes, nudes, portraits, genre scenes and even whimsical parodies. It is said that he developed a "quintessentially American, and especially Californian, approach to modern photography" because of his focus on the people and places of the American West. In 1937 Weston was the first photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship.

In 1910 Weston opened his own business, called "The Little Studio", in Tropico. His sister later asked him why he opened his studio in Tropico rather than in the nearby metropolis of Los Angeles, and he replied "Sis, I'm going to make my name so famous that it won't matter where I live."*

Weston photographed many of the early buildings and local events in Glendale.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Glendale Police Department (1938 +).

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Glendale Police Department (1938 +).

Historical Notes

The name Chevy Chase actually comes from an ancient Scottish ballad called "The Ballad of Chevy Chase". The "chase" refers to a hunting party, and the "Chevy" is from the Cheviot Hills, which are located along the English/Scottish border.

Some parts of Chevy Chase Drive were originally named Park Avenue and Sycamore Canyon, but in the mid 1920's a real estate agent named E.R. Austin worked to create an additional entrance into Glendale from Los Angeles and was able to convince L.A. and Glendale officials to change the name of this route to Chevy Chase Drive for the entire length of the street, as well as extend the street in various places. All this combining of names and extending made Chevy Chase Drive the longest street in Glendale.^

Historical Notes

Southern California was the principal center for the development of drive-in markets between the mid-1910s to the early 1940s. Other notable early drive-in markets included: Mandarin Market (Hollywood), Plaza Market (LA), and the Sunset Clock Market (Beverly Hills).

Historical Notes

Los Feliz Boulevard in Glendale was formerly called Tropico Boulevard. ^

Historical Notes

Glendale Union High School was founded in 1901 by the residents of the villages of Glendale, La Crescenta, Burbank, Eagle Rock, Ivanhoe, Tropico and West Glendale.

Historical Notes

Erected in 1908, Glendale Union High School was located on Harvard Street in Glendale. The building was a two-story, pressed brick building facing Harvard. This marked the first departure of wooden school houses in Glendale. In 1913, three acres were added to the site and two more buildings were constructed.^

Historical Notes

The school continued to grow, as enrollment reached 800 in 1920 and 1,050 in 1921. It was decided then to move the Grade 10, 11 and 12 classes to a new campus at the corner of the present-day Broadway Avenue and Verdugo Road. The school has remained in this location (1440 East Broadway, at the southeast corner of Verdugo) since 1924.*^

Historical Notes

From the 1920's thru 1940's helmets always were strictly of leather construction, and were not mandatory until the 1930's.

One member of this Glendale football team, Marion Morrison, seated in the front row, third from the right, nicknamed "Duke", was a star football player, Senior class president, and sports editor of the school newspaper. "Duke" Morrison graduated in 1925, stumbled into acting, and later became known as John Wayne. ^

Historical Notes

Born in Missouri in 1859, Leslie Coombs Brand became the sole provider for his family at age 11. In 1886, Brand came to California to take advantage of its first boom period. #*#^

Brand was a major figure in the settlement and economic growth of the Glendale area. He had purchased land on the lower slopes of Mount Verdugo overlooking the city, and in 1904 built an imposing residence that became known as Brand Castle, also El Miradero (which today houses the Brand Library).*^

Historical Notes

Designed by Leslie C. Brand's brother-in-law Nathaniel Dryden, the mansion was completed in 1904 and is similar in style to that of the East Indian Pavilion built for the 1893 Columbian World Exposition held in Chicago. The architecture is considered Saracenic, with crenellated arches, bulbous domes and minars combining characteristics of Spanish, Moorish, and Indian styles.^

Historical Notes

Leslie C. Brand helped develop the city of Glendale.  Together with Henry E. Huntington, he brought Pacific Electric to the town to develop it. The 'Brand Library' section of the Glendale Public Library is named in his honor. Brand Boulevard in Glendale is also named in his honor.*^

Historical Notes

Just across the mostly dry Los Angeles River, Brand could see the Griffith Park Aerodrome's grass field, built in 1912. Just three years later he decided to build his own grass airstrip below his mansion.*^

Historical Notes

Brand established a grassy, well-manicured airfield in front of the mansion. The airfield consisted of a 1,200' rolled dirt runway, with a white hangar at one end and a putting green on the other. The hangar matched the architectural style of the mansion - with turrets atop each of the 4 corners.*#*#

Historical Notes

Only 3 aircraft are known to have been actually based at Brand Field.  However, Brand apparently bought many war surplus Jennies, some to tinker with and fly as a sport, although most languished in storage buildings.*#*#

Historical Notes

Brand built his first hangar in 1916 and put together a fleet of planes, and held fly-in parties. The only requirement was that guests had to arrive in their own planes and bring passengers.*^

Historical Notes

Brand Field was no longer depicted on a 1931 street map, but “Brand Park” was depicted, so the airfield may have ceased operation by that point.*#*#

Historical Notes

It was stated in Brand's will that El Miradero would be bequeathed to the city upon his wife's death, on the condition that the property be used exclusively for a public park and library. Mrs. Mary Louise Brand retained rights of the residence from 1925, when Mr. Brand died, until her death in 1945.^

Historical Notes

In 1956 the mansion became the Brand Library, the art and music branch of the Glendale Public Library. The address is 1601 West Mountain Street, Glendale.^

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