I have a friend that grew up in Pasadena and was a mechanic for the trolley. He was born in the early forties. I'll have to ask him some questions. He still has a South Bend lathe that came out of the shop.
Okay, the part with the ropes had to be a stunt. I've hiked to Inspiration Point a number of times. While it's steep, there's a good trail all the way up, and that trail was built by Thaddeus Lowe, same guy who built the rail line up the canyon to Alpine Tavern. It was a hotel and resort from 1893 to 1936, when it was mostly destroyed by a wildfire, a common occurrence in the San Gabriel Mountains. The snow and ice scene had to be filmed at two different time. You wouldn't find ice and snow part way up and then none at Inspiration Point. The nickname of Perspiration Point is apt, and hiking the trail when Los Angeles is going through o9ne of its recurring heat waves would be a bad idea. The biggest problem is shown in the film. When the weather is cooler in the spring and good for hiking, the fog from the ocean often gets backed up against the mountains, obliterating your view. Knowing the weather before you start out is important for a number of reasons. In winter, you won't be hot, but sudden snowstorms can hit, and then the trail can be really tricky in parts.
Thanks for the clarification. Men mountain climbing in 3 piece suits is one thing but how did the women get up there? Mountain climbing in all that cumbersome fabric would certainly prove fatal.
@@raymondmaurer1838 The trail from Inspiration Point to Mt Lowe Summit is about another 1.5 Miles. This is the section in the film where the hikers scrambled up the peak to the top. I imagine at the time it must have been pretty treacherous, especially in dress shoes.
@@raymondmaurer1838 Those weren't women and children. What you were seeing was just a small glimpse into another one of Ford's visionary projects. Those were actually cross dressing midgets from Ford's Tiny Clown Car Division moonlighting as Hollywood stunt doubles.
No! No colorizing old films/pictures! If younger ones don't appreciate the way the film was originally intended, maybe it would be best for them *NOT* to see it.
The footage of the ride up the Alpine line is out of sequence. For one thing, The Grand Circular Bridge is not after Granite Gate. I’ve walked the rail bed enough to know. I wish someone had thought to take footage of the inside of the tavern.
Hiking in ice and snow on rocks and cliffs in 3-piece suits, dress shoes, full-length dresses and (probably) those old laced-up high heeled boots for the ladies! What were the casualty numbers? Were these people insane? Oh that's right. I forgot. This is California.
Now a report on the unsanitary labor camps that underpaid Mexican workers lived in to build the place. I have seen many videos on visiting Mount Lowe, and none have mentioned how it was built and how many workers died building it.
@@historybuff0393 I asked for a report. There is readily available information with three clicks. Here is how it works: 1 - Click on search engine and type a request. 2 - Click on request. 3 - Click on one of the dozen responses that seems to best match the request. I don't respond to lazy people who expect others to do the work for them.
@@nedludd7622 You made the statement. You back it up. You know, I got some news for you, labor camps, poor wages, hazardous conditions, it wasn't just Mexicans. Everything was once built that way. The modern world we live in, was built on foundations laid out decades, centuries ago, by the laborer. Poorly paid, poorly cared for, the individual almost entirely forgotten, but the world we live in now would simply not exist without their work.
It's really hard not to watch this and suspect the railway had a lot to do with why everyone was so skittish to make a railway to connect Big Bear to San Bernardino... Then again, an easy means up the mountain would've made losing all of Pacific Electric's reach, only for Metro to attempt to rebuild local rail to it's former glory at an agonizingly slow rate a hundred years later that much more depressing/infuriating.
Great historical watch, but mountain climbing is dress clothes "with ties" and hard dress shoes ???????? The B&W film doesn't do the views justice. Thanks for posting.
Amazing!!! I hike those areas and I heard the wealthy and famous' stories. Now this film closed the cycle. Huge thanks for sharing
I have a friend that grew up in Pasadena and was a mechanic for the trolley. He was born in the early forties. I'll have to ask him some questions. He still has a South Bend lathe that came out of the shop.
