ATASCADERO California The Beautiful THE LONG LIFE TOWN2 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA The Ideal Atascaderan By E. G. Lewis My ideal of the true Atascaderan is a man or woman who can look over the rivers, the mountains and the far-distant landscape, and the great universe above him in the sky, with a deep sense of his or her own littleness in the vast scope of things, and yet have an abiding faith, hope and COURAGE. Who knows deep in his heart that EVERY other man is just as noble, just as vile, just as divine, just as diabolical and just as lonely as he is, and seeks to know, to forgive and to love the weakness and the virtue of his fellows, sympathizing with them in their sorrows and even in their sins, knowing that each fights a hard battle against many odds; who knows how to make friends and keep them, but fears not an enemy, and keeps friends with himself; who loves the birds, the flowers, the beasts of the field, and whose heart thrills to the laugh of a little child; who can be happy and high minded in the midst of the most menial and trying drudgeries of whatever place he finds his duty; who can look up, always up, and face the sunshine through life, casting back of him the shadows as the sunshine will ever cast them, and who on a brilliant, starlit night, gazing at the billions of worlds above and around him, of which the one on which he stands is among the least, and then down at the tiny crawling ant, realize that he is a SOUL, something that does not die, a son of GOD and accountable to HIM; who never passes by the hand held out for help, if he can help, or fails to hear the voice of distress when he can give aid; who sees good in every faith that helps man to lay hold of divine things and grasp the wondrous meaning of life, no matter what name that faith may pass by, and does not attribute to the particular fleeting denomination or sect under which he may worship exclusive claims to life eternal, with damnation to all who disagree with him; who can look into a wayside puddle and see something more than mud, and into the face of the most forlorn mortal and see something beyond sin; who knows how to pray, to love and to hope, but can never learn to fear; glad to live, not afraid to die; wise, tolerant, brave, gentle, faithful and loyal, free and true, noting the folly of mankind but not forgetting its nobility ; clean, calm, open-eyed, sane in a sane world, sweet of heart and purpose; who sees no evil, hears no evil, and does no evil; A BUILDER, who never seeks to tear down the good work of others, but helps them remedy its defects; who has no words of malice and enmity for others, circulates no evil things about his fellows; and if he cannot himself design and conceive the structure, helps at least to pass up the mortar and bricks to build it. THAT is an ATASCADERAN. We may not be able to achieve this ideal ourselves, but in our boys and girls we can lay the foundations by our own examples that will enable them to achieve it in fullness.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 3 THE ATASCADERO ESTATES, Inc. E. G. Lewis, President; M. G. lewis, Vice-President; H. L. Kramer, Vice-President; Louis Cohen, Vice-President; A. H. Wheatley, Secretary-Treasurer Anglo-California Trust Company, Trustee Los Angeles offices, 212 Union Bank Building Compiled and published by The Atascadero Press, 1923 "The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.”—Abraham Lincoln. Atascadero, California, San Luis Obispo County, California Atascadero, California, now undoubtedly 400,000. The cannery mutual Fruit Exchange, a co-operative or-34 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Atascadero Has Some Fine Industries The principal industry of Atascadero is the growing of fruits and their conserving. There are, however, several other considerable industries, principal of which is the Atascadero Press, publishing the California Illustrated Review, with a nation-wide circulation, and the Atascadero News, the local weekly newspaper, and doing a considerable volume of outside printing work. The Dooley Doll and Toy Factory make» beautiful toys and dolli. The Ice and Cold Storage plant is one of the finest in the State and handles the icing of fruit-cars for a large section of country, as well as the cold storage of large amounts of produce, fruits, poultry, etc. The Dooley Doll and Toy Factory manufactures a large variety of artistic toys and dolls, employing a number of artists and designers. The Atascadero Fruit Exchange operates the cannery and during about four months of the year employs several hundred people. The cannery is of the most modern equipment. The Caladero Products Company owns the great dehydrating and cannery building and manufactures the famous “Caladero Pumpkin Meal.” The best of California’s golden pump- kins are grown from selected seed, harvested, cleaned, sliced and dehydrated and then ground to a fine meal. Pumpkins are about 80 per cent water. By the Caladero process this water is extracted, but nothing else is taken from the pumpkins and nothing added. The fine golden pumpkin meal is packed in air-tight waxen packets, each packet holding enough of the meal to make a fine pumpkin pie. These packets sell for 5 cents retail by grocers generally. Approximately twenty thousand tons of pumpkins were grown and dehydrated for the manufacture of Atascadero’s “Caladero Pumpkin Meal” in a single season by this plant. The Atascadero Mill and Lumber Company operates a large planing mill and lumber yard, with building materials of all sort. The total payrolls of Atascadero are approximately a quarter of a million dollars per annum. Atascadero is the center of what is rapidly becoming one of the greatest deciduous fruit-growing sections of California. In the past few years since the beginning of the development of Atascadero, San Luis Obispo County has rapidly changed from a great cattle county, held in immense estates, into a county of thousands of acres of small orchards and nut groves. While Atascadero itself has about four thousand acres of bearing orchards, fully twice that area has been since planted to young orchards surrounding it, by private owners and ranchers, looking to Atascadero, its cannery and cold-storage institutions for the conserving and marketing of their crops when their orchards come to bearing. There are no restrictions on industry in The Fire Department is well equipped with two fire engines and electric fire-alarm system. Atascadero other than that all manufacturing must be located in the industrial section, where ample facilities of power, railroad trackage, water, etc., are available. Anyone is just as free to engage in any industry, profession or other occupation in Atascadero as they would be anywhere else, and every reasonable co-operation will be given them. It is planned to make Atascadero a center of education and the fine arts, and to build a fine seminary for girls and a military academy for boys.