History of Ambassador Gardens

History of Ambassador Gardens. . , The property and landscape surrounding you was historically the territory of the Hahamongna Tribe of Native Americans, who lived in small villages along the banks of the Arroyo Seco. It later became part of the vast lands of the San Gabriel Mission, which was established in 1771. In 1826, 14,000 acres known as Rancho el Rincon de San Pasqual, was granted to Doña Eulalia Pérez de Guillen (d. 1878). Over the next fifty years, the Rancho San Pasqual was sold off in portions to various ranchers, orchardists and developers. , In 1873, a group of investors from the Midwest and East Coast formed a consortium known as the "California Colony of Indiana.” Their agent Daniel Berry identified 4,000 acres on the bank of the Arroyo Seco suitable for growing fruit and negotiated the purchase for $6.31 an acre. The subdivision was laid out with a broad north-south main road, known as Park Avenue (and later changed to Orange Grove Avenue). Berry and his brother-in-law Thomas Balch Elliot purchased several of the prime tracts including what is now Ambassador Gardens. , In 1874, Dr. O.H. Conger (1827-1892) bought 30 acres on the southeast corner of Orange Grove and Colorado Street. Two years later, Dr. Conger and other nearby landowners opened up the first section of a street that would later extend from Colorado to Del Mar - Terrace Drive. Several prominent Pasadena residents soon built Victorian homes on the crest of the hill overlooking Terrace Drive. , In the 1890s, South Orange Grove Avenue began to attract wealthy residents from the east, and later became nationally known as "Millionaire's Row.” Earlier homes on the avenue were being replaced by larger mansions and gardens, and the original environment west of Terrace Drive would be transformed as well. , There are additional historical markers along Terrace Drive with information about points of interest.