Altadena Heritage

10/07/2026

Water flowing underground—naturally and through pipes—forms Altadena’s mostly hidden but essential life-support system.

Join the Altadena Community Watershed Alliance (ACWA) and Altadena Heritage on October 22 at 7 p.m. at the Altadena Community Center for the first in a series of programs exploring our town’s water history and infrastructure.

Free & open to the public.

watershed alliance

09/10/2026

The Eaton Fire devastated much of Altadena’s historic central core—hundreds of Craftsman homes and neighborhood treasures, each with stories worth protecting. In the wake of that loss, a crucial question emerges: after rebuilding with new technologies, materials, and codes, can a home still be “Craftsman”? Is it about elevations and details—or a deeper design philosophy applied with care?

Join us for a lecture and community discussion led by Steven S. Lamb, an official advisor to Rebuild Altadena and a long-time Altadena Town Council member and preservation consultant. Steven brings deep expertise in community advocacy, historic preservation, and traditional residential design, and is a trusted voice for thoughtful, place-based rebuilding in the San Gabriel foothills.

📅 Event details: What Makes a Craftsman a Craftsman?
📍 Location: The Blinn House, 160 N Oakland Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101
🕰️: 5:00 pm, September 16, 2026

Bring your questions and help shape what “Craftsman” can mean in a new chapter of Altadena.

RSVP: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAMAAa0mcetUMkhNVUdXM1RTT002RTJXT1VEVTg1UkhOMy4u&route=shorturl

Pasadena Heritage

09/08/2026

The latest Altadena Revealed discussion is now on YouTube. We're deeply thankful to Professor David Zierler for this historical tour of Caltech, JPL, and Altadena's place in those places. And we're thankful to the Su***de Squad, too, for moving on up to the Arroyo Seco!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6747_RR-80k&t=3209s&pp=2AGJGZACAQ%3D%3D&ra=m

Landmark District Society

08/25/2026

🧫🧬🔬 SCIENCE in Altadena 🔬🧬🧫

The Physics of Place: Altadena’s Scientific Legacy

Speaker: David Zierler

Friday, August 28th @ Eaton Fire Collaboratory (540 W Woodbury)
Doors open at 7:00 PM, Lecture from 7:30–8:30 PM

Science is big in Altadena, and long has been.  Richard Feynman, Caltech, JPL--to name the obvious.  But how did Altadena become such a home to physics and physicists, and what is that intellectual legacy today? Historian David Zierler will walk us through how the forces of nature have grown to comprise a critical force of Altadena's sense of place. 

David Zierler is the Ronald and Maxine Linde Director of the Caltech Heritage Project. He holds a Ph.D. in the history of science and foreign affairs and is the author of The Invention of Ecocide: Agent Orange, Vietnam, and the Scientists who Changed the Way We Think About the Environment.

Prior to his arrival at Caltech, David directed the Oral History program at the American Institute of Physics, and was previously in the Office of the Historian at the U.S. Department of State.

08/07/2026

Before Zane Grey wrote a word about the West, he was a dentist in Manhattan. At 100 W. 74th Street. And when his first book about the West, Last of the Plainsmen, was rejected by Harper & Brothers, he walked outside of the publishing house, stood on the street corner, and experienced "the most exceedingly bitter moment of my life. Here, a photo of 100 W. 74th, and a video of that street corner, at 331 Pearl Street. (Zane Grey's birth name was Pearl!) - Hans Allhoff

07/29/2026

Join us this Friday, July 31, at 7:00 p.m. for the next installment of our Altadena Revealed series at 540 W. Woodbury Road.

Zane Grey is often credited with shaping the Western story as we know it—but who was the man behind the novels? What inspired his adventurous life, and what was his real connection to Altadena?

Altadena Heritage Chair Hans Allhoff, an enthusiastic admirer of Zane Grey, will bring this fascinating figure and his local ties to life in an engaging evening presentation.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore a compelling chapter of Altadena history.

Presented by foundation landmark district society

RSVP via https://givebutter.com/altadenarevealed12

07/24/2026

We have a wonderful lineup of informative events ahead. This August, we begin with “Rebuilding in the Style of Altadena - A Historical Overview of Altadena Architecture,” presented by Rebuild Altadena and Altadena Heritage.

This architectural-talk series is led by Steve Lamb, an official advisor to Rebuild Altadena. With decades of experience in community advocacy, historic preservation, and traditional residential design, Steve also serves as a longtime Altadena Town Council member and preservation consultant.

Rebuild Altadena was founded by David Ly, who lost his own home in the Eaton Fire. Drawing on more than 20 years of construction experience, he created the company to help neighbors navigate the rebuilding process while honoring the distinctive character that makes Altadena special.

We hope to see you at the event. Please RSVP at: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAMAAa0mcetURDVUNEVTVFZYN0dSUE5ZRk9VS0VQMUpGMS4u&route=shorturl

07/20/2026

🏘🏘 Friends & Neighbors, 🏘🏘

Please join us this Wednesday for an important update regarding SB1090.

SB1090 is important for our town as Altadena is currently faced with a predatory influx of high density housing due to SB9 & SB1123. These two allow multiple dwellings on single family lots.
SB9 was enacted prior to the fire and did not account for Los Angeles lots vacant by disaster or tragedy. SB1123 became law after the fire.

Altadena will have higher density, but we must recover our infrastructure first.

540 West Woodbury

07/11/2026

Join us for an engaging evening as Hans Allhoff, Chair of Altadena Heritage, brings the adventurous life of Zane Grey to life at Altadena Revealed, our monthly lecture series and social hour.

The program will take place on Friday, July 31, at 7:00 p.m. at the Eaton Fire Collaboratory in Altadena.

Presented by

Registration: https://givebutter.com/altadenarevealed12

We hope to see you there!

07/10/2026

Here is a recording from the 250th July 4th commemoration at Owen Brown’s gravesite, beginning with Kathryn Barger’s welcome and ending with Bill Burnett leading the crowd in singing “John Brown’s Body Lies a Moldering in the Grave.”

The centerpiece of the program was a reading of Owen and John Brown’s Declaration of Liberty, dated July 4, 1859.

See the celebration of our nation’s 250th Birthday at Owen Brown’s ...