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 35 Fruit Exchange, Cold Storage and Cannery 1 and 3—Interior of cannery in operation from July to January, employing several hundred people. The equipment of the cannery is very complete and of the mpst modem type. 2—Storing fruit in cold storage to hold it for shipping and canning. 4—Only the choicest fruit is packed under the Atascadero brands, bringing the highest market prices. 5—Icing fruit cars at the Atascadero cold-storage olant for shipment to Eastern markets. 6—Packing the famous “Caladero Pumpkin Meal,*’ a 5-cent package of which makes a delicious pumpkin pie.36 A TA S CADE R 0, CALIFORNIA Atascadero is a Place of Home Life Atascadero is primarily a• place of homes, a place in which to live and get the best out of life, with better health and added years; therefore the home is the first factor in its upbuilding. The general restrictions require that the houses built shall be of good design, kept painted and that no tem- Atascadero homes are bowers of flowers. pcrary outbuildings or unsightly structures shall be maintained. The spirit of the people of Atascadro is that their homes shall be places of the highest possible beauty. It is not the cost of a home that determines its artistic beauty, since a modest bungalow of good design, surrounded with flowers, may be much more beautiful than a costly atrocity. Approximately three million dollars has been expended by purchasers of home sites in Atascadero in the construction of their homes. Building costs are comparatively low. A borne builders’ and architectural department, under Mr. John Roth, architect, renders assistance in planning, designing and construction where desired. Atascadero has its own lumber and material yards and planing mill. . In construction the usual building material is wood or stucco. For larger homes, a quick-heating system, such as a small wood furnace or water heater, is desirable, owing to the cold, crisp nights throughout almost the entire year. For smaller homes, an open fireplace is ample to take the chill off the house. As compared with mid-West and Eastern construction, where the basement and heating are a large part of the cost of a home, home building in Atascadero is far cheaper. There are a number of competent contractors in Atascadero who will bid on construction. Where desired, the homebuilders’ department under Mr. Roth will prepare plans, let contracts and supervise every detail of construction at a moderate charge. Probably the most undesirable factor in home building in California cities and towns is lack of proper restrictions, resulting in unsightly, unpleasant structures and institutions rapidly creeping into desirable residential sections. Atascadero is restricted to the Caucasian race, and every part of the great estate is restricted against nuisances. The residential section, of approximately 2,000 acres, has higher restrictions in cost of homes than in the orchard sections, the minimum being $2,500 cost of house, ranging up to as high as $15,000 minimum. On the following pages are shown a few of the more than five hundred private homes already built in Atascadero, most of which were designed by Mr. Roth. Fine children are Atascadero’s best product. While occasionally one or more houses already built, become available for rent or purchase, there has been no speculative building in Atascadero, every house having been built as the home of the owner, although it might later be sold or rented because of changes in his affairs. Those who come to Atascadero to live, usually intend to make it their home for the rest of their lives, and to express their own selves in the construction, decoration and design of their home and the landscaping of its surroundings.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 37 Headquarters House, Atascadero38 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Atascadero Homes are ArtisticA T A S C A D E R 0, CALIFORNIA 39 An Atascadero Country Estate40 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Some More Atascadero HomesATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 41 Home Life Is at Its Best in Atascadero42 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Atascadero Homes Are Real Homes__________ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA_______________43 Lawns and Flowers Surround Atascadero Homes44 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Many Atascadero Homes Are in the Orchards___________ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA________________45 Atascadero Homes Are Protected by Restrictions46 ATASCADERO, CALIFOR N I A These are But a Few of Atascadero Homes___________ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA_______________47 $3,000,000 Has Been Spent on Atascadero Homes48 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Atascadero’s Poultry Farms Are Profitable Atascadero is one of the very best poultry and especially turkey sections of California. Pheasants do particularly well. The great oaks of the estates provide unlimited supplies of sweet acorns, while grain and alfalfa are abundant and cheap. A series of model poultry farms were constructed in one of the valleys just outside the Civic Center, and popular. Atascadero turkeys do particularly well, owing to the dry climate, and bring high prices. A 500-hen poultry unit, which is about as small as is practicable, can be made to return a substantial income. It is a business that requires the same care and attention and experience as any other business to be successful, but every necessary factor for success is present in Atascadero, excepting the personal expertness of the poultry raiser, which he or she must obtain by experience. The very best of breeding and laying stock is an essential and great care should be used in selecting the flock. In this those who have already made a success of it in Atascadero extend the greatest helpfulness and kindly advice to beginners. Atascadero is destined to become a considerable poultry center, owing to the high order of intelligence in those who are taking up poultry raising there. Some very large and fine units have been built by wealthy residents, while the number of smaller units is rapidly increasing. For. a family having some income from other sources, a small orchard with a small poultry unit and garden, form an ideal combination, pro- Poultry farm runs. with complete poultry houses, brooder houses, runs, gardens, etc., in addition to handsome bungalow homes. A large and well-equipped demonstration farm was also constructed and placed in charge of a competent poultry expert. From this beginning a great number of model poultry units ranging from 500 hen units to 5000 hen units have been built by residents as profitable adjuncts to their homes and orchards. The poultry business is well organized, buying poultry supplies at wholesale and marketing the entire products locally, as the local demand is greater than the supply. Hotels of nearby cities take large quantities of Atascadero poultry and eggs, while the cold-storage