Given that spooky season is now officially upon us, Jackson and I decided to explore an abandoned estate at the mouth of Las Flores Canyon in an area known as the Haunted Forest in Altadena. Adventurers know this area as Cobb Estate and it consists of a few remnants of a 107-acre estate that was built over a century ago.
Lumber magnate Charles Cobb and his wife, Carrie, built their Altadena mansion in 1918. Over the next decades, the Spanish-styled estate survived brush fires, a public plan to turn the land into a cemetery, and ownership by the Marx Brothers before it was ultimately turned into public parkland. Now owned by the U.S. Forest Service, the estate (also known as Las Flores Ranch) is said to be haunted.
As we explored further, we came upon more fascinating historical sites, including where Mt. Lowe Railway once shuttled vacationers to a resort on the mountainside once known as the "White City." Atop Echo Mountain there once was a dazzling Victorian resort, pictured, known as The White City in the Sky. This ‘city’ was comprised of a 40-room chalet, astronomical observatory, zoo, dormitories, dance hall, bowling alley, tennis courts, picnic areas, shops and, the jewel of the city, the palatial 70-room Echo Mountain House, built in 1894.
The entire complex of buildings was painted a brilliant white to reflect the southern California sun. Situated as it was at the tip of Echo Mountain, the resort could be seen glowing against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains (then called the Sierra Madre Mountains) from downtown Los Angeles, some 13 miles distant. The resort was part of a series of hotels and taverns built to service the Mount Lowe Railway, the brainchild of Professor Thaddeus Lowe.
At night there was a white-linen dinner service prepared on dishes etched with the resort’s logo followed by dancing. The luxuriousness and sheer spectacle of the resort along with the incredible scenery quickly made the White City the top honeymoon destination in America. Unfortunately, the cost to construct and maintain the railway and the hotels proved to be too much for Lowe and the project fell into receivership. In 1899, only six years after it opened, the professor lost everything except for title to the observatory. But that was only the beginning of the end for the White City.
Between 1900 and 1905 fires destroyed Echo Mountain House and the Chalet. Although the observatory was still in operation, after 1905, Echo Mountain was only a stopover on the trip further up to Alpine Tavern, a 22-room Swiss Chalet hospice with tennis courts, wading pools and mule rides.
In 1937, the Mount Lowe Railway made its last public trek past the remains of the White City to the burnt ruins of the Mount Lowe Tavern. What little remained of the buildings that once graced the promontory of Echo Mountain was declared a hazardous nuisance and blasted into history with dynamite by the US Forest Service between 1959 and 1962.
Today, all that remains of Professor Lowe’s dream are some foundations marking the location of the Echo Mountain House and it’s periphery buildings. Alas, only the foundations of the Cobb Estate remain as well. But what an adventure it must have been transforming a barren mountaintop into a sought-after destination for locals and travelers alike. And while the mountain wonderland may no longer exist, the views from Echo Mountain are still spectacular – from the mountains and cities of the San Gabriel Valley, to the city of Los Angeles and to the ocean and its beaches, even as far away as Catalina Island. A sign at the entrance to the former mountain resort reads:
“For those with vivid imaginations, it is possible to stand among the foundations of the mountain railway and picture oneself a part of Professor Lowe’s dream-come-true. The iron rails, the buildings, the holiday crowds are gone, but the scars on the mountain remain as slowly fading legacies to man’s creative talents.”
Trails of the Angeles, John W. Robinson