If you ever get a chance to hear Michael Logan speak about Pasadena's Busch Gardens, go listen and enjoy yourself. He's got a great collection of photos and post cards, he's knowledgeable, and best of all he loves his subject. Last Saturday Logan spoke to a crowded auditorium at Westridge School before we headed out in tour groups to find the traces of Busch Gardens.My first two posts about these traces are here and here. Today's photo is of one of the pillars that marked the entryway to Busch Gardens at Arroyo Blvd. and Busch Gardens Drive. There were originally two of these (if I remember correctly what Logan said), one at either side of the entrance, and the ticket takers sat beside them. During his lecture before the tour to benefit Pasadena Heritage, Logan showed a couple of rare, early photos of the ticket takers at their posts.
For the first couple of years there was no charge to enter the grounds, but soon they started charging 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children, a high price in the years before the first World War. As Bellis mentioned in comments yesterday, the proceeds went to charity.
Care of the gardens required the employment of 40 full-time gardeners. Adolphus Busch died in 1913 and Lilly Anheuser Busch died in 1928. The gardens remained open until 1938.
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