Lillian Russell was famous for her voice, her beauty, and her glamorous lifestyle. In 1913, she made San Diego history from behind the wheel of an automobile.
Russell, one of the era’s best-known light opera and vaudeville stars, was invited by real estate developer Edward Fletcher to help open a new road to the summit of Grossmont.
The view is looking west to San Diego. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)
A 1936 San Diego Tribune retrospective described Russell as “buxom and flamboyant” and recalled the fame, luxury and drama that surrounded her career. The July 3 article noted her long association with “Diamond Jim” Brady, her stormy marriages and her popularity with audiences. Russell remained closely identified with the light-opera roles she performed best, the newspaper said, while in her later years she turned her talents to journalism and promotional work.
She did it by driving the first car to the top.
Fletcher had purchased the Villa Caro Ranch in 1902 with William B. Gross, a theatrical agent and sometime actor. The two men envisioned turning the rugged, largely undeveloped hills into an unusual residential community populated by artists, musicians, and other prominent figures.
They called their development Grossmont.
Gross had the entertainment connections. Fletcher handled the development.
Fletcher filed a subdivision map in 1910 naming the area Grossmont Park. He then began transforming the rocky slopes, laying out roads, planting trees,s and installing water and electrical lines.
The roads were not conventional.
Working with his ranch foreman, Mike Dooley, Fletcher laid out 14 miles of winding roads, marking their proposed paths with rags tied to bushes. The unusual routes were designed with prospective home buyers in mind, giving them the best possible views from the hillsides.
Fletcher completed the initial road to the summit in 1913.
He called it El Granito Avenue.
And he had a famous woman open it.
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Sources:
- San Diego History Center, “God’s Garden,” Journal of San Diego History, Fall 1985.
- San Diego History Center, “Colonel Ed Fletcher (1872-1955).”
- San Diego History Center, “Colonel Ed Fletcher Collection.”
- San Diego History Center, “Guide to the Colonel Ed Fletcher Family Collection.”
San Diego Tribune, July 3, 1936, as cited in footnote 19 of the San Diego History Center’s “God’s Garden.”