plant provides facilities for cold storaging any quantity. Model poultry farms of from one and one-half acres to several acres, equipped complete with model poultry houses, runs and garden for alfalfa, provided with electric lights and running water and with modern bungalow homes, range in cost, complete, from $6,000 to $15,000, depending on size of farm, equipment and house. At headquarters house several varieties ¿f pheasants have been raised with great success and pheasant breeding will probably become quite profitable Poultry farm home viding sufficient occupation for all, bringing a reasonable return for the investment and effort and providing the table with nearly everything required. Those desiring to make a regular business of poultry-raising, could not find a more ideal situation and conditions than those at Atascadero. Both the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets are quickly accessible, while the local market is large. Professional poultry raisers will do well to locate at Atascadero.ATASCADERO, CALIFOR N I A 49 There Is No Finer Place to Raise Poultry 1—Part of Demonstration Poultry Farm. 2—The headquarters, Demonstration Poultry Farm. 3—Another view of Demonstration Farm. 4—Private poultry farmhouse. 5—Brooder house and runway, private poultry farm. 6—One unit, private poultry farm.50 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Garden and Berry Farms of Atascadero Most people have an inborn desire to make something “grow,” To meet the demand for garden, berry and flower farms, small in size, under irrigation, that would respond to the desire to grow things, with a profitable result, a series of more than thirty-five model garden farms have been built. The largest group of these is at the Gladiola flower and bulb farm. southern end of the estates, fronting on the State Highway, about six miles from the Civic Center. A part of the very rich bottom land of the Santa Margarita estate, adjoining Atascadero, was purchased and laid out for these model garden farms. Berries, particularly blackebrries, loganberries and strawberries, grow to great profusion and immense size in these farms. A wide variety of garden products are also grown, including artichokes and about every known vegetable. The growing season is very long. The garden farms usually have a poultry unit. In another section of Atascadero, the River Gardens, is found another group of garden farms, close to the Civic Center, while a third group is now being laid out on the south side of Pine Mountain, along the rich river bottom lands, for which the irrigating mains and roads have already been constructed. Garden farms of one to two acres, which is about the maximum that one man could possibly cultivate and care for, with irrigation mains installed to the property and with electric lighting and telephone connections available, are priced, according to location, at $600 to $ 1,000 per acre. They are in reality primarily residential places, with the garden farm and poultry unit as a source of occupation and income. The lands suitable for garden farms are comparatively limited, as only the richest bottom lands are devoted to them. The growing of bulbs, particularly gladiolas, is becoming quite an industry, and a most agreeable and profitable one. Growing flowers for seed and for the city florists is carried on with success. Every variety of rose grows to wonderful perfection and beauty in Atascadero. Garden, berry and flower farms require constant irrigation, hence the two larger garden farm units—that at the southern end of the estates, and the new one now being developed close to the Civic Center—aie equipped with their own water plants, operated by the individlual owners cooperatively, thereby providing unlimited water at actual cost of pumping. For women who desire a profitable occupation in connection with their horn¿, Flower and bulb sales booth on highway. the growing of flowers and bulbs offers a most pleasant as well as profitable one. There has already been built a number of fine greenhouses for the commercial growing of flowers and bulbs for the markets of the large cities, several of which also have flower stands on the highway along which constantly passes a stream of automobile tourists, affording a cash market at their doors. Every reasonable assistance is given the development of floriculture.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 51 Little Garden and Berry Farms are Popular52 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Atascadero’s Parks, Lakes, and Trout Streams Approximately five thousand acres of Atascadero’s vast estate of forty square miles is taken up with its fine parks, game preserves, lakes and streams. The Salinas River flows for ten miles along its eastern side, while three mountain streams, Graves Creek, Atascadero Creek and Santa Atascadero Beach, with Morro Rock in the distance. Margarita Creek traverse it from west to east, flowing from the mountains separating Atascadero from the sea eastward to the Salinas River. At the head of the central valley of Atascadero, leading out from the Civic Center, is Atascadero Lake, a partially natural and partly constructed lake, into which a• branch of Atascadero Creek has been led through large mains, feeding it with mountain spring water. Boating, bathing and fishing are enjoyed on this lake, which is surrounded by a pretty park of a hundred acres, part of which is beautifully landscaped and planted, the rest being natural beauty. Atascadero Lake is regularly stocked with game fish and affords fine fishing in season. While visitors are always welcome and residents of all parts of the county come to enjoy this lake and park, yet it, with, all the parks of Atascadero and its game preserves, were constructed, laid out and reserved for the enjoyment and use of the residents of Atascadero and are strictly private property. The ridges and skylines of the hills and mountains throughout the Atascadero estates have been reserved for parks, while large areas covered with great oaks, the banks of all streams for fifty feet on both sides, and an acre surrounding all springs, have also been reserved for parks. Atascadero has been designed for an ultimate population of twenty-five thousand people, and in designing it, the greatest care was taken to assure the preservation of the wonderful natural beauty of the immense property for all time. Throughout Atascadero’s great expanse of plain, valley and hills numberless springs are found, some of the largest being in the highest hills. These springs, the mountains streams that traverse it, the abundant rainfall (averaging over 19 inches), with the great water-table that underlies the entire estate at a depth of from ninety to 100 feet, gave it its ancient Spanish name of A-tas-ka-dero, the place of springs, marshes and water. Lying at an elevation of a Atascadero Lake is alive with big trout. thousand feet above the sea, the estates drain into the Salinas River on their eastern side, instead of into the sea, and are largely covered with a growth of enormous white and live oaks, the latter retaining their green leaves throughout the year. In the spring and most of the summer, hills and valleys are carpeted with wonderfully beautiful mantles of wild flowers of every hue. Atascadero has been so favored by nature that every effort has been to not spoil it, while improving it.A T A S C A D E R O , C A L I F O R X I A 53 Atascadero’s Lakes and Streams Are Beautiful 1—Atascadero Lake at the lower end. 2—Bridle path along Atascadero Creek, 3—Picnic grounds, Atascadero Lake. 4—Pavilion and boathouse, Atascadero Lake. S—Fall in Santa Margarita Creak, one of Atascadero's trout streams. 