A 100+ year holiday tradition that began with a handful of deodar cedar seeds from Altadena’s founding family, the Woodburys

Added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1990

I happened to visit Christmas Tree Lane while volunteers were stringing up lights in the trees – something this Altadena native has never witnessed before!

The 135 magnificent deodar cedars that line this .7 mile stretch of Santa Rosa Ave. in Altadena were originally planted in 1883, in the home nursery of Altadena founder John Woodbury, by his brother Frederick. John had just returned from a trip to Italy with a bunch of seeds in tow. After two years of growth, the trees were transplanted (by a largely Chinese labor force, under the supervision of foreman Tom Hoag) to where they now stand. The same crew also dug the stone-lined gutters that give the street its unique character, and make it so difficult to park!

In 1920, a businessman named Frederick Nash (he was President of the Pasadena Kiwanis Club) organized an effort to light the old deodars for the holidays, and they’ve been lit nearly every year since, thanks to an army of volunteers and the work of the Christmas Tree Lane Association. The old foreman Tom Hoag even got to “flip the switch” to turn on the lights every year until 1943…For a couple years during WWII, the Lane stayed dark to conserve power after a particularly light snow pack threatened the water supply needed to generate electricity. 

The Christmas Tree Lane tradition continues today, 101 years after it started. I was fascinated to learn that, before utilities were deregulated in 2000, Southern California Edison “donated” the electricity to power the lights each year. Since then, it’s been a true community thing, reliant on volunteers and private contributions. 

Even during the daytime, walking down Santa Rosa is a rarefied LA experience because of the canopy of trees. But at night during the holidays, it’s pure magic (see video below, captured a month after the daytime pics, in early December 2021). And to think that it all began as a handful of seeds from Italy!

Recommended Reading

+Christmas Tree Lane @ NRHP website

+Brief history of Christmas Tree Lane from the Christmas Tree Lane Association

+Great historic photos & interview with my old neighbor Mary Landau, board member of the Christmas Tree Lane Association (Curbed)

+Follow the Christmas Tree Lane Association on Instagram & Facebook