A Splendid Afternoon Tour in Downtown Burbank

A tour of a small town like Burbank does not sound like much, but if you take a closer look, you will find a rich history and many great stories to be told. Burbank was first part of two land grants given by the Spanish in 1798 and soon became a celebration of Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821. However, Burbank gets its name from a dentist named Dr. David Burbank who came from New Hampshire, and bought the ranchos in 1867 in order to start his own ranch.

He soon realized that a railroad would increase the value of his property and allow more people to come through the area, so he sold a part of his ranch for a dollar. This created the Southern Pacific Railroad. The first train that passed through Burbank was on April 5th, 1874. Due to the rate war against their competitor of Santa Fe the Southern Pacific Railroad used low wages which were able to bring crowds of people through the town and grow the population to 500 in 1911. The original railroad no longer exists and a modern train station with an elevator to go down now stands in its place.

One of the first modern design buildings of the 1930s and 1940s time is the Burbank City Hall which was built in in 1943. City Hall was listed as part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It is known for its art deco architecture which shows the achievements of technology at the time. These are just a couple of the hidden gems that lie within the town of Burbank. There is so much more here to discover!

We will start our tour by the Burbank City Hall to learn about some of the architecture the city was built on. Then walk through the heart of downtown Burbank to Metrolink Station, which built the city of Burbank. We will learn all about the history and culture which built the foundations of Burbank. Finally, we will conclude our tour at Mexican restaurant called Don Cuco for lunch.

Host or Publisher Casimiro