Arcadia (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780738558066)

Santa Anita Rancho's famously ambitious and colorful owner, Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, had established a popular tourist attraction on his productive working ranch by the late 1800s. Baldwin planned to incorporate the section of his ranch known as Arcadia, but opponents feared that he would turn such a city into a "gambling hell and booze pleasure park." However, the vote for city-hood was virtually unanimous, and Baldwin took over as mayor on July 27, 1903. Arcadia flourished as alcohol sales were approved, saloons and gambling halls remained open 24 hours a day, and Baldwin's ranch, racetrack, and Oakwood Hotel became popular with society's elite. After Baldwin's death in 1909, Arcadia's new leaders prohibited the sale of alcohol and steered the city in a less controversial direction. Agriculture, poultry farms, dairies, and land development became staples of the economy, and Arcadia gradually lost its rural simplicity, growing into a sophisticated, bustling city.

Author: The Arcadia Historical Society
ISBN-10: 0738558060
ISBN-13: 9780738558066
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
Language: English
Published: 04/14/2008
Pages: 128
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 9.19h x 6.54w x 0.38d