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The Cottage (removed) LbNA #7401 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:SpacyHolly
Plant date:Mar 12, 2004
Location:
City:Arcadia
County:Los Angeles
State:California
Boxes:1
Found by: PeterK
Last found:Dec 16, 2006
Status:FFar
Last edited:Mar 12, 2004
The Cottage
Difficulty: Easy
Wheel Chair accessible, on dirt paths. Will need help to pick up the box itself. Kid and stroller friendly. No Pets.
Status: Alive and Well on December 21, 2004


I checked on this box and the stump that it was hidden in has been totally removed. (2009)

I have had two reports that this box is missing (2007)

The Cottage can be found at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden at 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007. See the website, http://www.lacountybotanicgarden.org/, for more information. There is an admission charge of $6 for adults and $1.50 for children. Try to visit on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, it’s FREE. The Arboretum is open from 9-5. I suggest giving yourself a little extra time to explore the grounds and to search for “Succulent Box II” and “LA County Arboretum”.

Pick up a map as you enter, you will be heading for the Dinosaur Jungle, also known as the Cycad Collection, area 22. From the entrance, find your way past the buildings (Gift Shop, Restrooms and Library) until you come to a road. If you find yourself at the sign for the Peacock Café, turn left and walk past the Café and you will find the road. Turn south (left). Keep following the road past the green lawn on your right and the very large white marble McFie Pool on your left. The road feeds into Circle Road. Don’t follow the pavement, instead go straight ahead, following a wide dirt path. Pass the first small path on your left. Follow the wide path left at the Y. You will see a large green Topiary Dinosaur on your left. You are now in the Tropical Forest of the Past. As you near the T in the trail, you can see the Queen Anne Cottage through the palm trees and across Baldwin Lake. Walk through the large stump and larger log on your left. Sit at the rough sawn log bench, just on the other side of the stump on your left. If you see Chester L. Avery, you have gone too far. Behind the bench, at the foot of the stump is a large hole in the roots. The Cottage is hidden in the hole, beneath the front lip, under bamboo leaves. Enjoy the scenery!

QUEEN ANNE COTTAGE (from the Arboretum website)
Elias Jackson ("Lucky") Baldwin's Queen Anne Cottage was constructed in 1885-86, probably as a honeymoon gift for his fourth wife, sixteen- year-old Lillie Bennett. "For a year after she married Baldwin (May, 1884), this little girl was queen of the ranch," wrote the Los Angeles Times. Lillie's father, architect Albert A. Bennett, designed the cottage, but the honeymooners apparently never enjoyed its beauty. Lillie and E.J. separated in 1885, and the fanciful house was converted by its owner into a memorial to the third Mrs. Baldwin, Jennie Dexter, who had died in 1881. A stained glass portrait of Jennie stood welcome in the front door and an almost life-size oil painting of her was hung in the Cottage parlor. Both items remain today.
The Baldwin cottage (The designation "Queen Anne" was added in later years in reference to its architectural style.) was the Santa Anita Ranch guest house. Cooking and dining facilities and Baldwin's personal quarters were located in a modernized 8-room version of the old adobe house found on the property at the time of purchase. Friends, relatives and business associates of Lucky Baldwin, including stars from the Baldwin Theater in San Francisco, partook of ranch hospitality until E.J.'s death in 1909.
With the settlement of the Baldwin estate, Lucky's daughter Anita (born in 1876 to Jennie Dexter) closed the Cottage and disposed of all furnishings. Fortunately, Anita removed and stored in the Coach Barn such detachable components as the stained glass windows, black walnut doors, marble fireplace mantels, the hearth tiles, and the encaustic tile mosaic entry floor. All of these items, plus original bathroom fixtures and the exterior marble walkway, were returned to the Cottage during the restoration of 1951-53. Refurnishing continues today with appropriate period pieces.
The Queen Anne Cottage is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.