Itinerary: Sunland

Somehow Sunland in the San Fernando Valley escaped the rampant development that permeates the Los Angeles area. Settled in 1885 by the Little Landers Colony, a socialist utopian community of people who sought a self-sufficient lifestyle and raised their own crops and animals, Sunland is nestled against the San Gabriel Mountains away from the bustle of Los Angeles. The Sunland stretch of Foothill Boulevard was built in 1921 and widened in 1937. Oro Vista Road is known as the Gateway to Angeles Crest, and every year thousands of visitors flock to the recreation area for its natural beauty and proliferation of natural stone buildings. Spend the weekend exploring Sunland’s history.

Friday

Begin with a visit to the Sunland-Tujunga Branch Library (7771 Foothill Blvd., [818] 352-2501, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). This modern building houses much of the historical information about early Sunland. The Grandparents and Books program provides grandparents to read to children most afternoons.

Stop by Sunland Cycle and Fitness (8459 Foothill Blvd., [818] 352-7022) and check out owner Richard Carnes’ historical photos of the Sunland-Tujunga area.

Dinner at Villa Cinzano Restaurant (9955 Sunland Blvd., [818] 352-7210) will be a pleasant repast in a historic campy building. Formerly the Old Vienna, the restaurant used to host wild parties and dances on the luxuriously landscaped grounds. The dance pavilion and schnitzel are gone, but the dark stone building is definitely worth a visit.

Saturday

Make this a picnic and exploration day. Stone and rock cottages built in the 1910s and 1920s proliferate in the area. Find them at the 10200 to 10400 blocks of Fairgrove, the 7000 block of Summitrose and the 10600 block of Samoa. Look for the little Blarney Castle in the 10200 block of Tujunga Canyon Boulevard. Local activists are trying to save the old rundown Hilltop Theater (8700 block of Foothill Boulevard). Also known as Tujunga Theater and Canyon Theater, the 1938 Art Deco structure was designed by S. Charles Lee, who also designed Walt Disney’s first animation theater.

Picnic at Sunland Park (between Foothill, Fenwick Street and Sherman Grove Avenue). The park has been used for many film locations, including “It Happened One Night.” Later, hike around the Big Tujunga Wash (off Foothill Boulevard past the western edge of Sunland). Huge boulders are evidence of the power of the many floods that have ravaged the area.

Sunday

A fine example of stone architecture can be found at Bolton Hall (10110 Commerce Ave., [818] 352-3420, 1-4 p.m.). Built as a clubhouse for the early settlers, Bolton Hall is now a museum operated by the Little Landers Historical Society. From the front steps you can see the Cross of San Ysidro, patron saint of little homes. Check out the current exhibit, “Kids’ Stuff,” a collection of pre-1945 toys and books. Of particular interest is the 1890s “Jenny Lind” doll.

At another great stone house, the McGroarty Arts Center (7570 McGroarty Terrace, [818] 352-5285) will host a special art show opening reception Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. Jean Hoelscher’s color photographs of Big Tujunga Wash will be on display. Afterward, you can sit on the expansive front porch and view the beautiful grounds of the center with the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance. (Or you can do it any day. The art center’s regular hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) It’s not utopia, but probably the closest you’ll come in this century.