Item #43222 [Photograph] Souvenir of World Famous Mt. Lowe: America's Greatest Scenic Trip. Charles Lawrence, photographer.
[Photograph] Souvenir of World Famous Mt. Lowe: America's Greatest Scenic Trip.

[Photograph] Souvenir of World Famous Mt. Lowe: America's Greatest Scenic Trip.

[Mt. Lowe, CA], ca. 1899. Image: 4 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches mounted on 7 x 10 inch multi-ruled mount. Ruled card mount. A very good sharp copy with minor soiling on the mount. Item #43222

Silver gelatin print taken at the top of the Great Incline on Echo mountain with a large group of travelers at the side and in the elegant opera-box cars known as the White Chariots. Charles Lawrence, the official photographer, took pictures of the visitors, which could be purchased for 25 cents (and included the entire car, as he took the photos from a special scaffold). The Mount Lowe Railway opened on 4 July 1893, and consisted of nearly seven miles of track starting in Altadena, California (Mountain Junction). ...The railway climbed the steep Lake Avenue and crossed the Poppy fields into the Rubio Canyon. This part of the trip was called the Mountain Division. At this juncture stood the Rubio Pavilion, a small 12-room hotel. From there the passengers transferred to a cable car funicular which climbed the Great Incline to the top of the Echo Mountain promontory The Incline powering mechanism was designed by San Francisco cable car inventor Andrew Smith Hallidie. It boasted grades as steep as 62% and as slight as 48%, and gained 1,900 feet (580 m) in elevation. The funicular was the first of its kind built with three rails and featuring a four-railed passing track at the half way point (See Charles Seims: "Mount Lowe, The Railway in the Clouds," p.33-46). The verso of the card contains the basic facts of Mt. Lowe bordered by illustrations.

Price: $125.00