Although Pasadena lays claim to the Rose Parade, Altadena played a role in its beginning.
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| Banyard Smith house designed by Frederick Roehrig Photo: Huntington Library digital collection |
Michele Zack tells us that the connection can be found within the Altadena home of Banyard Smith (now the site of the Theosophical Society on the northeast corner of Santa Rosa and Mariposa, across from the McNally house). “It was at Smith’s home that the Valley Hunt Club was founded in the early 1890s, from whence grew Pasadena’s Rose Parade.” (Michele Zack, Altadena: Between Wilderness and City, 2003, p. 121)
This is the home in the 1890s. Look closely and you can see Mt. Lowe’s Echo Mountain House in the background.
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| Photo: Huntington Library digital collection |
Unfortunately, the Smith house burned to the ground shortly after this picture was taken. But the Rose Parade lives on.