The San Francisco call., 1897-07-30
WEALTHY MEN
FORM A CLUB
Each Member of the Or
ganizatiOn Rated as a
Millionaire.
Magnificent Grounds to Be
Laid Out in the Vicinity
of Pasadena.
Object OF the Promoters Is to Find
Enjoyment and Dominate
Fashion.

LOS ANGELES, CAL, July 29.-Some-
where in the immediate vicinity OF Pasa-
dena, but safely outside the municipal
jurisdiction, there will soon be established
the demesne of club of millionaires that
is destined to attend widespread fame by
reason Of the aggregate wealth represented
in its membership, and the ostentation
that will be characteristic of an organiza-
tion effected solely for pleasure, and for
the great exclusiveness of its set.
The Country Club is new organization
of men who love pleasure, and have the
means of acquiring all the desiderata that
money can buy. Its membership roll in
cludes a number of millionaires whose
home for at least portion of each year
is either Pasadena or Los Angeles. Pasa-
dena, though the lesser of the sister cities,
is here named first because some of the
most notable of the wealthy pleasure
seekers have their mansions there, and
maintain their luxurious living on in
comes from the effete and storm beaten
but money yielding East.
Among the mem bers are: John S.
Cravens, from st. Louis; J. B. Miller,
from Port Huron; W. J. Ladd and Jason
Armstrong, Frank W Emory and w. G.
Stuart, from New York originally. though
both Messrs. Armstrong and Stuart have
become year-around residents, and pos
sess elegant mansions at Altadena and
Pasadena respectively. Then there are
George H. Barker, the electric light mag
nate; w. r. Stats, the wealthy real
estate man; J. S. Torrance, Nelson W.
Bell and numerous others, who are not
only rich but are good fellows" Suffice
it to say OF the personnel that it is suf-
ficiently distinctive to be properly de-
nominated a millionaires' club.
As before in timated these people want
pleasure, are BILE TO pay for it and do not
want to be interfered with by prohibition
ordinances of the city OF which they are
deniZens. That is why they want their
clubhouse to be outside the city limits and
yet not so far as to lose the effulgence of
Pasadena's fame. Many if not most of
these gentlemen are mem bers of the VAL
ley Hunt Club in Pasadena, but that club
is not n ow as ,xcluslve as it was, and, be-
sides, being within the municipality it is
under the surveillance of the City Mar
shall and the worthy but abstemious men
who constitute the city's Board of Trus-
tees. There are also other reasons why
a new club was deemed desirable, but
they cannot be given in detail without
hurting some ones feelings, and that is
bad form in Pasadena.
The Country Club is incorporated, or
ganlzed and is on a substantial financial
basis, with already enough money in the
treasury 20 insure success. The plans OF
the club are most am bilious. a tract of
five acres of ground will be purchased at
some one of three sites now under con-
sideration, and thereon will be erected a
clubhouse which for luxury and magnifi-
cence OF appointment shall excel any
thing of the kind in the far West. There
will also be fine stables and other ad-
juncts TO an ideal place of the kind. 1t is
probab bic that additional adjacent ground
will be leased TO make into a racing park
but that Is not settled.
One of the sites proposed IS on the
Cam pbell- j ohnson ranch, across the ar
royo from Pasadena. Another is ON the
line of the new Pasadena-Los Angeles
boulevard, Just outside the limits OF
South Pasadena, which is as strictly pro-
hibitive as her neie b Dor on the north.
That location would be as near Los Ange-
les as Pasadena and would lose some of
its exclusiveness on account of being so
close to the proposed artery OF pleasure
and commerce. The third site is the Oak
Grove Tract, south of Pasadena-an ideal
place for such a purpose, having been
laid out during the boom as park addi-
tion to tie city, and being we'll improved,
except as to houses, of which there are
none. Any one of these places would
cost neat sum of money. and the cost of
the new buildings and appointments
would run away up into the thousands.
When the Country Club begins active
existence it expects to set the pace for the
Pacific Coast and will dominate fashion
in Southern California. In fact one prin-
cipal OBJECT of the club is to make South
ern California fashionable, which it has
never teen among the wealthy Eastern
ers. The men In this club not only have
the money, but they have influence, and
know good form. Some OF them have
been lions in Eastern society. and to most
of them the possession of wealth lost its
novelty long ago. If that organization
cannot attract hither and properly amuse
the Eastern seekers for fashionable enter
tainment then the cause is hopeless.