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“The closest thing to a day with the late great Huell Howser that California travel buffs will ever have.” – Pasadena Weekly
Join us on an afternoon’s exploration of California’s Mother Road and the building of its dream in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. From the real estate boosterism of the 1880s to the citrus industry, health farms, TB hospitals and daffy roadside architecture, from its earliest days Southern California branded itself as something new under the sun.
Who says a Route 66 road trip takes several days and requires you to cross state lines? Route 66 has a lot to offer right here in L.A.’s backyard. Join us for an afternoon’s exploration of the Mother Road as it skirts the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. See the landmarks that welcomed travelers coming west from Chicago in the days before freeways, and learn about the fascinating layers of boosterism and industry that shaped the Southland: real estate, citrus, sanitariums and of course daffy roadside architecture.
Who says a Route 66 road trip takes several days and requires you to cross state lines? Route 66 has a lot to offer right here in L.A.’s backyard. Join us for an afternoon’s exploration of the Mother Road as it skirts the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. See the landmarks that welcomed travelers coming west from Chicago in the days before freeways, and learn about the fascinating layers of boosterism and industry that shaped the Southland: real estate, citrus, sanitariums and of course daffy roadside architecture.
Highlights of the Route 66 tour include:
This Egyptian-Polynesian mid-century modern bowling center must be seen to be believed. Although the bowling alley, banquet rooms and diner have been closed for years, preservationists have
Since 1891,
Not Aztec, rather Mayan, this National Register landmark is the most spectacular of eccentric architect Robert Stacy-Judd’s buildings reflecting the soul of the Southwest. His work would influence Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mayan block houses, and are among the most lyrical and inventive architectural spaces we know.
Two very different early Azusa mansions tell the tale of the feuding Slauson sisters, while time and demographic changes have brought a growing suburb flush to their gates, a reminder of the fragility of rural ecologies and the incessant crush of progress.
A remote and fascinating Civil War-era
This tour is just one of our