Mountain View in Color

Awhile back, after reading my previous post about the Ruddock Mansion, Marilee Johnson sent me these remarkable never-before-seen color photos of the estate. The three pictures below were taken by her grandfather–Bruce Ward Macy–while Marilee and her family lived at Mountain View Ranch from 1952-1954.

The entrance to Mountain View Ranch, Grand Avenue at San Bernardino Road, Covina, California, May, 1952.
Photo by Bruce Ward Macy, ©Marilee Johnson, All Rights Reserved. Click on image to enlarge.

Today this palm-lined driveway is Wingate Street in Charter Oak.
Photo taken in May, 1952, by Bruce Ward Macy, ©Marilee Johnson, All Rights Reserved.

The Thomas Ruddock Mansion (1891) in May, 1952. Photo by Bruce Ward Macy, ©Marilee Johnson, All Rights Reserved.

For reasons unknown, Ms. Johnson stopped replying to my emails before I could get permission to reproduce her grandfather's photos here, but I do so now because I assume she originally sent them to me with that intent in mind. I would also have liked to learn more about her family and the times they spent at Mountain View.

Recently, however, fellow Covina historian Michael Schoenholtz referenced old city directories for me, and he discovered that several tenants lived concurrently on the old Ruddock estate during those years prior to its redevelopment in 1956, so I believe it's likely Ms. Johnson's family did not have the place all to themselves while in residence there.

Footnote: my original article about Mountain View has been significantly amended since I first posted it. Might be worth revisiting if you haven't had a look at it recently!