Sierra Madre Real Estate

Sierra Madre, City Guide

Sierra Madre Community

A small, somewhat affluent city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, just east of Pasadena. Out-of-the-way charmer. No traffic lights. Volunteer firefighters. Crime rate very low. Population 11,607.

Three parks. Library. Wisteria festival. Close to Pasadena amusements. About 17 miles to downtown L.A. lnterstate 210 is located about a mile south of the city. Chamber of commerce (626) 355-5111.

Sierra Madre Education

Young residents in Sierra Madre are served by the Pasadena Unified School District. While there is only one school located in the city, Sierra Madre Elementary School, students generally progress to Woodrow Wilson Middle School and then onto Pasadena High School, both in neighboring Pasadena.

Sierra Madre History

Sierra Madre started in the late 1800s when a promoter tried to build a utopian community, called Nature's Sanitarium, on 1,000 acres. The town enjoyed a reputation for clean air and attracted other sanatoriums. Down through the decades, the town has cherished its offbeat ways and is often talked of as an artists' colony with a lot of community spirit. You've seen the town in some movies, among them, the first "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

Sierra Madre did not grow as quickly as other L.A. County towns and this slower pace may have given it time to digest its growth. The city started 1940 with 1,512 residential units, added 608 that decade, 1,223 in the 1950s, and 685 in the 1960s. Housing starts fell to 439 in the 1970s and to 391 in the last decade. Since then, the city has added only about 40 units.

Sierra Madre Housing

Sierra Madre rises into the hills. Many view lots. Also many nice homes run to the upscale middle class, four or more bedrooms. But also many two and three-bedroom homes. In some sections, the streets narrow to one lane and the houses seemed shoehorned onto the lots, reflecting the difficulty of building on steep terrain (but great views). Three-bedroom homes, among owner-occupied units, come in first, 47 percent of total, followed by two-bedroom, 28 percent, then four-bedroom, 18 percent, the 1990 census reported. Lots of trees and foliage. Overall, a well-kept town. Shops and stores along Sierra Madre Boulevard. The state in 1999 counted 4,918 housing units: 3,392 single homes, 296 single attached, 1,225 multiples, 5 mobiles.

Sierra Madre News

1. Many NM residents allowed home - Disaster News Network

   Hundreds of residents of two towns southeast of here were allowed home Sunday after a wildfire that burned at least 59 homes, was partially contained.

   
   
2. Santa Anita Wildland Fire - InciWeb

   Total burned area: 584 acres Credit: USDA Forest Service Summary As of Friday, May 2, 2008, 6:00 a.m. PST , the Santa Anita Fire has burned 584 acres north of Sierra Madre, CA.

   
   
3. California braces for wildfire season - San Francisco Chronicle

   A damp winter has suppressed large fires this year, but encouraged the growth of combustible grasses, highlighting an irony of wildfire season that has become a punch line of sorts for firefighters.

   
   
4. CA Unhealthy Air - LightHouse1280.com

   CA) -- The AQMD is predicting unhealthy air quality in San Gabriel, the San Bernardino Mountains, and portions of the Inland Empire today due to the Sierra Madre Fire.

   
   
5. CA Unhealthy Air - KFIV-AM Modesto

   CA) -- The AQMD is predicting unhealthy air quality in San Gabriel, the San Bernardino Mountains, and portions of the Inland Empire today due to the Sierra Madre Fire.

   
   
6. Kimber adds second drill at Monterde gold-silver project focused on... - PR Newswire

   VANCOUVER, April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Kimber Resources Inc. is pleased to report that it has added a second diamond drill rig to its on-going exploration program at Kimber's 100% owned Monterde property ...

   
   

Sierra Madre Weather