Growth During the Pacific Electric Railway

The only subdivision lots designed to draw affluent buyers were those on a hilltop in the Baird Park Tract and in Baird's Pasadena Short Line Tract.  With the exception of a few scattered houses, these subdivisions did not generate the building of upscale homes. 

At the far eastern end of what is now known as El Sereno was the Short Line Villa Tract, subdivided in August 1906, as depicted in Figure 19.  It was adjacent to two previously subdivided tracts in the City of South Pasadena: Oneonta Park Addition No. 1, owned by Huntington Land and Improvement Co., recorded March 1904; and Valley View Heights, owned by Valley View Heights Co., recorded March 1906.  The expense that Henry Huntington incurred to build the Oneonta Park Pacific Electric Railway Station indicates that these adjacent subdivisions were designed to attract an upper-middle-class resident.  The station is depicted in Figure 20 below. 

The influx of new residents created a need for community facilities, such as churches, schools, and a social center.  A small Presbyterian church was erected in 1908 on a lot donated by the Baird Park Trust Co [(see picture below)].  Episcopal services were held at the Bairdstown Hall after 1911.  The second school in the area, Rose Hill School (now Huntington Drive School), was built at the west end of what is now El Sereno in 1909.  The third schoolhouse to be built in this area was the Lincoln School.  Architect Frederick Noonan designed the eight-room Mission-style building.  Built in 1911, it was located in Newton Park and later known as the Bairdstown School and the El Sereno School.  In 1910 the Los Angeles Military Academy was established by Mrs. Ida B. McKinnon at the southwest corner of Farmdale Avenue (Eastern) and Huntington Drive.  Architect for the dormitory was A.B. Benton. 

A Social Center, which met at the Lincoln School Auditorium, was established in 1911.  This social center was named the Bairdstown Social Center, Farmdale Social Center, and Lincoln Social Center respectively within the first five years of its existence, indicating that the community was in search of an identity.  The Bairdstown Improvement Association, formed that year, also met at the Lincoln School Auditorium.  A community library was established in 1915, but a permanent library building would not be erected until 1959 [see 1950's for more info and pics]. 

Llewellyn Baird, a brother of early subdividers, was a booster for this area.  He was able to attract commercial and industrial concerns to the community.  The Blomquist and Lindquist Nursery opened to supply the local residents with trees, shrubs, vines, and flowers.  The California Metal Enameling Company and the Dillingham Printing Company built large brick factories in Bairdstown providing modest local employment opportunities.  The main commercial block with a grocery, meat market, and general store/post office was established within a few years of the first central subdivision in 1903.
 

From 1900-1915 the area that later became El Sereno did not have a unified identity.  There was no coordinated plan for the community as a whole.  Subdivisions were platted haphazardly by each property owner, resulting in four distinct neighborhoods, each with its own school as a focal point.  Known as Rose Hill, Bairdstown, Farmdale, and Sierra Vista, they were grouped together under the name "Bairdstown" for lack of a better name.  Since there were only a few commercial amenities, residents would travel to Los Angeles, Lincoln Heights, Alhambra, or South Pasadena for many of their basic needs.  A true sense of community did not develop in the area until after the annexation to Los Angeles in 1915. 

The Bairdstown Post Office, opened July 7, 1904 and became a Los Angeles station September 30, 1914.
Bairdstown, contained 2,176 acres, was annexed to Los Angeles in 1912 and 1915 and became El Sereno.  LAPL

Postcard of Sierra Park landt-tract, El Sereno. Street in the background is Huntington Drive.  ca 1912. 

The California Metal Enameling Company that existed in El Sereno (then called Bairdstown).  It was located near the northwest corner of El Sereno Ave and Huntington Drive.  It operated from the early 1900's up  until the 1920's.  Today, a lot of the enameled advertising signs are collectables. A warm thanks to Louis Salcido for contributing to this post.