Following in my Grandfather's Footsteps in Sunny Southern California
A welcome respite from a gloomy Chicagoland spring
The last week of April I was lucky to escape the grey drizzle of Chicagoland and bask in the ever-present sun of SoCal.
Naturally, before flying from ORD to LAX, I pulled details from my grandfather’s trips to the West Coast. While his ventures to the Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco and the towering Sequoias farther north are true standouts in his photos and slides, we weren’t able to travel up that way on our trip. So I focused on the places in and around Los Angeles that Grandpa Kammerer decided to document in his usual fashion: via journaling and photography.
Huntington Gardens was high on my list of must-visit spots while in California on its own merits, but after finding slides taken there by my grandfather almost 70 years ago I arrived at the grounds with a mission: to see the gardens through his eyes. Walking winding trails through the seemingly endless estate I wondered what had been here when grandpa Kammerer visited and what had changed in the decades since.
The towering Cedars and evergreens in the collection were likely planted before the time my grandpa toured the grounds, although were certainly not yet at the immense height they reach today.
A few vistas were still in almost matching form to when Grandpa Kammerer snapped a shot of them in the 1950s. These before and afters show how time has treated the gardens, and in taking the latter I was able to stand a few moments (almost literally) in my grandfather’s footsteps and appreciate the beauty and calm of the surrounding gardens.
The number and variety of Roses in the traditional Rose garden were unmatched by any display I’ve seen previously. An incredible splendor of color, bushier roses growing in rows along paths connecting to shaded trellises overflowing with blooms.
Back in Los Angeles proper, there were more locations I wanted to capture in my quest to capture photos to mirror my grandfather’s. First was the iconic Union Station - a gorgeous Mission-style structure that belies its function as a transit hub:
Nearby, we briefly walked down Olvera Street, which is home to some of LA’s oldest buildings and serves mostly as a tourist attraction. Yet another location where I was able to get an “after” photo to match the “before” pictures of my dad and grandparents.
Capturing these images felt like opening a portal to the past. Standing where my grandpa stood, hundreds of miles away from the Arboretum where I’m never surprised to feel his impact but expect it, it was an interesting experience—seeing a far-flung area of the country through his unique lens.
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So cool to be able to discover these same places a few decades later! Thanks for sharing this journey with us!