City, Historical Society bring history to life
The Arcadia Historical Society’s 11th “History Lives Here” historical marker, featuring the many railroads that once crisscrossed Arcadia as well as Lucky Baldwin’s stately Hotel Oakwood was unveiled Thursday, Jan. 26.
City officials as well local history buffs joined in for the ceremony. Dale Carter and Sandy Snider provided great entertainment with their colorful knowledge of local history that shaped the future of Arcadia.
The marker was placed at the Arcadia Transit Plaza, the former site of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway’s Arcadia Depot. Earlier this year the Metro Gold Line resurrected train service and a station platform at the same location.
For several decades in the first half of the 1900s, three different train lines, tracks, stations, and two control towers, converged within a couple blocks of each other in Downtown Arcadia where passengers could also board the iconic Los Angeles Red Cars.
Directly across the street once stood Lucky Baldwin’s elaborate Hotel Oakwood, one of the region’s finest hotels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The “History Lives Here” markers are just one of the many regular activities and events created year-round by the non-profit Society and are an integral part of the Society’s mission to create broader public awareness of noteworthy historical events, people, and landmarks in Arcadia. Since the first Marker was dedicated in October 2007, others have been dedicated at Santa Anita Park, the Arboretum, L.A. County’s Arcadia Park, The Derby restaurant, Adams’ Pack Station in the Angeles National Forest, and several other historical locations in Arcadia.
The Society thanks the City of Arcadia for co-funding and installing this and many of the markers.
For more information contact the Arcadia Historical Society at (626) 446-8512, or Ed Anderson at hetchflier@hotmail.com. You can also visit their website at www.arcadiahistoricalsociety.org.