6—Atascadero Creek in summer.54 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA Atascadero’s Roads and Game Preserves Aside from the fourteen miles of concrete boulevards in Atascadero, approximately one hundred miles of fine roads have been constructed throughout the property. Principal of these is the Butterfly Drive from the Civic Center to Atascadero Beach. Branching from the State Highway at the Civic Center, this magnificent drive passes down the Game and park lands on road to beach. main valley of the property, following Atascadero Creek up through the mountain passes to its source, and then down Morro Creek to Atascadero Beach. No more beautiful drive can be found in the Slate. The construction of this great road was undertaken by Atascadero and cost more than one hundred thousand dollars. Some help was given by the county in the final completion of the road, which has become the principal outlet from the beach section of the county to the valleys, towns and ranches of the interior, and to the railroad at Atascadero. Motoring down this great road to Atascadero Beach and from there up to San Luis Obispo over the paved county road, then back to Atascadero over the State Highway, is a drive of about thirty-six miles, twice crossing the mountains, and is known as the Butterfly Drive. From Atascadero north over the State Highway to Paso Robles and then inland toward Bakersfield over a new paved highway, already constructed for twenty miles inland and graded for the entire distance, connects Atascadero and Atascadero Beach with the hotter inland valleys and cities and the great Kern River and Midway oil fields of Bakersfield, McKittrick, Elk River, Maricopa, Taft, Bell-ridge, etc. San Luis Obispo County has been one of the most backward of the California counties, but has no superior in natural advantages and resources. It is now rapidly coming into its own, and holds forth the assurance of becoming one of the richest and most desirable counties in the State of California. Atascadero has set a pace which all sections of the county have taken up. Thousands of acres of orchards have been planted since the beginning of Atascadero’s plantings, and the county is rapidly becoming one of the great fruit counties of California, for which it is especially adapted. Along the coast line are several fine beaches, the principal of which is Atascadero Beach. There are many other smaller and prosperous towns in the county, while many fine private estates and ranches are embraced within its borders. The county abounds in game birds, fish and animals. It produces immense quantities of grain, and along the coast section is a dairy country. Most valuable of all its assets are its wonderful climate and beauty and desirability as a place-in which to live. Over Devil’s Gate pats on road to beach. The fine roads of Atascadero and San Luis Obispo County have now become famous. The county recently voted $1,500,000 for additional fine roads, part of them of concrete construction, while the State Highway of concrete, connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, runs through the county from end to end. Atascadero itself has fourteen miles of concrete construction roads, with about fifty miles of gravel-surfaced roads and fifty miles more of well-kept dirt roads within its own borders. There are about five thousand miles of concrete, boulevards in the State. Atascadero has five thousand acres of its own private parks and game preserves.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 55 Road From Civic Center to Atascadero Beach 1—Butterfly Drive, near the chrome miner. 2—The Illustrated Review car on Butterfly Drive. 3—Butterfly Drive leaving the boundary line of Atascadero. 4—Along Atascadero Creek. 5— Butterfly Drive *in Atascadero. 6—Approaching Devil’s Gate,56 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 9 Atascadero Has Nice Neighbors To the north of Atascadero, eleven miles over the State Highway, is the town of Paso Robles, with a population of about four thousand. Here is located the famous Paso Robles Hot Springs Hotel, one of the best-known cures and health resorts in the country. The mineral waters and mud baths of the springs hotel have effected so many re- Ancient adobe roadhouse on highway. markable cures of rheumatism and nervous ailments that sufferers have come from all parts of the world to be cured. Dr. and Mrs. Tape, by their able management and fine personalities, have brought the immense hotel, which they entirely refurnished and re-equipped, from a losing property to one that is frequently so crowded as to turn dozens of guests away. The success of the hotel, together with the construction of Atascadero, which poured millions of dollars cash into the county, have been largely instrumental in converting Paso Robles from a sleepy village into a thriving, progressive city. Surrounding Paso Robles is a great almond district. San Luis Obispo, the county seat, eighteen miles south of Atascadero, is a city of approximately eight thousand people. At the time the construction of Atascadero was begun San Luis Obispo, although one of the oldest towns in California, the seat of an ancient Spanish mission, was sound asleep. It, too, has felt the thrust of the construction of Atascadero, and in recent years has taken on the aspect of a thriving modern city, paving its streets and undertaking a general public improvement campaign, coupled with extensive private new construction. It has several good hotels and three banks, the principal one of which is the Commercial Bank, with seven millions dollars deposits and resources, now a branch of the Pacific Southwest Savings and Trust Company of Los Angeles. There is also a branch of the Bank of Italy of San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the Citizens’ State Bank. The State Polytechnic School is also located at San Luis Obispo. In 1913, when the Atascadero estates were purchased and the construction of Atascadero begun, the only roads in the county were miserable dirt roads, it being a county almost entirely devoted to cattle raising. Atascadero got behind the construction of the State Highway through the county, although* it met with the powerful opposition of those who thought a paved road would bung up the cows’ feet. Four years ago the county voted $1,500,000 bonds for construction of good roads, by an overwhelming majority. The great Wm. R. Hearst estate is located in San Luis Ancient mitsion, Santa Margarita. Obispo County north of Atascadero Beach, and the fine estate and blooded-stock farm of F. F. Peabody of Cluett-Peabody & Co. is located in the mountains, almost surrounded by the Atascadero estates. San Luis Obispo, being the county seat, fe the center of county affairs. There are many other smaller but prosperous towns in the county and hundreds of fine private estates and ranches. The county is one of the largest in California and about central on the coast—one of the richest; undoubtedly the most beautiful. San Luis Obispo County is probably the most beautiful and desirable section of all California.