Altadena Junction: Saving Cobb Estate wasn’t ‘Duck Soup’

We’re sorting through the years’ stories in anticipation of Altadenablog’s annual Top 10 list, which appears Jan. 1. While we’ve not finalized anything yet — there are about six weeks left in which to make mischief — one of the winners will no doubt be a news flash from 40 years ago: the purchase of the Cobb Estate.

Drive north on Lake Avenue and keep driving — all the way up to the end — and you’ll wind up at the Cobb Estate. The stone-and-wrought-iron gates mark the entrance of the former Los Flores Ranch, which was purchased for a summer home by millionaire Charles Cobb and his wife Carrie in 1915. Charles Cobb died in 1939 and the mansion deteriorated and was a target of frequent vandalism. The property changed hands several times until it was purchased in 1956 as an investment by ... wait for it ... the Marx Brothers. Yes. Really.

Three years later, the mansion finally was razed.

Today, the estate is the head of the Sam Merrill Trail, which goes up to Echo Mountain and passes the remains of the Mt. Lowe Railway. It is a natural preserve — other than the gate and the estate’s still-visible concrete-and-stone foundations and stairs, there are no park structures, restrooms, picnic tables, nor any other kind of development on its 107 acres. But getting from the Marx Brothers to a nature preserve was an epic in itself. We are indebted to Michele Zack, author of the definitive history “Altadena: Between Wilderness and City,” and Altadenablog reporter Laura Monteros for telling this amazing story.

In September 1971, the estate came up for auction. It was known that the property was being eyed for a housing development, which alarmed the Audubon Society and other local conservationists. Bob Barnes, temporary faculty advisor to the John Muir High School conservation club, drove the club’s student president, Maggie Stratton, to an Audubon meeting that galvanized the teen club into action.

Enlisting help from not only Muir, but also from Pasadena and Blair high schools, the young people wrote petitions, and with the Audubon Society, collected funds. But only $6,000 was raised or pledged. On the night before the Oct. 1 auction on the estate grounds, a contingent of preservationists started at Pasadena City College and walked, biked, and drove up to the Cobb Estate in solidarity.

That same night, Maggie’s parents attended a benefit at Caltech’s Athenaeum. Maggie’s mom started a conversation with socialite and philanthropist Virginia Steele Scott, and told her about her daughter’s venture. That evening, Maggie called home to check on her sisters, and found she and Barnes were being summoned to Scott’s Pasadena estate.

After a three-hour meeting — literally the eleventh hour, as it was 11 p.m. — Scott pledged $150,000 to the cause. The next day, in a nail-biting auction, that bid was submitted, the auctioneer saying, “This is the people’s bid.” But the developer’s agent raised the bid to $170,000. The auctioneer gave the preservationists five minutes to collect more.

After adding in the earlier money collected and new pledges (the real estate broker surrendered her commission, and even the auctioneer threw in $1,000) the bid was raised to $175,000. And there it stopped. The agent for the developer, who was authorized to go as high as $300,000, threw in the towel, saying, “I will bid no more. I, too, am one of the people.”

Barnes told this dramatic story last summer, at an Altadena Historical Society lecture commemorating the 40th anniversary of the purchase. But the drama wasn’t over yet: A member of the audience stood up and introduced herself, saying “I am Maggie Stratton.” Now Maggie Stratton West of Santa Barbara, she trekked all the way to Altadena to be present as her moment in history was recalled.

Thanks to the efforts of Stratton, Barnes, Virginia Steele Scott and many others who fought the good fight in 1971, one of the most beloved areas in Altadena was created. That’s one of the best stories of any year.

TIMOTHY RUTT is the publisher and editor of Altadenablog.com. Altadena Junction appears weekly in the Sunday Valley Sun.