Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 Public Domain. Release under the CC BY Attribution license--http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/--Credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library; From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Send requests to address or e-mail given USC Libraries Special Collections specol@usc.edu
Description
Photograph of a group of people in front of a pool house at the Arrowhead Springs Hotel resort near San Bernardino, ca.1925-1930. The building is at center and is light-colored with a terracotta tile roof. Wooden doors can be seen at left and right, while a large cloth awning covers a porch at center. At left, three women and a child are visible near the edge of the pool. The pool can be seen in the foreground and its calm water reflects the surrounding scenery. A line of eucalyptus trees can be seen in the background, while the Arrowhead Mountain with a famous "arrowhead" formation on it (California Historical Landmark # 977) is visible further in the distance. Additional information: The pool was built circa 1908, and the men's/women's pool house was added circa 1925. In 1938, the Arrowhead Springs Hotel and resort was ravaged by a wide spread forest fire. The hotel was rebuilt in 1939, but the swimming pool was relocated in a different area of the resort, although it still used the warm spring water. This pool was named the Esther Williams Swimming Pool in the latter era of Hollywood's Golden Age, when Arrowhead Springs was still the swankiest hotel on the west coast. The "arrowhead" landmark on the hill itself is described by some geologists as a naturally occurring phenomenon of undetermined age, although it is too incredible to imagine the odds of such a natural phenomenon pointing directly below to the some of the most unique hot springs in the world. But if ancient Americans somehow created it, it has not yet been described how it was done, or by who, or when. It is certain that it was known to the Franciscan fathers who traveled from Mission San Gabriel to the San Bernardino Valley in the early 1800's. It is also certain that to the Native Americans it was considered sacred ground.
Type
image
Format
1 photograph : transparency, b&w 13 x 17 cm. transparencies photographs
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