The Old Busch Gardens in Pasadena

Long before the current Busch Gardens amusement parks, the name referred to the personal gardens of Adolphus Busch (1839-1913) co-founder of the American brewing company Anheuser-Busch. After becoming wealthy in the beer business, Busch purchased a winter home in Pasadena, California. He landscaped the 36 acres around his home with thousands of plants, as well as statues, waterfalls, and walking paths. This real-photo postcard in Jennifer’s collection shows the fairy-tale heroine “Cinderella Feeding the Birds,” as she sits on an outdoor brick oven. The statue is somewhat deteriorated, so it probably dates from the 1930s.

These “Busch Gardens” opened to the public in 1906. The gardens became a major tourist attraction, even after Busch's death in 1913, and prompted the Pacific Electric Railway to establish a stop for the gardens' visitors. The nearby Hollywood film industry used the gardens in many films, including Frankenstein (1931), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), The Adventures of Robin Hood (archery scene, 1938), and Gone With the Wind (Twelve Oaks barbecue, 1939). Busch’s widow offered the gardens to the city of Pasadena on multiple occasions for use as a public park, but the city never accepted the offer. Busch Gardens closed in 1937 and the land was later subdivided. The area is now a residential neighborhood, though some of the landscape features of the Busch Gardens era remain.