Pop's Willow Lake (Closed)

USA / California / La Crescenta-Montrose /
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Popular with generations of Valley families, the boating and swimming resort with a dance hall and cafe was along Big Tujunga Wash, upstream from today's Hansen Dam. The lake was opened in 1931 by James A. (Pop) Gautier. It washed away in the 1938 flood that devastated the Valley but was rebuilt in time for a young Marilyn Monroe (then Norma Jeane Baker of Van Nuys High School) to spend wartime dates there with her first husband, Jim Dougherty.
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Coordinates:   34°18'3"N   118°15'56"W

Comments

  • I have many happy memories of Pop's Willow Lake. The gang used to gather almost every week. I'm now 84. Joe Kearns
  • Pops was my grandmothers brother Alyce gay married Charles clifford Coleman jr Alyce mother and father and bothers had Picwick Riding stables in Los Angeles and Con rock and Gravel. Any info and stories please contact Alyce gay Coleman. 1 661-248-6383 mmr6659@hotmail.com 6621 digier rd lebec ca 93243 p.o. box 491 lebec ca 93243
  • Map location is WAY off!! Pops Willow Lake was near where the present-day Orcas Park and Hansen Dam Equestrian Center are in Lake View Terrace, south of the intersection of Foothill Blvd. and Orcas Ave. Please correct.
  • I would splash water in that lake when I was 5 years old. I will be 81 on 02/17/1934. Bob
  • I am Bob and made a mistake. I will be 81 on 02/17/2015
  • I recall visiting there during a summer trip from Washington. I was very young, and I didn't know how to swim yet; I waded into the water until it was over my head, and I began floating face-down. I must have been smart enough to hold my breath, because I remember seeing my own spread-eagle shadow on the bottom of the pool as I floated on the top...LOL... It was only a few seconds before my Mom rescue me.... That was a longggg time ago....
  • My sister and I spent many happy hours splashing in the pool and stream when mom and dad had enough money for admission. This was in the late '40s. I was about 7 years old at the time. Great memories. Sorry it's gone.
  • I agree with Lew Snow. As a youngster, I used to live at the other end of Orcas Ave, across Foothill Blvd., and went to Pop's Willow Lake every chance I got.
  • I must have been in grade 1 and during the summer my parents would take me to the pool and tell me to swim in the shallow water while they went to a bar uphill from the pool. I loved the pool and pretty much played by myself. I learned to swim underwater to the ladder in the deep end and pretend I was a fish. I remember a nearby lake that had large pontoons separating the swimming and boating area. I also remember some stables nearby and I fell in love with the horses. We went to Pop's Willow Lake and pool all summer long - parents to the bar, and I by myself to the pool. It was an overpowering memory as I wasn't worried about my parents not swimming; however, if you've ever seen The Days of Wine and Roses, it pretty well summarized them. They were a beautiful couple and I was a happy child. Pops Willow Lake will be a lasting memory for me.
  • We used go to Pop's Willow Lake in the early 50's. The Plumber's used to have a few picnics there. So much fun. I'll never forget stepping on a bee (who was angry) and getting stung. Thank God my one and only be a sting. What memories we have of that place!!! Marianne
  • I went swimming at Pop's Willow Lake with neighbors when I was maybe 12 years old..the water was like ice..but i loved it. So maybe 1952.
  • This map does not show the correct location of Pops Willow Lake. It was located just south of Foothill Blvd, on Orcas Ave., very near to Hansen Dam.
  • I recall going there often. Recall the flood that took it away again in the 1950's but do not recall the exact year. My brothers and I loved going there. We waited to see if it would re-open because it was our favorite place to go.
  • Is it that green area, to the east of the squiggle?
  • My dad was a bar tender at the bar at Pops Willow Lake in the mid 40’s. I was 3 or4 at the time. We spent lots of time there.
  • My dad was head lifeguard in the early 50’s and I spent a lot of time there. Wonderful memories!
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This article was last modified 14 years ago