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 57 Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo _________AreN eigbbors San Luia Obispo, with branch at Atascadero. 4״— Street in Paso Robles. 5—Street in San Luis Obispo, eighteen Viiles from Atascadero. 6—Street in San Luis Obispo, the county seat. 1—Paso Robles Springs Hotel, eleven miles from Atascadero. 2 —Famous mineral water and mud baths, Paso Robles Hotel. 3—Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank (Commercial Bank),58 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA General Information Water Resources Atascadero has unlimited pure water resources. The Salinas River flows for ten miles along the eastern side of the estates. Numberless springs are found throughout the property; several fine mountain streams flow through it from west to east, and underlying the entire estates is a water table at from eighty to a hundred feet depth from the surface. The residential section surrounding the Civic Center and the close-in orchard sections are served under high pressure, through fifty miles of water mains, by the Atascadero Mutual Water Company, owned by the lot and orchard owners themselves. In the outlying sections wells are drilled and equipped with pumping equipment at a cost of about $500. Irrigation is not required for the orchards, but is required for gardens, berries, lawns, etc. The minimum water rate is $1.50 for 3000 gallons, but drops to 20 cents per 1000 for from 3100 to 15,000 gallons, and finally down to 10 cents per 1000 gallons when 30,000 or over are used. Wherever water mains have been laid, a small monthly service charge is made against the lots fronting on the mains, whether the water is used or not. As the water company is a mutual company and is not operated for profit, the residents get water service at cost. The average yearly rainfall in Atascadero from 1916 to ,923 has been 19% inches. Fire Protection The residential section has electric fire-alarm systems and the fire department has two chemical fire engines of latest type. The water system gives unlimited water under high pressure. Electric Light, Heat and Power The electric lighting rate is only ,0 cents for the first 60 kilowatt-hours, 5 cents for the next 1 50 kilowatt-hours and 3 cents for all over 210 kilowatts per month of maximum demand. Heating and cooking rate, including light: 10 cents for first 25 kilowatts, 3'/2 cents for next 125 kilowatts and 1 cent for all over 150 kilowatts. T emperature The mean maximum temperature at Atascadero for the past seven years has been 72 degrees, the mean average temperature 54 degrees, and the mean minimum average 36 degrees. Taxes The assessed valuations of San Luis Obispo County are very low. The tax rates for Atascadero for last year were, in light and fire districts, $5.90 per hundred of assessed valuation. Outside of light and fire districts, $4.90. Atascadero, not being an incorporated city, has no city taxes. The above rates include State, county, school, light, fire, road and all other taxes. School Terms The high and grammar school terms begin September 17th and end about June 15th. The fall term opens late so that all may^help in the fruit harvests, which require the employment of a large number of people for a few weeks. Telephone Service Telephone service is had at the regular rates fixed for like service in the State, both in the residential and orchard sections. T elegraph The Western Union Telegraph Company maintains a special office and equipment in the Civic Center. Bank The Atascadero branch of the Pacific Southwest Savings and Trust Company, one of the strongest banking institutions in America, is located in the Administration Building, Civic Center. It is equipped with safety deposit boxes and does a general banking and trust company business. Deposits may be made and accounts opened by mail by addressing Atascadero Branch, Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank, Atascadero. How to Reach Atascadero Through tickets over the Southern Pacific Railroad to either Los Angeles or San Francisco permit stopping over at Atascadero without extra charge, since it is exactly half way between those two cities. Atascadero is on the Coast main line of the Southern Pacific. To reach it by automobile, take the Coast Highway from either San Francisco or Los Angeles. The highway runs through Atascadero for over ten miles. Storage Warehouse Furniture and household goods may be stored in the fireproof warehouse of the Atascadero Service Company at moderate charges until the home is built or as long a« required. Cars of household goods may be shipped direct to Atascadero for storage in advance of coming. Heating For cooking and heating, either electricity or wood is used. With unlimited supplies of oak wood on the preserves of the estates, residents may get in their own wood or have it cut and stored for them at moderate charges. No coal is used. It is expected to have gas piped to Atascadero in the near future, as the gas lines for natural gas are already within about 18 miles. Ice Ice is supplied by the local cold-storage and ice plant at low cost. Milk Fresh milk and cream are obtainable in abundance from local supply sources or cows may be kept in the sections outside the residence district. Vegetables and Meats Almost every known vegetable and small fruit grows to perfection in Atascadero excepting tropical fruits. Excellent meats may be had from the local market. Cost of Living The general cost of living is probably much lower, considering the advantages, than in any other place in America.