Today, Thursday, Oct. 22, La Cañada Flintridge celebrates 50 years of cityhood in two places. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Descanso Gardens gives residents free daytime admission. From 5 to 7 p.m., the city hosts its anniversary celebration at Olberz Park, beside City Hall at 1 Civic Center Drive.
The two venues fit together for a reason. In the 1970s, when the unincorporated valley was arguing over its future, one of the proposals on the table would have handed Descanso to Glendale. The garden that opens free to residents this morning was part of what the valley went to the polls to keep.
What Glendale Was Supposed to Get
The city's own history page treats cityhood as a third try that finally worked. The steps it lists run in this order:
- 1964. A cityhood effort fails after county officials change the proposed boundaries.
- 1969. A second effort fails, with opposition coming from Flintridge.
- 1974. A town meeting votes 658 to 2 by show of hands in favor of cityhood, and a committee starts working to bring Flintridge into the effort.
- May 1976. The proposal goes before the Local Agency Formation Commission.
- Nov. 2, 1976. Voters approve incorporation, 7,355 to 2,849.
- Dec. 8, 1976. The certificate of completion is filed with the County Recorder, and the city formally exists.
What united the two communities after 1969 was a state "sphere of influence" plan that could have split the area between Pasadena and Glendale. In the city's account, Descanso Gardens would be Glendale's "prize" and Pasadena would take all of Flintridge. The same history quotes resident Warren Hillgren, who said the community wanted to avoid one more major decision being made without local participation.
A Crescenta Valley Weekly local-history column tells the story a little differently. It describes a division of the valley in which Glendale would take the western portion along with Descanso. It also says the earlier creation of a local school district and high school had already loosened the valley's ties to Pasadena and Glendale, and that annexation laws and proposals from both cities brought the old concern about local control back. The two accounts split the territory differently, but both put the garden on Glendale's side of the line.
The city's anniversary page at LCF.ca.gov/TogetherFor50 has a gallery of archival images worth a few minutes before tonight. It includes the cityhood election victory on Nov. 2, 1976, that day's front page, the city's 1976 parade entry, the first City Council swearing-in in 1977, the first city staff in July 1977, and a view of the valley from Sacred Heart Academy around 1955.
The Garden Hosting the Birthday
To get in free today, show proof of residency at Guest Services at 1418 Descanso Drive. Descanso is marking an anniversary of its own this year. The Japanese Garden turns 60.
Descanso says the Japanese Garden opened in 1966. Los Angeles landscape architect Eijiro Nunokawa designed it, volunteers built it, and the Japanese American community helped fund it. The garden's history page credits Mrs. Forrest Kresser "Judge" Smith and Frank Kuwahara among the people who led the effort. That makes the garden ten years older than the city. It is also one of the first things a resident of the new city could point to as built locally, by local hands.
The anniversary exhibition, "Sound of Water: Feminine Expressions of Fluidity," is in the Sturt Haaga Gallery through Jan. 3, 2027. It brings together work by Emiko Aida, Miya Ando, Yumiko Glover, Mineko Grimmer, Yuko Kimura and Ayomi Yoshida, curated by Japanese art historian Meher McArthur.
Talking to the La Cañada Outlook, Descanso's education and exhibitions director Marina Erfle described the garden as centered on water's "movement, its stillness and even its sound." McArthur told the paper the artists treat water as an experience that can
"calm, unsettle, and connect us more deeply to the natural world."
A free day pairs well with the gallery and the Japanese Garden itself. The two sit together as a single afternoon, and today the visit costs nothing.
Two Evening Seasons, One of Them Turning Ten
Descanso's after-dark programs carry the anniversary from Halloween through New Year's. Both are ticketed.
Carved runs nightly through Nov. 1, from 6 to 10 p.m., with carved pumpkins, illuminated railroad displays and wood spirits. This year Bobolito's "Rhizome" has moved to the Oak Grove, and Helsinki-based artist Alexander Reichstein has installed new labyrinth sculptures in his first U.S. exhibit. For the first time, Carved will offer trick-or-treating on Halloween night, Oct. 31, included with admission.
Enchanted Forest of Light returns Nov. 22 through Jan. 9, 2027, and Descanso is billing it as the event's tenth year. Flower Power and the Ancient Forest are back, joined by a new laser light show with a "snowfall" finale. For the Japanese Garden's 60th, Giant Koi will make a special appearance. A Preview Party is set for Nov. 21, and a Holiday Market fills the Luminous Lawn Dec. 2 through 6.
| Carved | Enchanted Forest of Light | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Through Nov. 1 | Nov. 22 to Jan. 9, 2027 |
| Member adult | $22 to $45 | $22 to $45 |
| Nonmember adult | $29 to $52 | $29 to $52 |
| Member child, ages 2 to 12 | $12 to $30 | $12 to $30 |
| Nonmember child, ages 2 to 12 | $19 to $37 | $19 to $37 |
| Anytime ticket | Not listed | $65 members, $85 nonmembers |
Children under 2 get in free to both. The ranges reflect Descanso's date-and-time pricing, so the cost depends on which night you pick.
The Rest of the Year Happens Street by Street
Outside the garden, the city has kept its anniversary small and close to home. "50 Trees for 50 Years" will plant 50 trees around the city over the course of the year. Residents can request one of them for the public right-of-way in front of their own house through the city's tree request page. The program launched at the Earth & Arbor Day Sustainability Celebration on April 23. The anniversary logo came from a public contest built around the theme "Together for 50 Years," with entries from local artists and designers of all ages.
Tonight's program at Olberz Park includes live music, members of the La Cañada High School Chamber Singers, an inflatable obstacle course, and a scavenger hunt whose prize is a limited-edition LCF50 picnic blanket. Mayor's Discovery Park at 1800 Foothill Blvd. reopened at a June 25 ribbon-cutting after a revitalization. It now has outdoor exercise equipment, bocce, a playground, a performance stage and picnic tables, and it is open daily from dawn to dusk.
Five weeks from now, Olberz Park hosts another crowd. The CCLCF Thanksgiving 5K and Kids' Mile start there on Thursday, Nov. 26, with the 5K at 8:15 a.m. and the Kids' Mile at 9:30 a.m. Registration costs $40 for adults, $30 for children and $20 for the Kids' Mile at the early rate, rising to $65, $55 and $35 on race day, plus fees. If you are driving that morning, the city's race-day notice lists these closures:
- Foothill Boulevard from Loma Vista Drive to Gould Avenue
- Angeles Crest Highway south of Town Center Drive
- Civic Center Drive and Town Center Drive
- Part of Cornishon Drive
On Foothill, Flintridge Bookstore at 858 Foothill Blvd. has author events through early November. Kutter Callaway discusses Be Afraid on Oct. 25 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Mark Schroeder discusses When Things Get Personal on Nov. 1, also from 4 to 5:30 p.m. KC Darling holds a meet-and-greet for Pizzarella and The Pizza Slice Man on Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The anniversary date itself is Tuesday, Dec. 8. It falls a little more than two weeks into Enchanted's tenth season and two days after the Holiday Market closes, 50 years to the day after the certificate of completion was filed with the County Recorder.
At George Penner Team, we pay close attention to provenance, the record of who built a place and why. A garden laid out by Eijiro Nunokawa in 1966 and a city formed by vote in 1976 both have it. If you own a house in the foothills with its own history and want to understand that story better, we would be glad to hear it. Contact Us.