When my grandfather passed away in 1993, he left me a small inheritance. There was never a question of what I was going to do with the money. I wanted to buy my own home.
Growing up in rentals with pet restrictions (no dogs or cats), tyrant landlords and constantly wondering if the place would be sold and we would have to move, I decided renting sucked. My grandfather had always said that real estate was a sure thing. “People always need a place to live.” I started looking as soon as I had the money.
Pasadena was my first choice, but I soon realized that I wasn’t going to be able to afford much. Altadena seemed to be a real possibility.
I didn’t know very much about Altadena, other than one of the first friends I made when I moved to California lived there. She said most neighborhoods were safe and I liked the idea that all my friends, regardless of their ethnicity, would be comfortable there. I had heard stories about some of the communities around Pasadena where if you were driving a nice car and weren’t white, chances were excellent you were going to be pulled over. Hello Arcadia in the early 1990s.
After searching for months for something I could afford, I finally bought my 948 square foot tract home in a diverse neighborhood in West Altadena. It was supposed to be my “starter home.” But as the years went by, it became just home. Numerous projects, a garage that burned down and had to be rebuilt and a major addition a couple of years ago, and one day I realized I had been there over 25 years. I had put more than just my sweat into it, I had put my heart and soul.
Despite living there for so long, I never knew much about the history of Altadena. I just knew I loved that we didn’t have HOAs and if you needed to get rid of something, you could just put it by the curb and someone who needed it, would take it. One of my neighbors used to put her paintings out in front of her house. Another one sold honey and crafts in her driveway. We were a community of musicians, creative types and people who worked “in the business,” not always in front of the cameras, but behind the scenes.
That all changed in the early morning hours of January 8th, 2025. We had always lived with fires in the mountains, but this was different. It was a combo fire tornado that destroyed entire neighborhoods, including my own, where I was one of three homes left standing on the street.
Suddenly, little known Altadena was all over the news, along with Pacific Palisades, who were hit with the same fire tornado, despite being 40 miles apart.
Unfortunately, some people began talking about the two areas like they were one and the same. It broke my heart when people began commenting, “That’s just a bunch of rich movie stars with a ton of money. They’ll be rebuilt in a matter of months.”
I can’t speak for the Palisades, having never lived there, although I know not everyone who lost their home was affluent. But I can speak for Altadena. We are a working-class community of folks going to work every day, trying to raise their families and hold on to the American dream. If you haven’t been schooled, as I wasn’t here is a little background on how Altadena became the amazing place it is today.
It had not always been diverse. Before the 1960s, it was predominantly white. Social change, like school integration and freeway construction, led to a significant shift with people of color, including many Black families, moving in and establishing a middle-class community. From 1960 to 1970, Black homeownership went from 4% to 27%, as redlining laws prevented them from purchasing homes elsewhere in the state. As of 2023, 81% of Black residents in Altadena owned their homes- nearly double the national average.
I have seen my neighborhood change over the years. As older homeowners sold or passed away, homes were sold to flippers. It brought in younger buyers and families, adding to the diversity. Today, Altadena’s residents are 58% people of color, with Black residents making up 18%. West Altadena remains the most diverse side. It always made me smile when during Pride month, my favorite Altadena Mexican restaurant, El Patron, has three flags flying. The Mexican flag, the US flag and the Pride flag.
None of us can know what our community will look like in the future. None of us would have ever thought it would look like it did in the days after the fire. We see it coming back slowly, as debris gets removed and lots get cleared. Sadly, not everyone will be able to return, but those of us that do will be left to keep intact the most important aspect we have always been most proud of. Everyone is welcome.
You never realize how much you love your community until it gets taken away. That being said, I believe Altadena will rise literally from the ashes. Will it be the same? No, but it will still be my Altadena.
Growing up in rentals with pet restrictions (no dogs or cats), tyrant landlords and constantly wondering if the place would be sold and we would have to move, I decided renting sucked. My grandfather had always said that real estate was a sure thing. “People always need a place to live.” I started looking as soon as I had the money.
Pasadena was my first choice, but I soon realized that I wasn’t going to be able to afford much. Altadena seemed to be a real possibility.
I didn’t know very much about Altadena, other than one of the first friends I made when I moved to California lived there. She said most neighborhoods were safe and I liked the idea that all my friends, regardless of their ethnicity, would be comfortable there. I had heard stories about some of the communities around Pasadena where if you were driving a nice car and weren’t white, chances were excellent you were going to be pulled over. Hello Arcadia in the early 1990s.
After searching for months for something I could afford, I finally bought my 948 square foot tract home in a diverse neighborhood in West Altadena. It was supposed to be my “starter home.” But as the years went by, it became just home. Numerous projects, a garage that burned down and had to be rebuilt and a major addition a couple of years ago, and one day I realized I had been there over 25 years. I had put more than just my sweat into it, I had put my heart and soul.
Despite living there for so long, I never knew much about the history of Altadena. I just knew I loved that we didn’t have HOAs and if you needed to get rid of something, you could just put it by the curb and someone who needed it, would take it. One of my neighbors used to put her paintings out in front of her house. Another one sold honey and crafts in her driveway. We were a community of musicians, creative types and people who worked “in the business,” not always in front of the cameras, but behind the scenes.
That all changed in the early morning hours of January 8th, 2025. We had always lived with fires in the mountains, but this was different. It was a combo fire tornado that destroyed entire neighborhoods, including my own, where I was one of three homes left standing on the street.
Suddenly, little known Altadena was all over the news, along with Pacific Palisades, who were hit with the same fire tornado, despite being 40 miles apart.
Unfortunately, some people began talking about the two areas like they were one and the same. It broke my heart when people began commenting, “That’s just a bunch of rich movie stars with a ton of money. They’ll be rebuilt in a matter of months.”
I can’t speak for the Palisades, having never lived there, although I know not everyone who lost their home was affluent. But I can speak for Altadena. We are a working-class community of folks going to work every day, trying to raise their families and hold on to the American dream. If you haven’t been schooled, as I wasn’t here is a little background on how Altadena became the amazing place it is today.
It had not always been diverse. Before the 1960s, it was predominantly white. Social change, like school integration and freeway construction, led to a significant shift with people of color, including many Black families, moving in and establishing a middle-class community. From 1960 to 1970, Black homeownership went from 4% to 27%, as redlining laws prevented them from purchasing homes elsewhere in the state. As of 2023, 81% of Black residents in Altadena owned their homes- nearly double the national average.
I have seen my neighborhood change over the years. As older homeowners sold or passed away, homes were sold to flippers. It brought in younger buyers and families, adding to the diversity. Today, Altadena’s residents are 58% people of color, with Black residents making up 18%. West Altadena remains the most diverse side. It always made me smile when during Pride month, my favorite Altadena Mexican restaurant, El Patron, has three flags flying. The Mexican flag, the US flag and the Pride flag.
None of us can know what our community will look like in the future. None of us would have ever thought it would look like it did in the days after the fire. We see it coming back slowly, as debris gets removed and lots get cleared. Sadly, not everyone will be able to return, but those of us that do will be left to keep intact the most important aspect we have always been most proud of. Everyone is welcome.
You never realize how much you love your community until it gets taken away. That being said, I believe Altadena will rise literally from the ashes. Will it be the same? No, but it will still be my Altadena.
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