"Our community" had been "divided in two, with a freeway decision in which we had no participation," resident Warren Hillgren told Los Angeles County officials in May 1976. He said it was "something we seek should never happen again." His words are preserved on the city's City History page, and seven months later La Cañada Flintridge was a city.
That was 50 years ago. The city held its "Together for 50 Years" celebration at Olberz Park on Thursday, Oct. 22. It had music, an inflatable obstacle course, LCHS Chamber Singers performances and a scavenger hunt for a limited-edition LCF50 picnic blanket. Descanso Gardens gave residents free daytime admission the same day. All of that came about six weeks before the actual anniversary. The city's history puts the official incorporation on Dec. 8, 1976.
So the big party is over, and the birthday itself is still ahead. What's left of the anniversary year is quieter and closer to home, and the story behind the date shows why that fits.
Why the Date Landed in December
The December date was planned. On the city's own telling, Edmund Krause was a retired senior state tax collector and one of the five members of the first City Council. He timed the incorporation so cityhood was completed late in the year, which gave the new city a full year of state funding. Krause and City Treasurer John McCormick then invested well enough to build what the city history calls "an unheard-of $10 million reserve fund" in its first year of operation, 1977.
On Dec. 8, 1976, Krause filed the certificate of completion with the County Recorder. That evening, 500 residents gathered at the La Cañada Golf and Tennis Club, which later became the Country Club. County Supervisor Baxter Ward swore in the first council: Mike Mount, George Parrish, Warren Hillgren, Edmund Krause and J.D. Smith. The council held its first regular meeting the next day in the La Cañada Elementary School auditorium.
The city's own publications don't agree on the date. The Summer 2026 issue of the city's Vista newsletter says La Cañada and Flintridge officially came together on Nov. 30, 1976. The City History page names Dec. 8 and describes the certificate filing that made it official. Either way, the anniversary falls in the next few weeks, not in October.
What the City Was Formed to Prevent
Hillgren was talking about the 210 Foothill Freeway, built in 1972. It cut La Cañada in two and took out La Cañada Elementary School, the post office and 550 houses. The freeway was a county decision that local residents had no vote on, and it became the strongest case for cityhood. Getting there took three tries:
- 1964. A Chamber of Commerce-backed committee led by Realtor Dick Keilholtz pushed for cityhood. At the last minute, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors cut the proposed city's boundaries nearly in half, and the effort collapsed.
- 1969. A small study group headed by John Bond, with two Flintridge and two La Cañada members, revisited the idea. It ended about six months later after strong opposition from Flintridge.
- 1974. At a town meeting hosted by the La Cañada Coordinating Council, a hand vote favored cityhood 658 to 2. The La Cañada Cityhood Action Committee formed under George Parrish.
The stakes were laid out on a map. Under a state "sphere of influence" plan, Pasadena and Glendale had agreed on how to divide the unincorporated area between them. Glendale would have gotten Descanso Gardens. Pasadena would have taken all of Flintridge.
The garden that opened free to residents on Oct. 22 would have belonged to another city if that plan had gone through.
Parrish's committee still had to win over Flintridge. According to the city history, Flintridge voters wanted to protect their low-density zoning, and it "took a lot of selling." The 1976 election passed 7,355 to 2,849. The new city covered 8.5 square miles. Later, a clerk in Sacramento accidentally added a hyphen to the name on some city papers, and it took an ordinance to remove it.
What's Left on the Anniversary Calendar
The city's Together for 50 Years page built its fall plans around the Oct. 22 party. That page doesn't list anything for Dec. 8 itself. According to the Fall 2026 Vista, the City Council usually meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Dec. 8 falls on the second Tuesday, so it isn't a regular meeting night.
That leaves the rest of the year's events mostly to Lanterman House, the historic home on Encinas Drive of the family that helped build the town. Frank Lanterman was a member of that founding family. As a state assemblyman, he brought Colorado River water to La Cañada in 1955, which opened the valley to the housing growth of the following decades.
Here's what's on the calendar between now and the anniversary:
- Sunday, Nov. 8, 2–3 p.m. Lanterman House board president Greg Brown gives "Tid-Bits and Skeletons: Secrets of the Lanterman Family" at 4420 Encinas Drive. Lanterman House lectures are free, and seating is first come, first served.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 4–6:30 p.m. The city's Festival in Lights returns to Memorial Park, 1301 Foothill Blvd. The listing describes "stained glass" art, light installations and interactive elements. It isn't billed as part of the anniversary, but it is the city's last big gathering before Dec. 8.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, 2–3 p.m. Lanterman House archivist Julie Yamashita introduces her new book at "Becoming 91011: The Story of La Cañada Flintridge." The book has been several years in the making and traces how the community came together over the past 50 years.
- Tuesday, Dec. 8. The 50th anniversary of Krause's filing and the first council's swearing-in. No event for the day appears on the city's anniversary page.
Yamashita's talk is two days before the anniversary, and its title uses the ZIP code instead of the city name. That makes it the closest thing on the calendar to a birthday event. For anyone who missed Oct. 22, it's the best way to hear the 1964-to-1976 story from someone who has spent years in the archive.
The Anniversary Item That Lasts Longest
One anniversary project isn't tied to a date, and it may outlast everything else from the year. Through "50 Trees for 50 Years," the city plans to plant 50 trees during the anniversary year. Residents can request one for the public right-of-way in front of their home. The program launched at the Earth & Arbor Day Sustainability Celebration on April 23.
The tree request form is still open, and the city hasn't posted a deadline or a count of trees planted so far. The form asks for owner contact information and the property address. It also asks whether you'll accept a species the city considers suitable or want to use its species-appeal process, and it requires you to acknowledge five years of care. There are only 50 trees and no posted deadline, so if you want one, our advice is not to wait for the program to run out.
A city founded partly over 550 houses lost to a freeway is marking 50 years by planting trees in front of homes, one request at a time.
Fifty years of cityhood is also fifty years of La Cañada Flintridge homes changing hands, each with its own piece of that history. If the anniversary has you curious what your place in it is worth today, Paula Stafford Estates is happy to help. Curious about your home's worth? Request a free home valuation.
