1953 Map of Baldwin Park

About this map

The Santa Fe Flood Control Basin and its massive Santa Fe Dam dominate the northern landscape, reflecting mid-century infrastructure efforts to manage the San Gabriel River. This post-war era shows significant suburban expansion as residential grids begin to fill the spaces between established towns like Baldwin Park, Covina, and West Covina. Transportation is anchored by the Southern Pacific and Pacific Electric lines, which intersect with major thoroughfares like Ramona Blvd and Valley Blvd. Specialized institutions such as the Van Velser Sanitarium School for Physically Handicapped Children and the El Encanto Sanitarium near a cemetery point to a regional concentration of health and social services. To the south, the Puente Hills rise above industrial zones marked by numerous gravel pits, revealing the extractive economy supporting the area's construction boom.