Anaheim Spares 74-Year-Old Tree

It was way back in 1912 that Michael Joseph Bradley brought 11 palm trees from the Palm Springs area and planted them in front of his Citron Street home in Anaheim.

There the grove prospered and the trees grew lofty--until a proposed sidewalk project threatened the site of one of the 11.

Out of Line

It’s a big, majestic George Washington palm that’s slightly out of line with the 10 others planted in a row.

Margaret Bradley, 80, implored the city not to knock it down for the sake of a new sidewalk. After all, said Bradley, who still lives in the family home, it was her father who planted the grove 74 years ago.

The trees had become sort of a neighborhood landmark, Bradley said, and if the tree were to die, the neighborhood would die a little bit, too. “When I retired people asked, ‘Why don’t you leave that big, old house?’ ” Bradley recalled. “I said, ‘Heck, and leave all those beautiful palm trees?’ ”

The trees are so big, about 80 feet tall, that the folks at Disneyland even noted and enjoyed their majestic presence, said Bradley, a retired librarian.

Well, you can’t see the palms from Disneyland now and Anaheim’s not a semi-urban citrus ranch anymore. But sometimes even urban progress must step out of the way for a tree.

Friday, the city granted Bradley’s wish. At a cost of $2,500, the palm was lifted gingerly out of its resting place at Citron and South streets and replanted farther down the street. Bradley and her poodle, Bo, watched as a crew lifted the palm with a giant crane and inched it about 100 feet down the street.

The other trees aren’t in danger and will remain in place when workers begin pouring concrete next week, said city spokesman Steve Reisel.

Reisel said the delicate operation was well worth the expense. “When you have a tree that old--these were planted in 1912--if you can work around it, why not?,” he said.

The operation took about 90 minutes. “It used to be right on the corner. We just moved it to the end of the line,” Reisel said.