Okay, the part with the ropes had to be a stunt. I've hiked to Inspiration Point a number of times. While it's steep, there's a good trail all the way up, and that trail was built by Thaddeus Lowe, same guy who built the rail line up the canyon to Alpine Tavern. It was a hotel and resort from 1893 to 1936, when it was mostly destroyed by a wildfire, a common occurrence in the San Gabriel Mountains. The snow and ice scene had to be filmed at two different time. You wouldn't find ice and snow part way up and then none at Inspiration Point. The nickname of Perspiration Point is apt, and hiking the trail when Los Angeles is going through o9ne of its recurring heat waves would be a bad idea. The biggest problem is shown in the film. When the weather is cooler in the spring and good for hiking, the fog from the ocean often gets backed up against the mountains, obliterating your view. Knowing the weather before you start out is important for a number of reasons. In winter, you won't be hot, but sudden snowstorms can hit, and then the trail can be really tricky in parts.
Thanks for the clarification. Men mountain climbing in 3 piece suits is one thing but how did the women get up there? Mountain climbing in all that cumbersome fabric would certainly prove fatal.
@@raymondmaurer1838 The trail from Inspiration Point to Mt Lowe Summit is about another 1.5 Miles. This is the section in the film where the hikers scrambled up the peak to the top. I imagine at the time it must have been pretty treacherous, especially in dress shoes.
@@raymondmaurer1838 Those weren't women and children.
What you were seeing was just a small glimpse into another one of Ford's visionary projects.
Those were actually cross dressing midgets from Ford's Tiny Clown Car Division moonlighting as Hollywood stunt doubles.
I wish i had had the opportunity to do this. But, at least you can hike it and feel the spirit of what it was like.
Don't go looking for Mount Lowe in the Sierra Madre's, it's in the San Gabriel's.
is that were the tavern was?
When it was built, it was named the Sierra Madres.
In highschool the hiking club did many overnights in the ruins of the hotel.
One should digitize and colorize this film. Spectacular history!
No! No colorizing old films/pictures! If younger ones don't appreciate the way the film was originally intended, maybe it would be best for them *NOT* to see it.
it's too bad that the best things which were in southern California are long gone now.😢
The footage of the ride up the Alpine line is out of sequence. For one thing, The Grand Circular Bridge is not after Granite Gate. I’ve walked the rail bed enough to know.
I wish someone had thought to take footage of the inside of the tavern.
Hiking in ice and snow on rocks and cliffs in 3-piece suits, dress shoes, full-length dresses and (probably) those old laced-up high heeled boots for the ladies! What were the casualty numbers? Were these people insane? Oh that's right. I forgot. This is California.
Hey Richie, 3 people were from New York, 1 from Idaho, 1 from Iowa
@@davidmoser7849 Sure they were. Davie.
Its just good investigative journalism richie@@richardgerlach5156
Mountain climbing Edwardian style suits n ties 😂 haha
This is when we peaked as a species.
That's a very debatable statement
Now a report on the unsanitary labor camps that underpaid Mexican workers lived in to build the place. I have seen many videos on visiting Mount Lowe, and none have mentioned how it was built and how many workers died building it.
Please present your evidence, primary documents, death reports, investigations, etc. to buttress your claim.
@@historybuff0393 I asked for a report. There is readily available information with three clicks. Here is how it works:
1 - Click on search engine and type a request.
2 - Click on request.
3 - Click on one of the dozen responses that seems to best match the request.
I don't respond to lazy people who expect others to do the work for them.
@@nedludd7622 You made the statement. You back it up. You know, I got some news for you, labor camps, poor wages, hazardous conditions, it wasn't just Mexicans. Everything was once built that way. The modern world we live in, was built on foundations laid out decades, centuries ago, by the laborer. Poorly paid, poorly cared for, the individual almost entirely forgotten, but the world we live in now would simply not exist without their work.
Mt Lowe is 5,600 feet. This is Google-able.
It's really hard not to watch this and suspect the railway had a lot to do with why everyone was so skittish to make a railway to connect Big Bear to San Bernardino...
Then again, an easy means up the mountain would've made losing all of Pacific Electric's reach, only for Metro to attempt to rebuild local rail to it's former glory at an agonizingly slow rate a hundred years later that much more depressing/infuriating.
Out hiking in full suits, no wonder they were sweating.
Were they crazy? Hiking to the top in dress clothes.
Men an women in sunday clothes hiking?
Great historical watch, but mountain climbing is dress clothes "with ties" and hard dress shoes ???????? The B&W film doesn't do the views justice. Thanks for posting.