Altadena Gets Its First Comprehensive Historic Survey, Spurred by Eaton Fire Losses – Pasadena Now

Lake Avenue in Altadena, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. [Eddie Rivera / Pasadena Now]The Los Angeles Conservancy will hold its first public meeting Saturday for a project that has never been done before in Altadena: a comprehensive survey of the community’s historic places, from landmark buildings to the oral histories and cultural traditions that no map has ever recorded.

The survey comes more than a year after the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,000 structures across Altadena in January 2025, exposing a gap that had complicated recovery from the start. Unlike Pacific Palisades, where the city of Los Angeles had already cataloged heritage sites through its SurveyLA program, Altadena — an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County — had no official inventory of what stood before the fire or what was lost, according to the Conservancy.

“In Altadena, it was much less so,” Adrian Scott Fine, the Conservancy’s president and CEO, said of the available data. “In many ways, we didn’t even know what we lost.”

The meeting, open to all, will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. at the CORE hub, 2333 Lake Ave., Suite 2A. No registration is required, and the event is free and wheelchair accessible. Parking is available in the lot and on nearby streets.

The Altadena Historic Resources Survey and Historic Context Statement is funded by a $420,000 grant from the Getty Foundation, announced in June 2025. The project will identify historic buildings and cultural landmarks, but it will also go further, documenting what the Conservancy calls “intangible heritage” — community traditions, oral histories, cultural practices, and legacy businesses, according to the Conservancy’s project description.

“Tackling this incomplete record of Altadena’s cultural resources, both built and intangible, is critical for the community as it contemplates rebuilding,” Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation, said in a statement when the grant was announced.

The Conservancy began heritage documentation work in early 2025, immediately after the fires, compiling existing data into a freely accessible GIS map in partnership with Architectural Resources Group, the World Monuments Fund, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and community organizations, according to the Conservancy. Some prior records existed — a county-run African American historic resources survey completed in 2020 and a volunteer-led architectural database maintained by Altadena Heritage — but Fine said a full review of the community had never been attempted.

“This is the way for us to now go forward and say, OK, here’s what is still surviving,” Fine said. “What’s the story? Why is it important to acknowledge that and tell that story?”

Community partners on the project include Altadena Heritage, Altadena Historical Society, and Los Angeles County Regional Planning. The consultant team includes Architectural Resources Group and Historic Resources Group, two preservation firms, according to the Conservancy’s event listing.

The survey is expected to help property owners access preservation incentives and designations, including eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register, and Los Angeles County landmark status, according to the Conservancy. It will also inform land-use planning decisions as Altadena rebuilds.

Los Angeles County planning documents identified just 12 historic resources within the Eaton Fire’s perimeter before the blaze, according to LAist. Three of those were destroyed.

Steven McCall, chair of the Conservancy’s board and an Altadena resident of nearly four decades, said in a statement that the project would help the community account for both what was lost and what endures.

“This support will help us honor what’s been lost, recognize the cultural assets that endure, and ensure that Altadena’s rich heritage plays a central role in shaping its recovery and future,” McCall said.

The Eaton Fire, which began January 7, 2025, killed at least 19 people and has been called the second most destructive wildfire in California history. The Conservancy has already mapped hundreds of heritage sites affected by the fire, according to its fire impact mapping initiative page.

The Saturday meeting is designed for residents and community organizations to learn how the survey works and find ways to participate. The project will incorporate community input at all stages, according to the Conservancy.

“Real heritage comes from people,” Fine said.

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