Lamanda Park was the first train stop east of Pasadena. Never a formal city, in 1920, Lamanda Park was annexed by the great City of Pasadena. As time went on, Lamanda Park’s sense of community withered into oblivion.
But, back in the 1920’s Lamanda Park’s community spirit was alive and well. It was during this time, Lamanda Park entered floats in Pasadena’s Rose Parade.
This is the story of the prize-winning Lamanda Park float from the 1926 Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade. Here we go….
Let’s start at the beginning. On Tuesday, December 8, 1925, a meeting of Lamanda Park civic organizations was held. At the meeting it was decided that Lamanda Park would enter a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. From news reports, noone seemed concerned there were only 23 days to the parade.
The meeting had included all the main Lamanda Park civic groups and all wer e in favor of the float. Among the civic groups were the Lamanda Park Women’s Club, the Emerson School PTA, the American Legion post, the Lamanda Park Improvement Association and the Business Men’s Association. The Hartzell Memorial Methodist Church (located near present day Sierra Madre Blvd. and Colorado Blvd.) soon joined the effort.
Plumbing contractor, Edwin Wood, agreed to chair the Lamanda Park Tournament of Roses Float Committee. The group quickly got to work.
They would need some money and estimated the float would cost $1,000. C.W. Powell, local funeral director and head of the Business Men’s Association, led fund raising. He personally visited Lamanda Park merchants and businesses asking for donations.
The American Legion jumped in. The “Legion Boys” promptly organized a community dance and raised $200.
They needed a float theme and design. With the whole Committee weighing in, they agreed on a theme: the float would promote Lamanda Park as the Eastern Gateway to Pasadena. A call was made for design proposals.
The winning design came from twelve year old, Stella Kincade, a student at Emerson School. Her drawing depicted a roadway (Colorado Blvd.) leading under an arch and then through a garden and orchard scene representing the rural Lamanda Park. Of course, Stella got to ride on the float symbolically holding the gateway open.
Someone needed to execute the design. Fortunately, a Lamanda Park newcomer named Robert Felbe had built floats with the Portland Rose Festival. Felbe stepped forward to direct float construction and decoration.
They needed a place to build the float. Contractor A.O. Nelson had a barn on present-day Altadena Dr., north of the railroad tracks. He stabled his horses there but could make space for the float. Trucks to move materials and flowers were supplied by Jeter English, of the Greenwood Ranch on Daisy Ave. and Colorado Blvd.
Realtor and City Director, A.N. Cole, supplied meeting space at his office in the Roth Building on Colorado Blvd. (where Fedde’s Furniture is now). The basement of the Hartzell Memorial Church was used too.
Then it was on to the hard part — building the float. Working in Nelson’s barn, Felbe built the platform and frame. Now for the decorating.
The committee’s women representatives took the lead in locating and reserving flowers and plants. Mrs. F.C. McMillan, of the Women’s Club, Mrs. L. Hooker, from the PTA, and Mrs. D.W. Husband, of the Hartzell Memorial Church spearheaded the effort. They spread the word throughout the community and pressed local nurseries for plants.
The Lamanda Park community responded. There were red carnations, ferns, flowers, shrubs and at least one orange tree. Some was donated. Some was loaned and had to be returned.
On seeing the community’s outpouring, Mr. Felde was convinced Lamanda Park would have a winning float. Reportedly, he worked tirelessly to finish decorating the float in time for the parade.
This little not-even-a-city community had less than a month to conceive, fund, build and decorate its float. How did it turn out?
They won! The Lamanda Park float won first place in Class 2 civic bodies. Lamanda Park beat out such cities as South Pasadena, Covina, Temple City, Compton, Sierra Madre and others. Reportedly many along the parade route commented on the beauty of the Lamanda Park float.
And, what about this idea of Lamanda Park. as the gateway to Pasadena? Well, the gateway made a great design for a float. But, in reality, it never had legs.
Oh, some in Lamanda Park wanted to build a grand gateway arch over Colorado Blvd. But, the folks in Pasadena proper never really liked it.
And, what about Lamanda Park itself? It sure seems like that place had a lot going for it. That plucky little community that could pull off an award winning float in 23 days! Surely it continued to flourish. Right?
Nope. Regrettably, with Pasadena’s 1920 annexation, Lamanda Park was now a rural appendage to a prestigious big city. Bit by bit, the vibrant parts of Lamanda Park, the clubs, associations and churches, were sucked away and dissolved into Pasadena proper.
Lamanda Park’s demise was swift. By 1959, the Pasadena Star News referred to it as “the lost city of Lamanda Park.”
In that year, the publisher of city directories officially removed Lamanda Park from its listings. No longer could you search for a business or person in Lamanda Park. About the demise of Lamanda Park, the publisher said, “Lamanda Park has lost its separate identity. It has been almost completely absorbed into Pasadena. So we decided this year to drop it as a separate civic entity.”**
That is the official, long standing word — Lamanda Park is no longer a separate civic entity. That may be true. But, it’s float still won first place in the 1926 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade.
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This narrative was based on articles in the Pasadena Star News. As the Rose Parade approached, the newspaper covered float building in communities around Pasadena, including Lamanda Park and others.
** Pasadena Star News, 12/27/59, “Directory Snubs Lamanda Park.”
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