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McGroarty
Art Center
Tujunga, California
SOME OF THE INFORMATION AND ABOVE PICTURE FROM
http://www.verdugo-online.com/clubs/macweb.htm
[click above for their site]
CULTURAL ARCHITECTUAL
HERITAGE
THE McGroarty home, now the
McGroarty Cultural Art Center
was designated
Historical Monument
# 63 in 1970.
"Rancho Chupa Rosa"
The historic McGroarty home
7570 McGroarty Terrace, Tujunga, CA 91042
(818) 352-5285
John Steven McGroarty, Renaissance Man of the Verdugos
The McGroarty Arts Center is the former home
of California Poet Laureate, Congressman,
dramatist, journalist, and historian John Steven
McGroarty (1862-1944) and his wife Ida.
JS McGroarty was a columnist for the Los Angeles Times
for over 40 years and wrote eleven
books and seven plays. He gained international fame with
his Mission Play pageant that
established a world record run. While in Congress,
McGroarty worked to protect the elderly
and Native Americans. He was proclaimed Poet Laureate by
the California State Legislature
in 1933.
The Rancho Chuparosa
The McGroarty home, set in the tranquil Verdugo foothills
of Tujunga, was built in 1923. Like
many homes of its time, much of it was constructed with
rocks found in the soil or possibly from
the nearby Tujunga Wash. The home features a large
veranda with a spectacular view of
surrounding oaks, the sprawling city below, and the
majestic San Gabriel Mountains to the
north. The interior has a large hall where exhibitions,
banquets, large classes, community
meetings, and performances are held; upstairs there are
additional rooms for smaller
classes. In the basement popular ceramic classes are
held for which three onsite kilns are
kept very busy. The home also features McGroarty's
personal library full of antiques and
numerous mementos of his life and accomplishments.
The McGroarty Arts Center Today
The McGroarty Arts Center plays a pivotal role in the
cultural life of the local community
throughout the year by hosting affordable ongoing eight
week classes for adults and children
in painting, music, crafts, acting, yoga, creative
writing--and many, many more varieties of fine,
literary, and performing arts. Besides this fundamental
mission and the role of preserving the
legacy of John Steven McGroarty, the Center also serves
as a venue for artists to display or
perform their work. The main hall is available to the
community to rent for special ocassions.
Become a Friend of McGroarty!
The center is now operated by the Friends of the
McGroarty Arts Center and receives only
minimal city funding. It is mostly private donors and
philanthropically-minded organizations
that have kept the center afloat. Please take the first
step of support for this historic and much
needed institution by joining the Friends of the
McGroarty Arts Center! Membership requires
only a small tax-deductible donation and you will be kept
abreast of exciting happenings at the
center and have the opportunity to lend a hand at events
that promote the best side of our community.
You may obtain a Friend of McGroarty membership form
and schedule of
classes at
(818) 352-5285.
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