Origins
The area where Glendale California now exists was long inhabited by the Tongva people, a Native American people whose name means "people of the earth". Jose Maria Verdugo, a corporal in the Spanish army from Baja California, received a grant of the Rancho San Rafael in 1798, an area he had been farming since 1784. In 1860, his grandson Teodoro Verdugo built the Verdugo Adobe, which is the oldest building in Glendale. The City of Glendale was incorporated in 1906.
Development
The Bob's Big Boy chain of hamburger restaurants started in Glendale in 1936, and the Baskin-Robbins, "31 Flavors" chain of ice cream parlors started there in 1945. The Glendale Public Library contains one of the largest collections of books on cats in the world, over 20,000 volumes. It was donated to the library in the 1950s by the Jewel City Cat Fanciers Club, with the understanding that it would be made into a special collection and kept permanently for club members to use and enjoy. The city saw significant development in the 1970s. Completion of the Glendale Freeway (HWY 2) and the Ventura Freeway (HWY 134), redevelopment of Brand Boulevard, renovation of the 1925 Alex Theatre, and construction of the Glendale Galleria shopping mall, all contributed to the resurgence of the city. As of 2005, construction began in downtown Glendale for developer Rick Caruso's "Americana on Brand". Americana on Brand is scheduled to open in 2008 and plans include movie theaters, cafes, restaurants, and shopping.
| 