Altadena () ("Alta",

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for "Upper", and "dena" from

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

) is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in the

Verdugo Mountains The Verdugo Mountains, also known as the Verdugo Hills or simply The Verdugos, are a small, rugged mountain range of the Transverse Ranges system in Los Angeles County, California. Located just south of the western San Gabriel Mountains, the Ver ...

region of

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

Civic Center, and directly north of the city of

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. The population was 42,777 at the 2010 census, up from 42,610 at the 2000 census.

Etymology

The name Altadena derives from the

''alta'', meaning "upper", and ''dena'' from

; the area is adjacent to, but at a higher elevation than, Pasadena.Manning, Mike. The word Altadena was first used by Byron Clark, who coined it for his nursery located south of present-day Woodbury on the west side of town. When he moved his nursery to Linda Vista, he agreed to let the Woodburys take the name for their new subdivision.
ALTADENA, CALIFORNIA: an abbreviated history for the internet
"
Altadena Town Council
Retrieved on March 18, 2007.

History

In the mid-1860s, Benjamin S. Eaton first developed water sources from the Arroyo Seco and

Eaton Canyon Eaton Canyon is a major canyon beginning at the Eaton Saddle near Mount Markham and San Gabriel Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles National Forest, United States. Its drainage flows into the Rio Hondo river and then into the Los An ...

to irrigate his vineyard near the edge of Eaton Canyon. This made possible the development of Altadena, Pasadena, and South Pasadena. He did the construction for B. D. Wilson and Dr. John Griffin, who jointly owned the Mexican land grant of

Rancho San Pascual Rancho San Pascual also known as Rancho el Rincón de San Pascual was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given to Juan Marine in 1834 by José Figueroa. Rancho San Pascual land now includes the cities of Pasaden ...

, about , that would be the future sites of these three communities. They hoped to develop and sell this land in a real estate plan called the San Pasqual Plantation. Their efforts failed by 1870, despite Eaton's irrigation ditch that drew water from the site of present-day

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

in the Arroyo Seco, because the land was relatively inaccessible and few believed crops could thrive that close to the mountains. Eaton tried to sell the land for the partners, and in late 1873 he helped broker a deal with Daniel Berry, who represented a group of investors from Indiana, to buy of the rancho. This included the land of present-day Altadena, but they developed a section further south as Pasadena. In 1881, the land that would later become Altadena was sold to John and Fred Woodbury, brothers who launched the subdivision of Altadena in 1887. The land remained primarily agricultural, though several eastern millionaires built mansions along Mariposa Street, and a small community developed through the 1890s and into the next century. In 1880, Capt. Frederick Woodbury, and his brother, John Woodbury of

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

, purchased known as the Woodbury Ranch. John Woodbury established the Pasadena Improvement Company in 1887, with a plot plan of residential development referred to as the Woodbury Subdivision. They contacted Byron O. Clark, who established a nursery in the foothills in 1875, and had since moved away. He called his nursery "Altadena Nursery", a name he coined from the Spanish "alta" meaning "upper", and "dena" from Pasadena. Woodbury asked if he could use the name "Altadena" for his subdivision and Clark agreed. The newly sprouted community of Altadena immediately began to attract millionaires from the East. In 1887

Andrew McNally Andrew McNally (1836–1904) was an American publisher and co-founder of the company Rand McNally. Early life On March 4, 1836, McNally was born in Armagh, Ireland. Career A printer by trade, he moved to Chicago in 1858 and got a job in a ...

, the printing magnate from Chicago, and his friend,

George Gill Green George Gill Green (January 16, 1842 – February 26, 1925) was a patent medicine entrepreneur, and Union surgeon in the American Civil War. Biography George Gill Green was born in Clarksboro, New Jersey, to Mary Ann and Lewis M. Green. Gr ...

, had built mansions on what was to become Millionaire's Row; Mariposa Street near

Santa Rosa Avenue Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

. Newspaper moguls William Armiger Scripps and William Kellogg built homes side by side just east of

Fair Oaks Avenue Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, California, is a major north–south road connecting the communities of Altadena, Pasadena, and South Pasadena, running in length. It starts at its southernmost end in South Pasadena at Huntington Drive. It travels ...

. A bit farther east,

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

bought a home from Arthur Herbert Woodward, and added a second-floor study. The famous Benziger Publishing Company built a mansion on the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue (Christmas Tree Lane) and Mariposa. Mariposa was taken from the Spanish name for a butterfly. The grandson of Andrew McNally,

Wallace Neff Edwin Wallace Neff (January 28, 1895 – June 8, 1982) was an architect based in Southern California and was largely responsible for developing the region's distinct architectural style referred to as "California" style. Neff was a student of ...

, became a famous Southern California architect. He started his career in Altadena with the design and construction of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church (parish est. 1918), which was dedicated in October 1926.

