Thanks to the LA Conservancy, a number of docents went on a tour of Rockhaven. What and where is Rockhaven?
It is a former sanitarium for women in the Crescenta Valley. We are talking the very northern part of Glendale and Los Angeles, beyond the Verdugo hills. The facility closed in 2006 because it simply couldn’t be brought up to code, being on a hillside, with many stairs, narrow pathways, and decaying buildings.
In the 1920’s, Agnes Richards, a nurse who worked in mental hospitals decided to make a big change. She came to the Crescenta Valley where many sanitariums already existed and created a dignified homelike setting for women with mental illnesses. The whole place was for women and run by women. The Rose cottage was the first of many on the compound.
Early buildings were in the craftsman style, here is one with a screened in rock porch. Rocks being very very plentiful here.
Other buildings were built in the Spanish revival style.
Got to love a docent with a parasol. Joanna heads Friends of Rockhaven, an organization trying to save this place. 
Since 2007 the property has been owned and maintained by the Parks dept. of the City of Glendale. They are now in negotiations to turn this into a park/shopping area. I hope they succeed.
1930’s Spanish revival means tile.
Inside are many objects from the past. The Murphy Beds were not used by the patients, but by the nurses that lived here.
Details on some of the light fixtures.
An old tray that would get a nice price at an antique store.
Crochet doily probably made by one of the women. Handcrafts were a big activity here. Reminds me of a job I had in Israel. It was a day center for seniors – they would come in for activities. One thing we did was have them knit, crochet, and create all kinds of handcrafts that were sold in a shop. The proceeds went to buy more materials. The exact same thing happened here.
Among the objects saved are items owned by the residents, of course, some of the items aren’t that old. Or am I dating myself? That round orange object as a shaver, for legs, from the 80’s. I had one of those!
Many items are in storage, a few are out on display, the hope is to have a museum in one of the buildings and much more will be shared.
This post is getting long, so I’m going to split it in two….
Leah