If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Brand Park

The most visual icon in Northwest Glendale are the gates to El Miradero – the entrance to Brand Park.

The park has many components – The Doctor”s House, Whispering Pine Teahouse & Friendship Garden, The Brand Museum and Library, some of the best hiking in the area and, in this humble parent’s opinion, one of the best play structures in town.

El Miradero

El Miradero was the main residence for Leslie C. Brand, an important businessman, banker and instrumental in bringing the Pacific Electric Railway, or the “Red Cars,” to the Glendale. El Miradero means “a high place overlooking a wide view” and the building was built by Brand’s nephew, architect Nathaniel Dryden. The design, often mistaken as simply Moorish, is actually inspired by the East Indian Pavilion built for the 1893 Columbian World Exposition held in Chicago. The architecture is considered Saracenic, with crenelated arches, bulbous domes and minars combining characteristics of Spanish, Moorish, and Indian styles. The interior was richly decorated with silk damask wall coverings, handcrafted woodwork and Tiffany leaded glass windows.

The house contained five bedrooms, a solarium, parlor, living room, drawing room, dining room and music salon. On his expansive grounds, Brand built a clubhouse, tennis courts, a swimming pool, kennels, a dog graveyard and a family cemetery. He even built an airstrip and hangar for his airplane collection.

In 1925 Mr. Brand died, leaving the estate to the City of Glendale upon the death of his wife. In 1945 Mrs. Brand died and by 1956 the 5,000 sf mansion had been turned into a beautiful Art and Music Library for the public to enjoy. A little known rumor is that the ghost of Mr. Brand might still inhabit the building. Here is a wonderful article by Nancy Garza, originally printed in the Glendale News Press in 1993.

The City of Glendale, in it’s quest to create a center for those who love the arts, added 21,000 sf of space in 1969, including an art gallery, a recital hall, a sculpture court, and Brand Park Studios. Adult and kid recreation classes featuring all manner of art, craft and skill are featured in this space as part of the Glendale’s Life Long Learning Classes. There are also art exhibits, lecture series and a dance series every spring.

Whispering Pine Tea House

The traditional teahouse was built in 1974 through the combined efforts of the Sister Cities of Glendale and Higashi-Osaka, Japan. It is one of the few traditional Japanese Teahouses open to the public in the United States. Given the name “Shoseian” or “Whispering Pine Teahouse” by the Fifteenth Grand Tea Master of the Urasenke School of Tea in Japan, the Teahouse is designated an official Tearoom. Dr.Yamazaki of Higashi-Osaka provided initial support for the Teahouse and Gardens. The Teahouse, which was designed by architect Hayahiko Takase, is a unique blending of western and eastern design and an apt expression of the spirit of cross-cultural community.

The garden and koi pond are open Monday – Thursday, 10am – 3 pm and the teahouse is open by reservation every 3rd Sunday for events related to Asian arts and culture. Click here for a to see a video tour of the Friendship Garden and Teahouse.

The Doctor’s House

The Doctors House, an authentically restored Queen Anne-Eastlake style home built about 1888, is the result of a community-wide endeavor to preserve a reminder of Glendale’s earliest days. The two story house originally stood at 921 East Wilson Avenue. It became known as The Doctors House because it was residence and office space for three prominent early Glendale physicians. Before this time the home was occupied by Nell Shipman, a significant Canadian silent screen star. She is best known for her work in James Oliver Curwood stories and for portraying strong, adventurous women.

When it was threatened with demolition in 1979, citizens, including the newly reconstituted Glendale Historical Society, banded together to relocate it to Brand Park. They then restored the house to its late 19th century appearance, and furnished and decorated it in the style of the period. Today the Doctors House serves as a museum and popular spot for community events during the holidays. Click here for an amazing pictorial tour of the house.

Hiking

There is some great hiking in the hills behind the park. The main trail starts at the Doctors house and is a well maintained fire road for the first third of the hike. Along this section you can visit the Brand Family cemetery, although it is now under lock and key after some vandals did their thing a few years ago. After a while the trail narrows and shows water runoff damage from the ‘05 rains. A little more than halfway up the hill there is a seasonal waterfall, and the “top” is a huge flat pad that used to house an underground city water reserve (or so all the old time hikers tell me) Take a seat on the few park benches and contemplate the breathtaking view of Northwest Glendale spread out under your feet. The best time of year for the views are November and April. You can continue up for a whole long while and wind up somewhere in Burbank, but I’ve never had the legs for that. That’s just crazy making, if you ask me.

And There’s More…

There’s much, much more to the park than the landmarks. The soccer fields are busy all the time, the park benches and tables are always laden with good things to eat and families and friends making merry, the play structures (some of the best in the city, IMHO) are always full and there is a very cool fountain that gets filled during the summer for the kids to splash around. The rose garden leading up to the library and the steps on the library are always full of blushing brides and their strapping new husbands taking those endless wedding pictures.

This is my park and I hope you come and visit sometime. It is truly one of the best places in Glendale. If you take that hike, take pity on my poor, wheezing self as you pass me by. I’m going as fast as I can!