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 59 Land Prices and Terms The prices of lands in Atascadero come under two general heads of improved and unimproved lands. Orchard Lands Improved orchard lands include making of the roads, clearing of the lands, planting of the orchards and their care for from two to five years, including spraying, cultivation, pruning and replacing defective trees. The drilling of a well and equipping it with electric or gas pump costs about $500. Unimproved lands include nothing in the price but the general road system and the advantages of the superb public improvements, institutions, parks, etc. The prices of improved orchards are also governed by location, while the prices of unimproved lands are governed by location and desirability as an estate site. The prices of the planted orchards range from $400 per acre to $1,000 per acre, depending on location, age of the orchard and other factors. The plantings are almonds, apples, bartlett pears, apricots, peaches, french prunes. Citrus fruits are not grown commercially at Atascadero. There are about six hundred acres of planted orchards ranging from three to five years old available for sale. The prices of the unimproved lands for orchards or estates range from $100 per Acre to $500 per acre, depending on location, view, soil types and other factors, and include no other improvements than the roads. Residence Property All residence lots are of ample size for house, garage and small garden, and include gravel-surfaced streets and water mains, but no other improvements. Their prices depend on location and size and range from $500 to $10,000. All prices are fixed and alike to all. The price schedules are filed with the trustee under the bond issue. Titles to Lands The Atascadero estates have had but four owners since the original ancient Spanish grant. The owner from whom they were purchased had held them for thirty years. The purchaser of land in Atascadero receives the usual deed of “grant bargain and sale,” with certificate of title, clear and free of any lien or incumbrance other than the restrictions against nuisances. He can sell, mortgage or transfer his lands, just the same as in any other city or location. The title is guaranted perfect. Terms of Sale The usual terms of sale are 25 per cent .of the purchase price, cash, and the balance spread over sixty equal monthly payments, with interest at 7 per cent per annum on unpaid balances. Where all cash is paid, the purchaser secures the advantage of the remarkable income plan, of which full particulars will be given on request. Building Loans Building loans may be had on reasonable terms up to as high as 50 per cent of the cost of the house. General Restrictions Building restrictions range from a minimum of $2,500 cost of house to a maximum of $20,000, depending on lo-cation. All houses must be set back at least 25 feet from the street line. Domestic animals may not be kept in the residential section. No shacks or outhouses may be built in the residence section and not more than one house on a lot. No garages or temporary structure may be built and occupied until after the contract for the construction of the residence has been let. Two members of the same family may erect homes on the same lot if its size justifies, however. Houses must be painted as soon as completed and kept in reasonable repair. No nuisances, industrial or manufacturing activities may be conducted on restricted residence property. No signs, signboards or unsightly structures may be erected. Only Caucasians may become resident owners. Care of Orchards Orchards of non-resident owners will be cared for by the Atascadero Fruit Exchange, cultivated, pruned, sprayed and the fruit harvested, the proceeds being remitted annually at a reasonable charge, averaging about $30 per acre per annum. The Exchange is a mutual association under the California laws, operating the cannery, caring for orchards, harvesting, conserving and marketing the fruit of its members. It has about six hundred members. Resident owners may, of course, care for their own orchards if they desire. Private Estates Special attention is given to the selection and development of private estates of from five to fifty acres. A number of such estates have been sold to American and English families resident in all parts of the world, developed and prepared for them for several years before their arrival. Landscaping, ornamental plantings, etc., may be contracted for, and an estate developed to suit the purchaser. Selections for Non-Resident Purchasers Fully 80 per cent of the many millions of dollars of residential orchard and estate properties sold in Atascadero were selected by the management for the then non-resident purchaser, and the entire transaction closed by mail from one to several years before the purchaser arrived in person. Where this is done, careful selections are made, submitted with plats, exact descriptions, panorama photographs and complete details, with the proviso that the purchaser retains the right of exchanging his purchase on arrival if not satisfactory for any other property then unsold but offered for sale belonging to the estates, and at the same schedule of prices in effect when the original purchase was made, no matter what general increase in prices might have become effective meantime. The purchasers of Atascadero home properties have come from all over the world. Remarkable to state, however, fully one-fourth of them came from other parts of California.60 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA To You Personally Fully 80 per cent of the more than four million dollars of sales of residence property and orchard tracts that have been made by us in Atascadero were originally made by mail, we making the selections for the purchaser, whether as a home or investment. Most all of our purchasers have since visited Atascadero and inspected their lands, but less than 2 per cent of them have requested us to make any change from the selection we had made for them. With our intimate knowledge of this vast estate, approximately twice the size of New York City proper (Manhattan Island), provided the purchaser will give us reasonably full information of what he wants, we can undoubtedly make a far better selection for him than he could make for himself. With us, the sale of the land is but the first step. We are more concerned in the successful development of the entire city, which is based on the success, contentment and prosperity of the individual purchasers, than we are in the making of land sales. We do not sell the land to get out and let the purchaser take care of himself as best he may, but expect to be your neighbor and friend for the rest of our lives. First, write us clearly as you can, just about what you would like, the price you wish to pay, whether you are purchasing for a home or strictly for investment, or both, about what means of income you now have, whether you have a family or not, and, if so, about the ages of the children. Give us, in general, just what is in your own mind, so as to place us as nearly as possible in your own position. It does not make any difference whether you desire to pay cash, or in sixty equal monthly payments, as the prices on all lots and orchard tracts are a fixed schedule filed with the trustee under the bond issue, and are the same to all. On receipt of this information, we then make some very careful selections, submitting them to you in full and complete detail, with panorama photographs showing the properties selected, and holding them out of the sales list until you can consider them. When a property has been found to exactly suit you and the sale is closed, should you visit Atascadero