Arcadia began its first growing period in 1912 when 300 acres between 1st and 10thAvenues and, on the south, Duarte Road and today’s Camino Real were subdivided. These acres were subdivided into 2 ½ to 5 acre lots and sold for between $700 and $750 an acre. Another large tract, east of 10th Avenue and south to Duarte Road, followed in 1913.
Further in 1913, Huntington Drive was opened from the west into Arcadia’s city limits. With the rise in popularity of the automobile, this extension became a direct route east from Los Angeles. Arcadia developed Huntington Drive along the Pacific Electric Railroad (the Red Car) tracks through the city and into Monrovia.
In 1914, subdivisions began in the western part of Arcadia, (187 acres) from the western city limits to Baldwin Avenue on the east, and to Duarte Road on the south, at a price of between $1,250 and $1,750 per acre. (Today’s Sunset Blvd, Golden West Avenue, Fairview and Arcadia Avenues are major streets in the area.) This land was considered much more desirable than that in the southeastern part of the city because of its proximity to the “Red Car” and the new highway.
In 1916, Tract 3430, with 75 acres, came on the market at a price of $1500 an acre. This land was between Baldwin and Holly Avenues, just south of Huntington Drive to Duarte Road. It did not include a portion of Fairview Avenue, but would be named “The Fairview Acres,” and developed after World War I.
All home construction ended in April 1917 when World War I began.
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Carol Libby and Karen Hou
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Carol Libby & Karen Hou
Arcadia Historical Society