Glendale, California is located at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley.  In 1798, Jose Maria Verdugo, a corporal in the Spanish army received the land grant “Rancho San Rafael,” an area he had been farming for a number of years, and 150 acres of which would later become the original base of Glendale.  In 1860 the Verdugo Adobe, the oldest building in Glendale, was built by his grandson, Teodoro Verdugo.  Later, descendants of Verdugo sold off a number of parcels of Rancho San Rafael.  These parcels became various neighborhoods in Los Angeles:  Atwater Village, Eagle Rock and Highland Park.  After about 100 years of annexing and growth, Glendale currently stands at about 31 square miles.

The city of Glendale, California was incorporated in 1906.  One of its most famous residents at that time was Leslie Brand.  She left us El Miradero, a Moorish style mansion built in 1909, which now houses the Brand Library.  The grounds of her estate are now city owned and have become Brand Park.

In 1917 the Forest Lawn Memorial Park was opened and is comprised of 300 landscaped acres.  It contains a vast collection of Carrara marble statuary and stained-glass windows. The museum displays coins mentioned in the Bible, bronze statuary, cathedral stained glass, and a Michelangelo exhibit.

Large companies located in Glendale are one of the campuses of DreamWorks SKG and the US Headquarters of the Swiss based company, Nestle.  Bob’s Big Boy chain of hamburgers started here in 1936.  The Baskin Robins chain of ice cream stores “31 Flavors” originated here in 1945.

Today, Glendale has descendants from many countries, but is most famous for its large Armenian population.  Many downtown Glendale businesses cater to the Armenian residents, and the majority of the City Council members are of Armenian descent.

The Glendale, California housing market is holding strong with a median home price of $660,000.

Contributed by: Dickson Podley Realtors