by Paul R. Spitzzeri
Previous New Year’s Day posts on this blog have shared photos, ranging from the 1890s to the 1920s, from the Museum’s collection of entered floats in the Tournament of Roses, the holiday tradition that has been held in Pasadena since 1890, and which marks its 136th year for the parade, while the 111th edition of the Rose Bowl college football game between the undefeated top-ranked Oregon Ducks and the sixth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
Today’s post shares the earliest of the images in the Homestead’s holdings, a cabinet card from the 1892 edition, the third, of the event depicting a six-in-hand carriage with four rows of seats carrying a bevy of women bedecked in white dresses and several holding white parasols aloft, with the vehicle modestly arrayed (as all were in those early days of the event) in flowers and greenery.
The photographer was Eugene F. Kohler (1869-1931), born to German emigrants and a native of Rock Island, Illinois, located on the Mississippi River across from Davenport, Iowa. Kohler, who practiced his profession in the Crown City for close to a quarter century before retiring due to bad health and worked as secretary of the city’s Elks lodge, took his image of the entry of Throop University, which was established just a few months prior and which, in 1920, was reconstituted as the California Institute of Technology (or CalTech)—Thomas W. Temple II, eldest child of the family which owned the Homestead, attended the school for a semester in fall 1922.
Note that, on either side of the vehicle, called a “six-in-hand” because the driver, who can be picked out fourth from left, held one set of reins to control the six horses the pulled the carriage with its four rows of seats, there are a pair of horse-mounted attendants wearing costumes that definitely adhered to the theme of a medieval-like tournament. In fact, the Tournament of Roses, while featuring the parade as a core element, was really built around horse races, although others involved bicycles, a 220-yard sprint, and equestrian skill demonstrations—this befitting the event’s origins under the management of the Valley Hunt Club, which still exists as a social club.
The Los Angeles Express of 2 January reported that
The Valley Hunt Club may well congratulate itself upon the glorious success of the Rose Tournament which was given under its auspices yesterday at Wilson pasture. Nature smiled most favorably upon the event, and no day could have been more auspicious had it been made to order. This, the third annual tournament, was a greater success in every way than either of the other ones.
The paper went on to note that the greenery-covered grandstand was filled with observers with carriages conveying visitors coming and going throughout the day. A pair of bands provided entertainment “and the entire scene was festive and thoroughly attractive,” with prizes handed out for a few of the best-decorated vehicles (this did not include the Throop entry).
In its review, the Los Angeles Herald of the same day, stated that “it was an ideal day for such a meeting” and “everybody affected the ‘horsey’ and everything was given a similar appearance.” What this meant was that many visitors brought carriages “and many were trimmed with evergreens, peppers and roses,” though it was added that “owing probably to the late wind storm having destroyed the majority of the flowers, the meet partook of a tournament of roses only in name.” This seems to have explained why the Throop vehicle looks to have mainly had greenery on it.
With respect to the parade, the paper continued that, when 10:30 arrived and the parade was to begin, “there appeared but a few decorated to compete in the match, but those that took part were models of artistic trimming.” The route wended “through the handsomest parts of the town” after which “the gay cavalcade started for the new park” and the Herald remarked that “the half-mile course was very heavy and slow, the club having just completed it a short time before,” including the grandstand.
The venue was packed with up to 3,000 persons “and it was crowded with the swells [the well-to-do] who came afoot, while along the track were countless turnouts, some with decorations, and all crowded with lovely young ladies and brave [male] gallants.” It was said that most attendees remained until the end of the event and “lunch was served on the grounds, but all seemed to be too excited to eat, and the inner man [that is, the stomach] was most generally neglected.”
The Herald was somewhat critical of the tournament portion, commenting that “there was a lack of proper management, for the crowd was allowed to wander at random . . . and the riders were consequently much hampered.” As for the contests, “the races were not of any considerable note, but at times very exciting and other times ludicrous.”
Dr. Francis F. Rowland, co-founder of the event with Charles Frederick Holder and no known relation to the Rowland family of La Puente, was credit with being a good master of ceremonies and “his gentlemanly interference prevented a rough and tumble fight.” Other officers of the tournament included Thaddeus Lowe, Jr., whose father was the founder of the soon-to-be famous Mt. Lowe Railway, Whittier Elliott and Arturo Bandini—more about the latter two to come below.
