GLENDALE'S BRAND AVENUE

                       

BUILDING A GREAT MUSEUM FOR THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

BRAND AVENUE – GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA

by Monica Corpuz - Graduate Student CSUN

        Glendale’s Brand Boulevard is a main hub of activity today, with a wide selection of shops, restaurants, businesses and cultural landmarks. The street is named after Leslie Coombs Brand (1859-1925), who helped to develop Glendale by helping to build and facilitate transportation and real estate in the city. 

         Glendale officially became a town in 1887 when it comprised only about 150 acres worth of land. In the early 1900’s Edgar D. Goode and D.W. Hunt also helped to develop Glendale by bringing the railroad through the city. Both of these men also have streets named after them, and they’re all by Brand Boulevard. Finally, Glendale became a city in 1906, and due partly to the glamorous and popular Alex Theater, which is located on the street, Brand Boulevard quickly became an important part of the city.

      It wasn’t until a surge of immigrants in the 80’s and 90’s that really diversified Brand Boulevard. Different types of cuisine and shops popped up which only increased the street’s popularity. Today it is a central hub of Glendale. It is located close to the Glendale Galleria, the Americana, art galleries and large corporate headquarters. Shopping, dining, looking at art and then catching a show at the Alex- what a great way to spend a day in Glendale!

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN GLENDALE

BUILDING A GREAT MUSEUM FOR THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

In 1903, Glendale California was a small town surrounded by cling peach orchards developed in nearby Lankershim (now North Hollywood) at the end of the 19th century.  Initially members of the Methodist Episcopal community were served by a circuit-rider minister who rode from town to town conducting services. In the 1960s, when he was nearly 100 years old, Webb McKelvey (who was a member of the first graduating class from now the University of Southern California) told this writer that his father was a circuit rider minister who served Glendale on his rounds by horseback.

(Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church founded the University of Southern California to serve as a college and Methodist seminary.)

Rev. Charles Norton served as the Glendale church's first pastor and oversaw the construction of the first wooden church in 1906.

 Present sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church of Glendale, California. Postcards are gifts from Gary Fredburg 2014. (click on images to enlarge them)

 134 North Kenwood, Glendale, California 91206  - telephone (818) 243-2105

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY NOTABLE KATHERINE FLETCHER SHREVES

Today, January 21 is the birthday of San Fernando Valley notable Katherine Fletcher Shreves. Born in Eufala, Indian Territory in 1906, Katherine was one of earliest students to attend the Julliard School of Music in New York City. She and her husband Dorr came to North Hollywood shortly after the conclusion of World War II. Later, while living in Studio City, Ms. Shreves became the principle cellist for Republic Studios.
In the 1950s, musicians in the Republic Studio Orchestra were given one rehearsal before their work was recorded for a film. Katherine's position as the principal cellist saw her featured as a soloist for dozens of Republic's most successful film, including John Wayne's Quiet Man. Katherine is buried in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.

Early Morning in Los Angeles - Photograph by Phyllis Hansen 2009
Early January mornings in Los Angeles are a good reason to live in our city.