at any time within three years and on inspection desire to exchange for any other property offered for sale by the Estates Company, the exchange will be cheerfully made. You are under no obligation to take any of the property submitted to you, but unless it were held out of the sales lists, meantime, the very selection you desire might be sold before your decision could be received. If our first selections do not suit, we make additional ones, until just what you want is found for you, and if it cannot be found, we will state so plainly, since we expect to be your neighbors and friends the rest of our lives. You are far more safe in purchasing lands in this way than you would be in making your own selections, unless you are an experienced buyer, know soil types, and are thoroughly informed of all improvements and other plans for the future, and have spent months on the estates. Of course, if you can come on here in person, this would be most advantageous to both you and us, but years of experience and the making of the selections for more than three thousand separate purchasers, in every walk of life—bank presidents, experienced fruit growers, lawyers, physicians, business men, etc.—fully 90 per cent of whom have afterwards visited the estates and inspected their purchases and cur record that less than two out of a hundred ever requested to make any exchange from the selections we had made for them, give us pride in the making of these selections. After receiving as full information as you can give us, we go over the lists of all properties in the estates that come nearest to filling the requirements. Then a personal inspection is made of a number of these until one is found that seems to be exactly what you want. Photographs are taken of it from different viewpoints, and a complete description of the soil types, topography, location, dimensions, etc., is drawn up and the whole detailed information sent you. Meantime, the selection is held out of the sales list. Try to place us in your own position, regarding everything that affects your purchase here. Remember that we must be guided by the information that YOU GIVE US. We have sometimes made beautiful selections that seemed to meet every requirement of the purchaser, and closed the sales, later to find that the purchaser had neglected to give most important information that would have made us select a differently located property had we been given it. Thus, in the matter of location the fact that you will probably desire to engage in some business or profession might cause us to select land conveniently located to the probable place of employment, rather than a really more desirable location farther distant. The fact that you have small children would affect the location. The fact that you desired to make an investment solely for the highest possible commercial return might make us give you an orchard tract without a single oak tree on it, since each great oak would decrease the return of the orchard; while if you desired the lands both for a home and investment, we would probably select a different tract, having a cluster of great oaks on one part of it for the home site. Again, if you desired the tract primarily for a׳ home with the orchard return as entirely secondary, we would make a selection with a view to its greatest beauty and desirability as a home place, because of its natural features. In every case it is first of all necessary to know HOW MUCH of an investment you desire to make, as this would be absolutely necessary in making the selection, both as to size, location, earliness of planting and many other points. There would be no use in submitting a ten-acre tract if your means would not permit of your purchasing more than fire acres. There is no such thing in the world as something for nothing. You will be able to purchase values exactly in proportion to what you pay. In the purchase of residence property in the restricted residential districts surrounding the Civic and Industrial centers, LOCATION and SIZE are the two most important factors in price, although the particular advantages of the lot also have considerable bearing. Thus, two lots side by side, one with a magnificent oak or two, and the other without trees, would vary considerably in price. Tell us what you want. We will tell you whether it is to be had or not.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA 61 mile! long by seven miles wide, containing 23,000 acres. The white spaces are parks and game preserves. The shaded sections, sold—orchards.. Residence section and Civic Center at upper center of map. 1—Map of California showing location of Atascadero half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. 2—Map of residence section surrounding the Civic Center, Atascadero. The shaded portions have been sold. 3—Map of Atascadero estates, twelve62 ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA In Conclusion Each day of your life that passes never returns. Those things that you are going to do "tomorrow” are never done, for tomorrow never comes. Every day, every hour of outdoor life in the sunshine, flowers, wonderful climate and healthful conditions of all-year-round outdoor living, such as California alone can make possible, mean added length of life and incalculable advantage, happiness and zest of living. Without health all else is but dross, yet health is almost entirely a matter of right living, right environment, pleasant surroundings, proper exercise and an outdoor life in a kindly climate. Nature did more for Atascadero than almost any other spot on earth to fulfill these requirements to the highest degree. To nature’s wonderful handiwork in Atascadero millions of dollars of improvements, conveniences and advantages have been added along carefully matured plans under the direction of leading engineers, horticulturists, architects and other experts. Best of all, however, there has been gathered together in Atascadero a body of people of the sort you will love to have as your life-long neighbors. Make up your mind today) that you are going to make your home in Atascadero or at least own a part of it for your home at some future time. Let us help you, not only in making the selection, but in many other ways. Your doing this may mark the beginning of the happiest part of your life. OPINIONS BY EDITORS OF LEADING CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPERS WHO VISITED ATASCADERO IMPRESSIONS (By Judge Harlan C. Palmer, President of Southern California Editorial Association and editor of the Hollywood [Cal.] Citizen.) * * * But other things have impressed me, chief among which is the extraordinary high standard of its citizenship. Atascadero is attracting the cream of the citizenship of the United States. It cannot fail, with such citizenship, to advance and to prosper. And just another of the many impressions is the beauty of Atascadero evenings—the clear sky, the cool nights, the restful calm. In such a land one cannot be other than healthy, hopeful and happy. THE