The Los Angeles Times, also of the 2nd, was more positive of the event in its critique than its competitor and felt that “notwithstanding all predictions to the contrary it proved decidedly more successful than either of the two proceeding tournaments, which is saying a great deal.” It went on:
The entries were more numerous than ever before, the races were more exciting, the exhibitions of fancy horsemanship excelled any before seen here, the attendance was larger and the site far superior, probably, to any that could have been selected.
What the Express called “Wilson’s pasture,” was denoted differently by its rival, with the Times observing that “the tournament was held a short distance southeast of the city limits on a portion of the Wilson ranch,” this being a portion of the holdings of the late Benjamin D. Wilson, who came to the region with the Rowland and Workman Expedition,” which is covered with live oaks, making it one of the most picturesque spots in this section.
The track, grandstand and judges’ platform were complemented by “a large refreshment stand where the wants of the hungry were carefully ministered to,” while the grandstand “was prettily decorated with evergreens, holly, geraniums and banners” and trophies were lined up in front of where the judges conducted their work.
The parade began, as it always has, from the intersection of Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards and, though there were fewer flowers, “it detracted little from the general effect” as carriage owners “exercised a vast amount of ingenuity” in decorating their conveyances. Valley Hunt Club leaders, like Rowland, were followed by a brass band from Tropico, now in the southern portion of Glendale, with a group of boys on decorated horse behind the entertainers. After a variety of carriages, “the Pasadena band brought up the rear . . . discoursing sweet music.”
At 11 a.m., the races commenced and included several types, including the donkey dash, before an intermission for lunch, with the remainder of the equestrian contests joined by the sprint and the bicycle race. Deemed the most exciting was the steeplechase of a mile over a half-dozen hurdles. When the day was done, the Times summed up:
The weather was highly propitious, and the day will be long remembered as one of the happiest in Pasadena’s history. It is now assured beyond peradventure [doubt] that the Tournament of Roses is a fixture, and that no future New Year’s day will be complete without it.
A notable element of the 1892 Tournament was the participation of members of some of the most prominent Californio families in the region, though the recent Boom of the 1880s along with earlier developments dating back more than four decades since the American seizure of Mexican California brought a dramatic decline in the fortunes of the Spanish-speaking elite who once controlled the economic, political and social spheres of the area.
As was noted in recent posts here, Don Pío Pico, the last governor of Mexican California and one of the few prominent Californios of prestige and wealth in the American era, was evicted during this period from his Ranchito in modern Whittier, and the fortunes of former state treasurer Antonio F. Coronel were much reduced (he, like, Pico died in 1894). There were, of course, many thousands of Latinos, not from the gente de razón class, who were treated as second-class citizens and denied economic, educational and other opportunities during the so-called “Gay Nineties.”
In any case, in early December 1891, it was decided to include a trio of Californios in the tournament, as the Times of the 2nd reported that “the well-known Lugo brothers were in town [Pasadena] yesterday in consultation with the Valley Hunt Committee on the matter of arranging an attractive programme of feats of horsemanship, sports and games, as practiced by the early Californians, for the New Year’s tournament of roses.”
The account continued that “the matter has been left entirely in the hands of the Messrs. Lugo, both of whom are accomplished equestrians and thoroughly conversant with the outdoor pastimes in vogue a quarter of a century ago.” One proposed display involved a variation of a prominent display of equestrian skill through “a contest in which those in who participate will attempt the difficult feat of picking up $5 gold pieces off the ground while the horse is going at a fast gait.” Contestants would be given six trials and one of the Lugos was paraphrased as saying “this feat used to be quite commonly performed, but he doubts there are many, if any, riders in this section who can do it now.”
After the tournament, the event “will fittingly conclude with an old-time Spanish fandango in one of the halls in town” and this was to include “twelve couples of native Californians, dressed in old-time picturesque costumes.” Moreover, “the old California dances will be danced and the music will be in keeping with the occasion,” with the Times concluding that:
The above attractions will certainly prove a distinctive feature of the tournament and will be especially novel to Eastern visitors [Pasadena and greater Los Angeles containing hotels and resorts that catered to “winter birds” in large numbers, with the tournament catering in large measure to them].
