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Health & Fitness

Patch Blog: Cycling Through Historic Glendale

Resident cyclist and blogger George Larios rides through historic Glendale and shares his story!

I found out about the Glendale History ride from Glendale Historian Scott Lowe, via his blog at Tropico Station. The ride was a joint event hosted by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, the Glendale Historical Society and the Glendale Community Services and Parks Department and took place Saturday, August 12. Lowe was also the person responsible for aggregating all the great information we learned at each of the stops along the bicycle tour.

Our tour began at historic Glendale's historic Tropico Train station. The original station was built in 1883, later replaced in 1923 by what we know now as the Glendale Southern Pacific Railroad Depot. 

Our group, which consisted of 77 cyclists, then proceeded LAPD stables located along the L.A. River behind the Los Feliz Golf Course. I had no idea that the LAPD kept their horses on this side of town.

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From there we headed to the L.A. River bike path and scooted along at a nice pace (at this point, my wife and I opened up the throttle a little bit to get a little sweat going) northbound to regroup with the rest of the riders at Victory and Sonora. We proceeded to the Grand Central Air Terminal which was built in 1923 and the first paved airport west of the Rockies. It was Southern California's primary airport, hosting such legendary flyers as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart as well as Howard Hughes and Jack Northrop.

After that we made our way to Glenoaks, which eventually circled back back to central Glendale where the group made their way to Hotel Glendale and the Cave Wine Storage. On the way we rode by the Goode House. This house is the last Victorian Queen Anne-Structure left in its original location in Glendale built in 1892. Another example is the Dr's House located at Brand Park but was moved from its original location. We had the opportunity to tour around what used to be the hotel restaurant and is now a wine storage facility in the basement of the hotel.

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Next, we visited the Cottage Grove Historic district which was built around 1925. It is a really neat neighborhood of nearly identical cottages, almost like a preview of the cookie cutter post-war neighborhoods to come.

From there we headed to the Richardson House. Built for W.C.B. Richardson in 1873, it was on the Santa Eulalia Ranch. Santa Eulalia Ranch is also the oldest wood-framed structure in Glendale. Of course the adobes predate this house, but those weren't built with wood.

You can't mention Glendale history without Forest Lawn. Founded in 1906 it is home, in the afterlife sense, to numerous celebrities and VIPs. The property houses some amazing works of art, a museum and some really beautiful stained glass.

I can go on and on about the history of Glendale, but I won't. Suffice it to say that taking a ride through Glendale with a historic perspective can be quite rewarding. It is worth a try, there are plenty of bike lanes and sharrows throughout the city.

Happy Cycling!

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