Mount Lowe Railway
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Why it's listed
Mount Lowe Railway was a scenic tourist line built in the 1890s that carried visitors from Altadena, a suburb about 11 miles northeast of Los Angeles, into the San Gabriel Mountains. Passengers rode an electric street railway into Rubio Canyon, took a cable incline rising 1,500 feet to Echo Mountain, then boarded a narrow-gauge electric line for 3.5 miles to the Alpine Tavern at 4,414 feet. Echo Mountain held hotels, a zoo, an observatory and the cable machinery. The hotels burned, the last in 1936, and the line was scrapped by the start of World War Two. Forest Service work in the late 1950s and 1960s removed more, including the tavern shell and the cablehouse. Even so, almost all of the right-of-way survives, along with bridge abutments, retaining walls, foundations, some machinery and hiking trails. Supporters described it as a major influence on the growth of Pasadena, Altadena and the regional electric railway industry, and the site is listed as a historic resource.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the railway as a major tourist line that carried visitors from Altadena through Rubio Canyon, up a cable incline to Echo Mountain, and on by electric line to Alpine Tavern. Supporting letters call it the most spectacular mountain railway in the world at its 1893 opening and a major factor in the development of Pasadena, Altadena, the Angeles National Forest and the regional electric railway industry. Much of the right-of-way, along with many walls, foundations and some machinery, survives.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 92001522, listed January 6, 1993. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | N of Altadena in Angeles NF, Altadena |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | January 6, 1993 |
| Reference number | 92001522 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Architect / builder | T. J. Parkes of Los Angeles (architect of the Echo Mountain House); David Macpherson (chief engineer of the railroad) |
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation, Entertainment/Recreation, Science |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Abandoned and partly ruined. The last hotel burned in 1936 and the line was scrapped by about the start of World War Two. The Forest Service later dynamited the Alpine Tavern shell in 1959 and the Echo Mountain cablehouse in 1962. Most of the right-of-way, many walls and foundations, and some machinery remain. |
| Acreage | 1680 |
| Coordinates | 34.21988, -118.11850 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 92001522.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q12062115
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.