The Lugos participated in races and the Express remarked “in the afternoon the Lugo brothers gave an extraordinary exhibition in fancy horsemanship and equestrian feats, which elicited hearty applause.” Later, Bandini “gave a fine exhibition in horsemanship, which closed the day’s sports.” As for the Herald, it only observed that “an attempt to revive the old Spanish sports met with partial success.
The Times, though, praised these demonstrations, including “a superb exhibition of fancy horsemanship by the Lugo brothers,” while it asserted that “Mr. Bandini gave a superb exhibition of horsemanship and marksmanship.” This latter included shooting arrows at targets while his steed was in full speed and he “made the phenomenal record of four bull’s eyes out a possible five” and, with an eight-pound pull on the bow and a small target, “the exhibition was nothing short of remarkable.”
As for the fandango, the Times of the 3rd reported that the event at Williams’ Hall was well attended, and it added,
The dancing and costumes of the señors and señoritas were much admired, and the beauty of the latter caused the hearts of beaux, young and old, to beat in strange fashion. The dancing continued until midnight, and ere it ended numerous prominent citizens found themselves tripping the light fantastic for the first time in many years.
As for those who participated in these portions of the tournament, Arturo Bandini (1853-1913) was the son of Juan Bandini (1800-1859), a native of Peru (whose father was from Spain, though the name, like Pico, is of Italian origins) who settled in San Diego during the early Mexican period. Juan held important political positions and was involved in some of the internal political battles in Alta California and, after serving in the Mexican Congress, was an official with the Padres-Hijar Colony that included such future prominent figures as Coronel and Agustín Olvera. He was a secretary to Governor Pico before the American seizure of California, as well, and, in the postwar period he lived and worked in San Diego and Baja California before dying while seeking medical treatment in Los Angeles.
One of Juan Bandini’s daughters with his first wife, Dolores Estudillo, from another prominent San Diego family, was Arcadia, who married the powerful American merchant and landowner, Abel Stearns. After Bandini’s death, his widow and some children, including Arturo, resided in Los Angeles with the Stearns’ in their El Palacio adobe on Main Street where U.S. 101 runs through downtown just south of the Plaza.
Abel Stearns died in 1871 and, while was deeply in debt, his immense landholdings enriched his widow through careful management and Arcadia then married Robert S. Baker, whose landmark Baker Block commercial building was erected on the site of El Palacio and who was a co-founder of Santa Monica, where he constructed the Hotel Arcadia. Upon Baker’s death, Arcadia was the wealthiest woman in Los Angeles and had an estate worth several millions of dollars.
Arturo, whose mother was Juan Bandini’s second wife, Refugio Argüello, from yet another notable San Diego clan, settled in Pasadena early in its history and was a sheep raiser living with Dr. Thomas B. Elliott, one of the original Indiana Colony settlers there and who has been credited as a founder as well as the coiner of the city’s name.
In May 1883, he married Elliott’s daughter, Helen, (her brother was Whittier Elliott, mentioned above) and both were prominent in the Crown City as well as being authors—Arturo wrote an account of how Christmas was celebrated in Mexican California and Helen wrote California history works for children. Not long after Arcadia died, Arturo, who was 26 years younger, went to San Francisco to get medical treatment and passed away, reportedly due to overwork and stress after years managing her estate.
The first names of the Lugo brothers were not given in tournament press accounts in 1891-1892 and initials varied, but it appears that they were Andrés (1865-1963) and Felipe (1866-1932,) the sons of Vicente Lugo and Andrea Ballesteros and grandson of the prominent ranchero, Antonio María Lugo. Vicente is best known to students of Los Angeles history for the adobe he owned on the east side of the Plaza (and which, briefly, was the first home of St. Vincent’s College, now Loyola Marymount University.)
Notably, the obituaries of the brothers noted that they were, for Andrés, “a fine horseman and a familiar figure in parades,” and, for Vicente, “known for his skill as a horse breeder and trainer of race horses.” Vicente’s namesake son, known commonly as Vincent, was a City of San Gabriel parks superintendent and a prominent city park and historic landmark bears his name.
While the early Tournament of Roses events were organized, planned and held under the auspices of the elite Valley Hunt Club, exclusively comprised of white Pasadenans and we can assume that most of the attendees were also white, the involvement of Bandini and the Lugos in the 1892 edition is an aspect that deserves highlighting, especially in view of the fact that the Californios were widely recognized for their passion for and skill with horses as part of the ranchero culture of greater Los Angeles.