Mystery History

 

Where are we? And what's happening?

 

The first person to guess correctly will win lunch with me -- I'll buy yours and you'll buy mine.

 

Remember, leave your brief guess as a comment on this blog but don't try to give the entire back story (that's my job).

 

I'll have the full scoop on Thursday.

Mystery History -- Solved!

 

Bellis wins with her noon Tuesday guess "Starting to build the Church of the Angels?"

 

In the April 20, 1889, photo above, the cornerstone of the Mission of the Church of the Angels on what is now the Pasadena side of Avenue 64 is placed by Frances Campbell-Johnston as the vicar and parishioners look on. Construction was completed on Sept. 29, 1889. 

 

The site was once part of the Rancho San Rafael acreage. The mission became a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in 1901 and has been called Church of the Angels ever since.

 

 

Design and construction were funded by Frances Campbell-Johnston as a memorial to her husband, Alexander Robert Campbell-Johnston, and a place of worship for the people of Garvanza, now known as Highland Park. She and her husband were the last owners of Rancho San Rafael.

 

 

 Here's an 1893 photo showing landscaping, pathways, a stone wall and a horse-drawn carriage:

 

 

A major restoration and retrofit was completed in 1990.

 

 

Church of the Angels today:

 

 The sandstone on the exterior was quarried in the San Fernando Valley and the clock on the 44-foot tower was produced by the Seth Thomas Clock Company.

 

The architect, Arthur Edmund Street, was inspired by the church at Holmbury St. Mary, a village near Surrey, England.

 

I'll leave you with some photos of the spectacular interior with its redwood and stained glass:

  

 

 



 

There is so much more information I could impart, but I'll leave it here for now.

 

Petrea has a couple of related posts on her blog.

 

 

Many thanks to Pasadena Museum of History, Church of the Angels and iamnotastalker.



Mystery History

 

Where are we? And what's happening?

 

The first person to guess correctly will win lunch with me -- I'll buy yours and you'll buy mine.

 

Remember, leave your brief guess as a comment on this blog but don't try to give the entire back story (that's my job).

 

I'll have the full scoop on Thursday. 

Mystery History -- Solved!

 

Karen wins with her 8:39 p.m. Tuesday guess "From the looks of that sago palm, I'm guessing it was a tea house at the Green Hotel?"

 

In Tuesday's post I cropped the photo, so here it is in full frame.

 

 

The Green Tea Pot was a restaurant in the 1920s inside the Hotel Green, now known as the Castle Green.

Unfortunately I couldn't find a photo of the café inside the hotel. But thanks to Pasadena Central Library, we do have some context by way of some articles in the Los Angeles Times.

Nov. 16, 1924:

Nearly $200,000 has been spent in remodeling the Hotel Green, famous Pasadena hostelry, and the Castle Green Apartments, adjoining that hotel, according to Charles B. Hervey, owner and manager of the Hotel Green. The hotel is now operated under the European plan the year around.

The Green Tea Pot Café is maintained in conjunction with the Green, offering excellent service. Mr. Hervey, who also is associated with F. W. Paget of San Diego in the management of the Maryland in that city, anticipates an unusually heavy business for the winter season.

Here's an ad in the L.A. Times on Feb. 27, 1925:

 

This item in the Oct. 20, 1926, edition of the L.A. Times is the first to indicate a name change:

CAFE ENLARGED

The Green Tea Pot, unique café of the Hotel Green in Pasadena, has been enlarged to double its former capacity, now seating 250. Henceforth, it will be known as the Colonial Café of the Green. The chef and crew of the Colonial Café of the Green (all women), formerly of the Samarkand of Santa Barbara, are serving dainty home-cooked foods. Chafing dish luncheons and Saturday evening dinner-dances are featured. Mr. Alfred Koch, former steward of the Samarkand, is in charge.

Jan. 12, 1927:

POPULARITY INCREASES

The new and enlarged Colonial Café of the Hotel Green in Pasadena is attracting many large luncheon and dinner parties. It is fast becoming the center of the social life of that section of Pasadena, according to Manager J. Manning Murfee. Dainty menus prepared by a trained crew of women cooks are featured.

There has not been a restaurant there in decades, but the ballroom of the Castle Green has been the site of hundreds of happy catered occasions.

Mystery History

 

With apologies for not posting since July, where are we and what's happening?

 

The first person to guess correctly will win lunch with me -- I'll buy yours and you'll buy mine.

 

Remember, leave your brief guess as a comment on this blog but don't try to give the entire back story (that's my job).

 

I'll have the full scoop on Thursday.