This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
Santa Anita Racetrack, located at 285 W. Huntington Drive, is the oldest racetrack in Southern California. The 'first' Santa Anita Racetrack was built on Elias Jackson ("Lucky") Baldwin's immense estate of "Rancho Santa Anita" and opened on December 7, 1907, but closed just two years later when horse racing was banned in California. In 1933, Hollywood director Hal Roach and San Francisco dentist Dr. Charles Strub formed the Los Angeles Turf Club and raised funds to build a new track. Designed in an Art Deco style by Gordon B. Kaufman, the "new" Santa Anita Park opened December 25, 1934. In 1942, racing at Santa Anita was suspended and Santa Anita was used as a Japanese American internment center from 1942-1944. The park is one of eleven detention camps included on California Historic Landmark #934. A downhill turf course was added in 1953 and in the 1960s, major renovations included a much-expanded grandstand as well as additional seating. In 1974 the Westfield Santa Anita Mall was built on the site of the old barns and training track. In 2007 the park added a synthetic "cushion" track to the existing turf course. The Park contains 61 barns, which house more than 2,000 horses, and an equine hospital. Mrs. Cecilia Harper (standing) invited a group of her friends to enjoy a day at the races. They first had lunch in the Brazilian Room, and then made their way to her box to watch the horserace. Pictured are, left to right, John Brady, Mrs. Willard Brown, Mrs. John Mock, Mrs. Joseph Harper (hostess), and Mrs. Norman Sprague. Photograph dated February 5, 1965.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Santa Anita Park (Arcadia, Calif.) Racetracks (Horse racing)--California--Arcadia Horse racing--California--Arcadia Spectators--California--Arcadia Women--California--Arcadia Race horses--California--Arcadia Grandstands--California--Arcadia Arcadia (Calif.) Group portraits Portrait photographs Valley Times Collection photographs Roach, Hal,1892-1992 Strub, Charles Kaufmann, Gordon B Baldwin, Elias Jackson,1828-1909
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