IDEAL HOME SPOT (Lankershim [Co/.] Laconic.) * * * A wonderful spirit of loyalty, good cheer and hospitality reigns throughout the colony. * * * And it is that spirit that will make Atascadero the ideal home spot on earth. Everything has been carefully planned to carry out the ideal. NOT A NOTE OF DISSATISFACTION (Highland [Ca/.J Messenger) This week we attended the convention of the Southern California Editorial Association, held at Atascadero, and we had an opportunity of seeing what a healthful growth a community can have, when it is built up on honest business principles, and the people are brought there without misrepresentation. * * * One could never expect to find a more beautiful place than Atascadero, which seems to be the home of the monster liveoaks, and the ground is fairly red in places with little wild flowers. We talked with many residents of this empire, which is now in its building, and we found not a note of dissatisfaction. A FINE LOT OF PEOPLE (Orange [Cal.] Daily News.) * * * Probably no finer body of people has ever been gathered together than the more than three thousand representative American families who have become purchasers of orchards and home sites in the Atascadero Colony. They are progressive in many clubs, church circles, and several of the world’s popular lodge orders. A BIG PROJECT IN EVERY WAY (Redondo Beach [Cat] Reflex.) The whole scheme is so monumental and so far in advance of the ordinary methods of founding new communities that it is hard to appreciate it all at first glance. The strongest feature of the plan, as compared with other real estate schemes, is that Mr. Lewis and his helpers are not trying to unload the land and get out. They are making it for their own homes as well as for those who buy and build there. It is a big project in every way—probably the most advanced plan ever attempted for a cooperative colony — and its future will be watched with great interest by all who know of it. NOTHING LEFT TO CHANCE (Insurance and Investment News, Los Angeles) There can be no question as to the ultimate success of the proposition for nothing has been left to chance, every detail of the entire scheme having been carefully planned out by (Professor Edward Hyatt, former Superintendent of Schools, Stale of California, in The Western Journal of Education, San Francisco.) Atascadero takes rank as one of the wonders of California along with Yosemite and the Big Trees, and it is well worth the lime and trouble to inspect it, whether you go to scoff or pray. It's a study of humanity, a fascinating experiment in human endeavor —the development of an idea. Mr. Lewis and his associates, through the aid of the most efficient specialists of this country; the preliminary work covering a period of two years and including an exhaustive test of the soil and climatic conditions. A WONDERFUL CONCEPTION (San Jacinto [Ca/.J Register.) * • * Mr. Lewis conceived the idea of building a model community and the result of this was the purchase of the Atascadero property of 23,000 acres at a price little less than a million. He said when he bought h that he was going to avoid all risks of experimenting, hence he selected the most capable man he could procure for each department. * * ♦ A COLOSSAL UNDERTAKING (Redlands [Cal.] Daily Facts. * * * This colossal undertaking is being successfully carried out by honest business principles. With the success of this colony the development of other similar tracts in California is sure to follow, and the editors are watching with keen interest the growth of the project which will mean much for the future of the State. AN IDEAL PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK (Banning [Cal.] Record.) I have said that primarily the Atascadero Colony is to give an ideal situation wherein to live. Its secondary reason is to give those who want to and need to an ideal place to work. The soil and climate make an almost perfect fruit land. Experts plant and take care of each orchard for two whole years. By the looks of the orchards we saw, left and right, we do not believe there will be any failures. A POWERFUL OBJECT LESSON (Burbank [Cal.J Review.) The work he is doing meets with approval and praise; but only those who will in days to come profit by his foresight will be able to give just appreciation to it and to its originator. * * * In Atascadero we have a powerful object lesson in the beneficence of city planning, and an impressive demonstration of the power of the dreamer to make his dream come true. A BEAUTIFUL CIVIC CENTER (Rialto [Cal.] Record.) Unfolding as a rose in all its beauteous purity is the blossoming out of a practical Arcadia midway between the great cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco — Atascadero. * * * The needs of the future are being considered in the planning of the $1,000,000 Civic Center which will embrace a wonderful triumph of architecture in the Administration Building, which is now well under way, be-sdes the great school building, library and like structures. FOUNDING AN EMPIRE (Oxnard [Cal.] News.) At Atascadero, the Colony Holding Corporation, headed by E. G. Lewis, is founding an empire along one of the most ideal social and commercial plans conceived, and where we were royally entertained the past week. It would take many columns of this paper for me to attempt to pen an intelligible description of the scheme under which this huge colonization enterprise was conceived and is now being carried out.ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA A Home in California With An Income to Live On Probably if the intelligent, educated families of the East and Middle West were asked what particular thing they most desire, a majority of them would answer after careful consideration, “A home in California with an income to live on.” Anything more desirable than that would be difficult to imagine. While not a single foot of land in Atascadero has ever been sold with the guarantee of a position or a job or even work as a consideration of sale, yet we believe that, after ten years of investigation, study and experiment, a solution of this uniform desire has been secured to a most remarkable degree, through a plan devised by Mr. Lewis , and now in successful operation, producing an income entirely independent of the property purchased or any effort of the purchaser. This plan in detail has been set forth in a little leaflet entitled “A Home in California and An Income to Live On״ Full particulars of the plan may, therefore, be had on request. The plan itself is simple, yet so fundamentally sound and successful, and mutually advantageous to both sides, that it would be widely copied were it not for the fact that its application is limited to Atascadero and could ONLY be successfully carried out under peculiar conditions the principal factors of which would probably not be found available elsewhere. ATASCADERO ESTATES, Inc. ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA$35,000 depot of Southern Pacific Railroad at Atascadero.