In November 1933, wildfires raged through the San Gabriel Mountains above the Crescenta Valley. In late December, a series of storms dropped 12 inches of rain. On New Year's Eve, heavy rains led to sporadic flooding. Around midnight, mountain hillsides collapsed sending millions of tons of mud into the Crescenta Valley neighborhoods below. More than 400 homes were destroyed in La Cañada, La Crescenta, Montrose and Tujunga. Scores of people were killed, and hundreds were left homeless.
View of the American Legion Hall, damaged by the January flood and mudslide. Window panes are missing. A man is standing to the right of the building. The mudslide crashed into the back of the building and filled it with mud and rocks. Twenty-five people had taken refuge in hall when the flood took out the wall. The building was located at the intersection of Fairway Ave. and Rosemont Ave.
