By Mary O’KEEFE

CVW was allowed to go into Rockhaven Sanitarium as construction overseen by the City of Glendale continues on the Pines Cottage and surrounding grounds.

Perhaps most striking is the overall appearance of the once beautiful grounds. Years of roof and property neglect is easily found throughout the property. 

Construction banners went up around the Rockhaven property in late summer/ early spring. In July the Glendale City Council announced construction/renovation was to begin on the property. The plan was to renovate Pines Cottage for use as a future museum and make accessibility improvements, including making the site ADA compliant, and offering a parking lot off-site. 

“… a comprehensive effort to enhance the site’s historical and functional value,” senior project manager Arthur Asaturyan told the council, as reported in an article in CVW in July.

And there is evidence the crew that is repairing and remodeling the Pines Cottage is taking every effort to keep the historical integrity of the property. 

Rockhaven Sanitarium opened in 1923 and was woman-owned and -operated. Agnes Richards was a nurse who saw the mistreatment of women in sanitariums and when she moved to California wanted to offer a place that put women and their care first. Rockhaven began with one cottage in the 2700 block of Honolulu Avenue and then expanded. The grounds were as important as the interior rooms. Art through paintings, sculptures and gardening surrounded this unique sanitarium. Richards ran Rockhaven until her death in 1967; it was then passed to her granddaughter Patricia Travis who continued with the sanitarium until she sold it to a large hospital corporation in 2001. Unfortunately the corporation closed the doors of Rockhaven in 2006. The future of the property was in jeopardy until the City of Glendale purchased it in 2008. One plan was to relocate the Montrose Library to Rockhaven and to create a park; however, the economy took a downturn and once again Rockhaven’s future was in jeopardy as the City started pulling back on maintaining the site. 

Roofs began to leak and temporary tarps were put in place; however, they were easily torn and the roof leaked for years during heavy rains. 

Almost all of Rockhaven has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Pines Cottage. 

“The full acreage is considered an historic district, including the once threatened Nurses’ Cottage. But the details about the insides of the buildings were not listed in that designation and therefore may be changed,” Joanna Linkchorst, Friends of Rockhaven, said. 

Friends of Rockhaven has been very active in the past holding historic walk- throughs of the property, raising funds and getting the word out about the site and the sanitarium that focused on the mental wellbeing of women.

The interior of the Pines Cottage is being carefully refurbished. The building is split into two sections, with a lobby in the middle that has a big picture window. The arched large window is the first thing that is noticed when entering the Pine Cottage. The molding around the window is being painstakingly repaired as is the wood-turned bars that are in front of an exterior window that have one bar missing. That is in the process of being duplicated and then replaced.

One of the biggest enemies of Rockhaven has been water. With tree roots and 100 years of earth shifting, good water drainage is almost non-existent. Walking through the property there are big, deep ravines that have been water savaged. Drainage restoration must be done before crews can continue with the 7,000 square feet of walkway that will be added to the location. Crew members have also made sure all the walkways are accessible to the public including being ADA compliant. There will be railings along the walkways. 

Razmik Hatoomian, vice president of ARC Construction Inc., the general contractor for the project, walked from room to room showing all the work that had been done and how much there is to do. For example, Hatoomian pointed to some ornate iron heating vents that he is hoping to use as vents again; however, everything needs to be approved for safety. 

In addition to walkways throughout the property, the current construction will add four new gates around the exterior of Rockhaven. Pines Cottage will have two new bathrooms that will be ADA compliant, there will be a functioning kitchen, new flooring – several of the tiles that were not damaged have been cleaned – and a large television that will be used by the museum to share the history of the sanitarium. There will also be sprinkler systems throughout the building. 

Presently all asbestos has been abated within the interior. In the exterior tree roots have lifted sidewalks and cracked fences; however, no oak trees were lost. The roof has also been repaired/replaced. 

Hatoomian said as the crew moves through the Cottage, it works to match any of the damaged decoration pieces, including moldings. ARC works closely with SWA Architects, which focused on three objectives:

“(1) Renovate Pines Cottage building for a museum; (2) Renovate the Rockhaven grounds (focused on landscape, accessibility, and pathway improvements); and (3) address feasibility of off-site parking improvements. The strategy was to maintain the existing buildings and focus on the improvements required to re-open Rockhaven to the public until an operational plan and funding strategy could be developed,” according to a report by Glendale city staff.

Then State Senator Anthony Portantino secured an $8 million state grant for the preservation of Rockhaven with plans to provide a museum for the community. The grant agreement was executed in March 2023.

According to Domenica Megerdichian, Glendale spokeswoman/assistant to the city manager, there has not been a decision as to who will manage the future Rockhaven museum. Friends of Rockhaven have been the stewards of the sanitarium for years, gathering not only items related to the property but stories of those who worked and stayed there. 

“We look forward to learning who will be operating the museum and seeing if they would like any of our help. We would be willing to let them store the archival materials we have on a permanent loan basis. Meanwhile we [have] a grant from California Revealed to begin a digital archiving process,” Linckhorst said.