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Built in 1912 on 208 acres of land strandling the Alhambra/Monterey Park border, the Midwick Country Club was referred to as the "granddaddy" of all Los Angeles country clubs.
A regulation polo field was erected along Hellman Avenue while the clubhouse with 4 guest apartments, tennis courts, swimming pool and 2 smaller polo fields were built for a cost of $500,000.
Membership in the club was very selective and for whites only. The fee: $3,800 plus $22.50 a month.
While polo was the mainstay of the club, golf and tennis were not overlooked as many of the top players of the day, such as Sam Snead and Bing Crosby in golf and Donald Budge and Ellsworth Vines in tennis played there.
The 1932 Olympics stages several equestrian events there, including the Grand Prix and Hunter-Jumper competitions.
Due to the depression, the membership in the club dwindled to a point where the club could no longer pay its bills. In 1941, the club was sold at auction for $178,000 to Dominic Jebbia, an Italian immigrant.
The name of the club soon became the Southern California Golf Club.
After the 1944 fire which destroyed the clubhouse, Jebbia shold 180 acres of the property to Charles M. Cooper. In a few years, Cooper sold off most of the property for subdivision. A small parcel of land was donated to Los Angeles County as Granada Park.
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SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY:
"The Adventures of Robin Hood" (Warner Bros. 1938) Directed by: Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale.
"They Died With Their Boots On" (Warner Bros. 1941) Directed by: Raoul Walsh. Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Arthur Kennedy, Charley Grapewin, Gene Lockhart, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Ridges, John Litel, Walter Hampden, Sydney Greenstreet, Regis Toomey, Hattie McDaniel.
