The History of San Gabriel Valley

Speaker: Lee Shimmin
Historian, Arcadia Historical Society

Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin (April 3, 1828 – March 1, 1909) was “one of the greatest pioneers” of California business, an investor, and real estate speculator during the second half of the 19th century. He earned the nickname “Lucky” Baldwin due to his extraordinary good fortune in a number of business deals. He built the luxury Baldwin Hotel and Theatre in San Francisco and bought vast tracts of land in Southern California, where a number of places and neighborhoods are named after him.