Communities of Los Angeles

San Marino   The city of San Marino began its life as a part of the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. The "Old Mill", or El Molino as it is locally known, still stands and is a city owned museum. It was originally the gristmill for the Mission. Most of modern San Marino later became a Spanish land grant to an Indian woman named Senora Victoria Reid, the widow of an Englishman. She called it Rancho Huerta de Cuati or Garden of the Cuati (presumably a family name). Senora Reid eventually deeded the Rancho to Don Benito Wilson who bought up great tracts of the local Spanish land grant Ranchos and was also responsible for subdivisions of these lands into areas that later became the city of Pasadena and Altadena. The parcel which was to become much of San Marino was deeded to J. de Barth Shorb who named his Rancho after his grandfather´s plantation in Maryland that had been named for the "Most Serene Republic of San Marino". This small independent nation located in the Apennine Mountains is totally surrounded by Italy and is the oldest constitutional republic in the world dating back to September 3, 301 AD.   In 1903, the Rancho San Marino was sold to millionaire rail road tycoon Henry E. Huntington. His land along with two other large Ranchos, that of Don Benito Wilson and George S. Patton Sr., were incorporated along with several smaller parcels into the City of San Marino in 1913. Patton served as the first mayor and was also father of WWII hero George S. Patton Jr. Today San Marino ranks as the 48th most expensive city in the U.S. with a medium home price of $1.35 million in 2006.   The city is divided into seven zones according to lot size, the average of which is 30,000 sq. ft. A great many estate properties exist on an acre or more, although some lots as small as 4,500 sq. ft. exists. It is well known for its highly preserved housing stock mostly built between 1920 and 1950. A strict sense of historic preservation along with stringent zoning laws has prevented "Mansionization", which has blighted many areas of Los Angeles. The homes and landscaping of San Marino, like most of the Pasadena metropolitan area, represent some of the finest work of the architects and landscape designers of "California´s Golden Age"(1905-1960). It is a popular area for film production due to the varied architectural styles. An abundance of Tudor, Colonial and Ante Bellum inspired homes allow it to substitute for a variety of locations.   The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, once the home and private enclave of Henry And Arabella Huntington is one of the finest collections of rare books and plant species in the nation. It is also the largest collection 18th century British portraiture outside of the British Ilses, including many by Sir Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and Sir Thomas Lawrence including "Blue Boy" and "Pinky".   There are four public schools, Valentine and Carver Elementary Schools, Huntington Middle School, and San Marino High School. San Marino schools consistently rank first out of California´s 328 Unified School Districts. San Marino H.S. is considered one of the best performing schools on the SAT exams and was also named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2006. Southwestern Academy, a private college prep school also is located in San Marino.   Once known as the bastion of WASP old money, today San Marino´s population is far more diverse with a plurality of races and ethnicities. Politics are generally conservative with most political activity taking the form of donations to political parties and candidates. Strict city codes mandate a high level of visual continuity and a consistent sense of beautification throughout the community.