1939 Map of La Crescenta

About this map

Hillcrest Sanitarium stands as a prominent landmark on the slopes above the burgeoning suburban developments of the Crescenta Valley in the late 1930s. This survey reveals a landscape in transition, where the wild terrain of the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles National Forest meets the expanding grid of La Crescenta and Montrose. The settlement pattern follows the alluvial fans at the base of the mountains, with neighborhoods like Highway Highlands and Verdugo City clustered along major arteries such as Foothill Boulevard. The map captures the era before massive freeway expansion, where travel relied on local routes like Honolulu Ave and Verdugo Road. Further into the canyons, smaller outposts such as Burbank Camp, Vogel Flat, and Big Tujunga Ranch indicate a scattered habitation of the more remote areas, while the Mt Lukens Lookout provides a critical vantage point over the forest and the neighboring City of Burbank.