Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-21
General Shields Makes Some
Striking Suggestions.
Two Possible Enterprises Are Out
lined.
A Line From Pasadena to Monte
Vista : Some Suggestions to
the Electric Road
Company.

one vast gem with rim OF Alp there AM
ocean yonder. The vote for the publica
ton of an article including the sugges
tions was unanimous.
Pasadena, the crown of health, wealth
and beauty, as well as the crown of tn,
valley, is, like the rest of the cities
spreading westwardly, and in spreading
westwardly is spreading toward ths
nearby opening into La Canada valley
In tbiE case the mysterious instincts O
cities to spread westwardly are extra
well awake because of the unmysterioul
and superlative drawing power of the
only La Canada valley of all the Italics
of the world.
When nature began to sing the sweet
song called California, she sang this vale
of Tempe as the refrain. No wonder
enrapturing Pasadena is herself enrap-
tured with the Alp-girt vale.
La Canada valley ie a natural cradle,
ten miles long, three wide and half mile
deep. The babes in the cradle hardly
dream of the climatic dominion of the
outside world, and sleep on without
fear, because cloud-high ramparts sing
the lullaby:
sleep, my babe, lie still ana slumber,
Guardian angels watch thy bed.
To any one who has never visited La
Canada valley to see how it il. himself,
Isay, please don't read the cradle para
graph.
Pasadena now suburbs it 80 near the
eastern threshold of La Canada valley
that she ought to help her public spirited
Professor Lowe to annex the valley by q
railroad. Thesuburbs of Pasadena would
follow the railroad into the valley.
Pasadena needs this palace chamber
OF vale for her extra delicate and dainty
parlor invalids. The vale needs Pasa-
dena for the purpose of trade and daily
social mutual Unlocking. In other words,
Pasadena and the vale are mutually
supplementary.
The average invalid is of the opinion
that Pasadena is his well-chosen ultima
Thule. There are, however, numerous
invalids who require higher levels, and
it is best for such that the higher levels
be protected by still higher grounds. La
Canada valley offers all these conditions.
1t is lofty valley, walled in by loftier
mountains. Three great natural doors
give easy ingress and egress. A dozen
ranges of mountains lie across a line
drawn from the La Canada valley north
westerly to the ocean. These mountains
force the northwesterly winds to make
long detours over lower elevations, warm
and dry, before reaching the two great
natural doors in the lofty mountain
range that constitutes the south side
mountain wall of La Canada valley.
Hence it is that the northwest winds,
that start inland-damp, chilly and OF
great velocity - reach the southside
mountain wall of La Canada valley as
warm, dry breezes, and as such flow
through the two southside doors and
radiate fanlike over the valley.
From Old Santa Monica, by way of
the foothills to Mentone, the topography
of La Canada valley is matchless. It is
no wonder that Pasadena would like to
have it for suburb. 1t is no wonder
that Los Angeles city would like to
have it for q suburb. 1 think La
Canada valley would like to be q suburb
to both cities, and l am quite certain
that the valley would be delighted to
have both cities for her suburbs. No
use for the census.
The eastern door invites in the west
wardly-spreading suburbs of the city of
Pasadena, and also invites in Pasadena's
overflow of delicate, dainty invalids.
The south-side door invites in the north
wardly-spreading suburbs sof the city OF
Los Angeles, and her overflow of extra
delicate, dainty invalids. These some
times discouraged invalids of the two
cities, if not railroa0ed into La Canada
valley, may overflow into Mexico OF
Oceanica.
Then let us have railroad from Pasa-
dena westerly to Monte Vista by way of
the 1600-foot level of La Canada valley,
TO return easterly by way of the 230C foot
level. This would give circuit No. l. A
link of five miles from Verdugo park to
La Crescenta would give circuit No. 2.
A link of six miles from Monte Vista to
a junction with the proposed Glendale
and Ventura railroad would give circuit
No. 3.
1t was this system of circuits, repre-
Hented on map that exhibited to ex-
Governor Sheldon, that caused that dis
tinguished gentleman to say that he
would call to it the attention of an east
ern railroad syndicate which he num-
bered among his clients.
Another new and original railroad
system: Extend the Buena Vista street
branch of the electric belt railroad OF
the city of Los Angeles across to the
west bank of the Arroyo Seco, at point
not far above where the bridge of the
Glendale road crosses the Arroyo Seco.
Thence extend the railroad up to the
overlooking summitplateaus thence on
by way of the summit plateaus to the
eastern rim OF Eagle Rock cafion !, thence
on to the south end of Sycamore ,caf1on,
up to the north end OF the said cafIon
thence by way of La Canada town across
La Canada valley and up to Terrace de
la Crescenta; thence winding around
the ample areas of the terrace to the
350O-foot level; thence ascending by
moderate grades to the ample summit
townsite of Briggs Peak, 4500 feet high,
and thence by moderate grades to the
ample summit townsite of Shields' Peak,
$500 feet high. A-s
Between the first city-ward summit
and La Canada valley, the electric rail
road should ramify as ramify the lines
of summit plateaus, and, further on,
ramify over the magnificent areas of La
Canada valley.
The proposed electric railroad would
dominate sixty square miles Of high
lands, whose air is Q fluid balm and
flavor on the palate, !" and whose scenic
splendors are before you always.
For any one of the sixty square miles,
the czar Of Russia would pay one hum
dred million dollars if, with the climate,
it could be forever located in st. Peters
burg.
The sixty square miles would subdi-
vide. into seven Thousand five-acre
homes