MONTROSE HAS THAT HOMETOWN FEELING; QUAINTNESS MAINTAINED.Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer Frank Roberts Frank Roberts may refer to:
``This place smelled so damn good, I couldn't resist,'' Roberts said in his shop, the Candle Tree The name Candle tree may refer to:
Not much has changed at the shopping park in those 22 years and that's how Roberts and many of the shoppers who come here like it. Not much has changed at his store either. ``We haven't changed anything but the rug,'' Roberts said. Roberts, 78, likens the community of Montrose to Mayberry, the quintessential TV small town in the old ``Andy Griffith Not to be confused with Andy Griffiths. Andy Samuel Griffith (born June 1, 1926) is an American actor, producer, writer, director and southern gospel singer.[1] He gained prominence in the starring role of A Face in the Crowd Show.'' ``I just like that hometown feeling. I'd rather be here than anywhere else,'' Roberts said. ``You know all your neighbors. You know all the customers. Who even needs to go to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , when we have everything right here?'' Roberts runs the Christmas Parade each year, which now draws about 50,000 people to Montrose the first weekend in December. ``When we first started it 22 years ago, I had to beg people to come,'' Roberts said. He was also involved with helping start the Farmers Market at the Montrose Shopping Park, which draws about 3,000 people to the area every Thursday night. While neighboring cities like Burbank and Glendale are clamoring to get all the hottest retailers to move into their swank new malls, out in Montrose business folks rely on the local regulars to keep their quaint shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into going. ``You don't see a lot of chain stores out here,'' said Dawn Wardle, a Montrose resident and a member of the Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. Town Council. ``People who live up here want to maintain the quaintness of this community.'' Montrose is most closely identified with the Montrose Shopping Park, an outdoor mall built along Honolulu Avenue and considered the heart of this community. The center is filled with charming little shops with names like the Cuddle Me, Twings and Things, Needles in a Haystack, the Black Cow black cow n. 1. Chocolate milk. 2. Chicago A float made with root beer and vanilla ice cream. [black + cow1 (from the ice cream used in making it).] Cafe and Honolulu Wood and Things. ``You have a lot of people who have been here for generations. There's a lot of loyalty,'' Wardle said. ``There is a pride in the community up here that is really outstanding.'' Scott Johnson Scott Johnson may refer to:
commodity, trade good, good - articles of commerce sports equipment - equipment needed to participate in a particular sport , which is owned by Frank Roberts' son, Paul Roberts For the painter and singer of Sniff 'n' the Tears, see . For the dance musician with K-Klass, see . For the linguist, see . For the economist, see . Paul Roberts , said the store creates all the uniforms for local sports teams, something larger chain stores just don't do. ``There's a real hometown kind of atmosphere. We get a lot of repeat customers,'' Johnson said. Located just north of Glendale and south of La Crescenta and La Canada Flintridge, the community of Montrose actually falls into two separate jurisdictions. The retail center along Honolulu is actually located within the borders of Glendale, while the residential areas in the north are in an unincorporated part of the county. Montrose was created back in February 1913 when 4,000 people showed up to buy lots on a 300-acre subdivision being built by developers Holmes and Walton. The developers gave a free lot to a Pennsylvania couple who won a contest to come up with the best name for the area. They came up with Montrose because the area reminded them of a mountain town in their home state. Since most of the community is unincorporated, residents here are at the mercy of the massive county bureaucracy when it comes to getting public services. Back in 1989 Montrose and La Crescenta residents formed the Crescenta Valley Town Council, which acts as an advisory body to county government and local Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San . ``We don't have much power,'' admitted Jack Kershinsky, a Montrose resident and a member of the council. ``But the more voices that get heard the better it is for us.'' CAPTION(S): Photo, Map, Box PHOTO Frank Roberts, 78, standing in the middle of Farmers Market in the Montrose Shopping Park, likens the community to TV's Mayberry. Tom Mendoza/Daily News MAP: Montrose BOX: Comunity Profile: Montrose |
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