Redlining In the United States, redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services (financial and otherwise) are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as "hazardous" to investment; these neighborhoods have signif ...

policies prevented

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

from acquiring land or purchasing property in much of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. One of the areas exempt from these policies was Altadena Meadows, which thrived and became one of first middle-class African American neighborhoods in the area. Over the years, Altadena has been subject to attempted

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by Pasadena. Annexation was stopped in 1956 by community campaigns, though it has been resurrected several times since by Pasadena without success. Had the annexation succeeded, Pasadena would be the 108th largest city in the United States. While Altadena long refused wholesale annexation by neighboring

, the larger community nibbled at its edges in several small annexations of neighborhoods through the 1940s. With early-1960s redevelopment in Pasadena, the routing of extensions of the 134 and 210 freeways, and lawsuits over the desegregation of Pasadena Unified School District, there was white flight and convulsive racial change in Altadena. In 1960, its black population was under four percent; over the next 15 years, half the White population left, and was replaced by people of color, many of whom settled on the west side of town after being displaced by Pasadena's redevelopment and freeway projects. In 2022, Altadena gained local coverage in Los Angeles as the place of the first land return to the indigenous

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

people since the arrival of Europeans in the

Los Angeles Basin The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an anomalous group of east-west trending chains of mountains collectively known as the Tr ...

area, after a resident donated her 1 acre property to the tribe. It was described as marking the first time in nearly 200 years that the Tongva have had land in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

. Altadena gained national media coverage, as it was the location where a single lottery ticket was sold which would win a world record $2.04 billion USD

Powerball Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). From its inaugural drawing on April 19, 1992, unti ...

jackpot.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP has a total area of , over 99% of it land.

Climate

Altadena experiences hot and dry summers that are followed by warm and windy falls and mild winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Altadena has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated ''Csa'' on climate maps. The wettest calendar year was 1983, with , and the driest was 1947, with . The most rainfall in one month was , in February 1980. The most rainfall in 24 hours was , on March 2, 1938. Altadena averages of rain a year, over more than nearby Los Angeles due to the

orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discipl ...

effect created by the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

. Because of the slope on which the city is built, sewer lines in the city's northern section have been known to overflow significantly.

Demographics

2020

The

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

reported that Altadena had a population of 42,846. The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of Altadena was (53.2%) White (41.2% Non-Hispanic White), (19.7%) African American, (0.6%) Native American, (5.2%) Asian, (0.1%) Pacific Islander, and (6.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race, (29.5%).

2010

The

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Altadena had a population of 42,777. The population density was . The

of Altadena was 22,569 (52.8%) White (40.3% Non-Hispanic White), 10,136 (23.7%) African American, 300 (0.7%) Native American, 2,307 (5.4%) Asian, 71 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 4,852 (11.3%) from other races, and 2,542 (5.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11,502 persons (26.9%). The Census reported that 42,276 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 234 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 267 (0.6%) were institutionalized. There were 15,212 households, out of which 5,170 (34.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,684 (50.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,210 (14.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 814 (5.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 661 (4.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 271 (1.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,489 households (22.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,318 (8.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78. There were 10,708

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(70.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.26. The age distribution of the city's population was as follows: 9,507 people (22.2%) were under the age of 18, 3,286 people (7.7%) aged 18 to 24, 10,622 people (24.8%) aged 25 to 44, 13,298 people (31.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,064 people (14.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males. There were 15,947 housing units at an average density of , of which 10,889 (71.6%) were owner-occupied, and 4,323 (28.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%. 30,319 people (70.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 11,957 people (28.0%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States Census, Altadena had a median household income of $82,895, with 10.7% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the

2000 United States census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

, there were 42,610 people, 14,780 households, and 10,671 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 15,250 housing units at an average density of . The

of the CDP was 47.30% White, 31.42% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 4.24% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 10.19% from other races, and 6.14% from two or more races. 20.39% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

or Latino of any race. There were 14,780 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.29. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,549, and the median income for a family was $66,800 (these figures had risen to $77,020 and $86,778 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $49,098 versus $38,054 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $27,604. About 7.4% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

Christmas Tree Lane Christmas Tree Lane (Italian: ''Via dell'Albero di Natale'') is a boulevard of deodar cedar trees in Altadena, California. The trees on the Lane, Santa Rosa Avenue, have been lighted annually as a Christmas Holiday display since 1920. The associ ...

is a stretch of Santa Rosa Avenue from Woodbury Road to Altadena Drive. It has been a holiday attraction since 1920, and it is the oldest large-scale outdoor Christmas lighting venue in the world. Each December, members of the Christmas Tree Lane Association festoon the 110 still standing giant deodars that line the street with thousands of Christmas lights. Christmas Tree Lane was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1990, and is a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

