Saturday, August 30, 2025

Where Generations Gathered, a Club Rises From the Ashes

By THERESE EDU

A judge whose home burned in January’s Eaton Fire recently told the board president of the Altadena Town and Country Club that losing the club was just as devastating as losing her house. She wasn’t being overly dramatic. For 115 years, the club had been less country club than heart of the community — the place where Altadena held its proms, graduations, meetings, and weddings, where 120 people worked and thousands gathered.

On Sunday, nearly eight months after the fire reduced the clubhouse and cart barn to rubble, about 900 people are expected to head for the club’s “Grand-Reopening celebration.” Club organizers had expected 300, maybe 400 responses. They got a measure of what this place means to Altadena.

“I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me and said, oh, I had my high school graduation party here, or my daughter’s prom was here, my cousin got married,” said Rebecca Stokes, the club’s board president. “It’s much larger than just the membership.”

The Eaton Fire, which ignited January 7 at approximately 6:18 p.m. and burned for 24 days, destroyed more than buildings. Seventeen percent of the club’s members lost their homes. The club laid off more than 100 employees and suspended dues as families tried to recover. Families scattered. Social routines shattered. Even those whose houses survived felt unmoored.

“Being able to get back on the club really just is going to be feeling like coming back to something familiar and stable,” said Stokes, whose own family remains displaced despite their house surviving.

Founded in 1910 and formally opened December 28, 1911, the club long ago shed any pretense of exclusivity. For half a century it hosted Rotary meetings. The Altadena Chamber of Commerce held its luncheons there. High schools celebrated graduations in its banquet halls. Before the fire, it was one of Altadena’s largest employers.

Even closed these eight months, the club worked to hold the community together. Managers organized dinners at local restaurants with member musicians performing. The swim team, borrowing other pools, won its league championship. Members with construction expertise volunteered on rebuild committees.

Sunday’s celebration, running noon to 3 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting at 1 p.m. and remarks by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and Representative Judy Chu, begins a phased reopening. Tennis, pickleball, and swimming resume immediately. By year’s end, the club plans a children’s area and new fitness center, replacing a facility more than 20 years old. Friday nights will feature food trucks and babysitting — small steps toward restoring weekly rhythms.

The full rebuild will take approximately three years and cost more than $20 million. Insurance, business interruption coverage, and existing savings will cover much, though costs have risen since the fire. The club has retained counsel in litigation against Southern California Edison, whose equipment allegedly sparked the blaze.

“This monumental project has sort of just come out of nowhere,” Stokes said. “To do it without any kind of forethought or warning has taken a lot of energy.”

Yet for the hundreds gathering Sunday on the gentle slope, the deep meaning is undeniable.

“Now when people drive down Mendocino Drive, they’ll see a hub of activity right in the middle of Altadena,” Stokes said. “I think that is going to be a really positive reminder that can help buoy people’s spirits when it all feels a little bit overwhelming.”

She views the reopening as “a testament to resilience and regeneration and reclaiming Altadena as a place that people live and enjoy.”