An exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of History, opening April 12, will feature items from the Mt. Lowe Railway:

Mount Lowe Exhibition

Mount Lowe: Souvenirs from the Incline Railway illustrates how “Earth’s Grandest Mountain Ride” captivated the imagination of visitors from near and far during its 43-years in operation, and how latter-day adventurers continue to treasure remnants of the legendary incline railway.  The displays feature souvenirs created during the life of the Railway, from photographs taken by Pacific Electric Railway photographer Charles Lawrence to pieces purchased at the gift store at Alpine Tavern –souvenir cups, spoons, post cards, cabinet photos, china, paper weights and match safes. The exhibition also spotlights some of the souvenirs that people have gathered in the years following the destruction of the railway. These treasures, found in the ruins of the buildings, include railroad spikes, pieces of pottery, and other objects people saw fit to drag down the mountain to remember their trip to the once famed railway in the clouds.

Exhibition visitors will likely be surprised at the obvious ethnic diversity of the Incline passengers.  It was commonly thought that this early California tourist attraction was patronized only by rich, white visitors from the East who wintered here.  The official souvenir photographs belie this assumption and are evidence of the widespread appeal of the Mount Lowe Incline Railway.

Curator Michael A. Patris, a third-generation native of Los Angeles, is the founder of the Mount Lowe Preservation Society, Inc. and author of the illustrated book, Mount Lowe Railway, by Arcadia Publishing.