. Among Altadena's Christmas lighting attractions was the Balian Mansion, which drew people worldwide for tours of its Christmas lighting display. The Balian Mansion display was lit during the holiday season from 1955 to 2016, and is arguably the pioneer of home holiday lighting. The Balian home is located just east of Allen Avenue, at the 3-point junction of Mendocino Street, Mendocino Lane, and Glenview Terrace. The historic

Mount Lowe Railway The Mount Lowe Railway was the third in a series of scenic mountain railroads in the United States created as a tourist attraction on Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe (California), Mount Lowe, north of Los Angeles, California. The railway, originall ...

was a scenic railway that once carried passengers to any of four resort hotels high in the San Gabriel Mountains above Altadena and Pasadena. Although the mountains and the remains of the railway are not strictly in Altadena, the most direct trail to the sites, the

Sam Merrill Trail The Sam Merrill Trail is a major hiking trail in the Las Flores Canyon of the San Gabriel Mountain Range north of Altadena, California, which leads to the top of Echo Mountain. It was built by Charles Warner and the Forest Conservation Club of P ...

, starts in Altadena at the top of Lake Avenue, and leads to Mount Echo, about . Chaney Trail, just west of the intersection at Fair Oaks Avenue and Loma Alta Street, is a forestry service road leading to the old right of way. The Mount Lowe Railway site was placed on the

in 1993. Altadena has a number of hiking trails, including the trail to the Dawn Mine, which can be reached via Chaney Trail to Sunset Ridge Trail. Arrows painted on large boulders direct hikers along the way. The Cobb Estate at the top of Lake Avenue is now a free

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, operated by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

. It is guarded by its historic gates, which are easily bypassed to allow visitors and hikers to ascend its long and winding paved driveway to the site of what was once one of Altadena's premier mansions. This site is also found alongside the Sam Merrill Trail, which accesses Las Flores Canyon on the way to

Echo Mountain Echo Mountain is a mountain promontory of the San Gabriel Mountains, in the Angeles National Forest above Altadena, in Los Angeles County, California. Geography Echo Mountain was shaped from an alluvial fan between Rubio and Las Flores canyo ...

Gen. Charles S. Farnsworth County Park Gen. Charles S. Farnsworth County Park, also known as Farnsworth Park, is a Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County park and National Register of Historic Places district (site #97000027) in Altadena, California. The land was purchased ...

, located on Lake Avenue, is a large county park that offers picnic grounds, play areas, and a clubhouse and amphitheater. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Crudely Hewn Tombstone is the final resting place of abolitionist and Harpers Ferry attack survivor Owen Brown. The Tombstone, which is the only known memorial for Owen Brown, reads: "Owen Brown, son of John Brown, the Liberator, died Jan. 9, 1889, aged 64 years.” and is located on Round Top Hill near Brown mountain in an isolated part

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County in southern Calif ...

. Altadena also houses the Bunny Museum, which holds more than 35,000 rabbit-related items across 16 galleries in a space.

Infrastructure

The

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...

(LASD) operates the Altadena Station in Altadena. The

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

operates the Altadena Area Office on Windsor Dr. in Altadena. Altadena is a shared jurisdiction where L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. handles crime-related calls and CHP handles traffic-related calls. The

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (abbreviated DHS and LADHS) operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, and is the United States' second largest municipal health system, after NYC Health + Hospitals. DHS op ...

operates the Monrovia Health Center in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

, serving Altadena.

Notable people

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series ''B.J. and the Bear'', and l ...

, actor *

Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work has drawn critical acclaim and controversy because her humor often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depression ...

, stand-up comedian * Ramses Barden, NFL player *

Al Boeke Alfred Anton Boeke (November 20, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American architect and developer. Boeke created and developed Sea Ranch, California, a 10-mile-long planned coastal community of 1,700 homes in Sonoma County, California. Boeke a ...

, architect and developer of

Sea Ranch, California Sea Ranch is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States that was developed as planned community beginning in the 1960s. It is known for its distinctive timber-frame structures designed by several noted American arch ...

Aja Brown Aja Lena Brown ( Clinkscale; born April 17, 1982) is an American politician who is the former mayor of Compton, California. She won the election, defeating both incumbent mayor Eric J. Perrodin and former mayor Omar Bradley. Early life Brown ...

, mayor of

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

* Owen Brown, abolitionist *

Octavia E. Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowshi ...

, author *

Andre Coleman Andre Clintonian Coleman (born September 19, 1972) is an American football coach and former player. He played professionally for five seasons as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Diego Chargers, the Pittsburgh ...

, reporter and author *

Fannie Charles Dillon Fannie Charles Dillon (March 16, 1881February 21, 1947) was an American pianist, music educator and composer. Life Fannie Charles Dillon was born in Denver, Colorado in 1881. She moved with her family to Long Beach, California in 1890. She stu ...

