Altadena's First Water Park

Some of you may remember Case, who first commented on my post about Cinema 21 on Washington Blvd. As a kid, Case lived behind the Cinema in a 1920's bungalow long since torn down. Case shared his story with us on my September 24th post, and many of you asked for pictures of his bungalow.



He didn't have photos of the bungalow, but he did have this one of a different house, which came with another bit of local history:

"This one is the ~Ranchero Modurne~ on Wapello & Tonia in Altadena, where we moved to in 1959. As I have been told, the Pool used to be a Public Pool of sorts, and the house was built about 25 years [after the pool was built]. Being the first owners, the day we moved in, there were 20-30 neighborhood kids & their parents in the pool.... and in the House, and using the bathroom, and making Sandwiches in the Kitchen, and even storing Beer & Sodas in the Fridge, leaving puddles of water everywhere! Of course, the pool you see in the pic is the rebuilt one we put in many years latter. The original pool had rounded corners that sloped gently to the bottom. You could actually run water down the deep end corner when the pool was being filled, and slide down it into the bottom on your bottom with a cool splash. Pasadena's First Water Park! Eventually, the public got it drummed into their heads that the pool was no longer "Open". Especially when we started charging them! Ha Ha... And Yes, that's Snow on the Gabriels!"

Case, thanks for a great story and a fun photo to go with it.