, composer *

Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superflu ...

, Nobel Prize-winning

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, was a resident. *

Jonathan Gold Jonathan Gold (July 28, 1960 – July 21, 2018) was an American food critic and music critic. He was for many years the chief food critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' and also wrote for ''LA Weekly'' and ''Gourmet'', in addition to serving as a ...

, Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic *

, author *

Keith Hufnagel Keith Hufnagel (January 21, 1974 – September 24, 2020) was an American skateboarding professional, entrepreneur, and fashion designer, the founder of the streetwear brand HUF. Early life Hufnagel was born in Manhattan, where he grew up in S ...

, professional skateboarder, was a resident *

Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...

, victim of police beating *

Bob Lillis Robert Perry Lillis (born June 2, 1930) is an American former infielder, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lillis was an original member of the expansion Houston Colt .45s who remained with the club (renamed the Astros in ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player and coach * Paul Little,

adult entertainment The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...

director and actor *

Mo Martin Melissa Linda "Mo" Martin (born October 8, 1982) is an American professional golfer playing on the LPGA Tour. Her sole win on the tour was a major championship, the Women's British Open in 2014. College career Martin played college golf all four ...

, LPGA golfer *

- Businessman and publisher. He died in Altadena. * Jim Merritt, Major League Baseball pitcher *

Sona Movsesian Talin Sona Movsesian (born ) is an American executive assistant, author, and media personality. She has been the personal assistant of late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien since 2009, and has been featured in show segments, including as a gue ...

, assistant of

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...

Roger Nelson Roger Nelson may refer to: *Roger Nelson (politician) (1759–1815), represented Maryland in the United States House of Representatives *Roger Nelson (skydiver) (1955–2003), founder of Skydive Chicago *Roger Nelson (Canadian football) (1932–199 ...

, Major League Baseball pitcher *

Marni Nixon Margaret Nixon McEathron (February 22, 1930 – July 24, 2016), known professionally as Marni Nixon, was an American soprano and ghost singer for featured actresses in musical films. She is now recognized as the singing voice of leading ac ...

, singer *

George Reeves George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958). His death at age 45 from a g ...

, actor, '' Adventures of Superman'' * Nathaniel Rosen, classical cellist *

Steve Sailer Steven Ernest Sailer (born December 20, 1958) is an American paleoconservative journalist, movie critic, blogger, and columnist. He is a former correspondent for UPI and a columnist for ''Taki's Magazine'' and VDARE, a website associated with wh ...

, author, blogger, and movie critic *

Michael Shermer Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of ''Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientific ...

, founder of

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and Editor in Chief of its magazine, ''

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'' * Ethelynde Smith, concert singer and botanical painter * Adam Steltzner, spacecraft engineer *

Darryl Stephens Darryl Stephens is an American actor and author. He is best known for playing Noah Nicholson on the television dramedy ''Noah's Arc''. Film career Back in L.A., Stephens appeared on the sexy late-night serial ''MTV's Undressed'', the short-liv ...

Actor * Jeffrey C. Stewart Pulitzer prize winner and Professor *

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, Emmy-nominated actor, ''

Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...

'' *

Leslie Van Houten Leslie Louise Van Houten (born August 23, 1949) is an American convicted murderer and former member of the Manson Family. During her time with Manson's group, she was known by various aliases such as Louella Alexandria, Leslie Marie Sankston, Li ...

, Manson Family member serving life sentence for murder * Mark Dean Veca, artist *

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was aw ...

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'' *

James Westerfield James A. Westerfield (March 22, 1913 – September 20, 1971) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Westerfield was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to candy-maker Brasher Omier Westerfield and his wife D ...

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Charles White (artist) Charles Wilbert White, Jr. (April 2, 1918 – October 3, 1979) was an American artist known for his chronicling of African American related subjects in paintings, drawings, lithographs, and murals. White's lifelong commitment to chronicling the ...

printmaker and draftsman * Harold Zirin, solar astronomer, founder of the

Big Bear Solar Observatory Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) is a university-based solar observatory in the United States. It is operated by New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). BBSO has a clear aperture Goode Solar Telescope (GST), which has no obscuration in the ...

Jirayr Zorthian Jirayr Hamparzoom Zorthian ( hy, Ժիրայր Զորթեան) (April 14, 1911 — January 6, 2004) was an Armenian American artist. Biography Early life Born of Armenian parents on April 14, 1911, in Kütahya, Western Anatolia, Ottoman E ...

, artist

References

External links

Altadena Town Council

Altadena Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control 1887 establishments in California Census-designated places in California Census-designated places in Los Angeles County, California Populated places established in 1887 San Gabriel Valley Unincorporated communities in California Unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County, California