Shuttered Moments: One Man’s Vision Preserves Santa Clarita’s Past

There’s a new box on archivist Eva Gritz’s desk at the History Center that will require some colorful consideration – 600 slides of local places and events taken by former SCVHS newsletter editor Gordon Glattenberg that he’s donated to the Society for its photo archives.

Glattenberg, 88, a retired mechanical engineer, has been taking pictures since he was in high school. Born in Los Angeles, he moved to Hollywood at age 4. He went to Hollywood High School and CalTech in Pasadena, graduating in 1958.

“Oppenheimer visited CalTech, and I was able to photograph him,” he said. “In my freshman year, Richard Nixon, who was Vice President at the time, gave a talk. I remember the Secret Service people around him and did they ever look spooky! One memorable person was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was really outstanding to listen to, even in casual conversation.”

Glattenberg discovered the Santa Clarita Valley in 1968 and settled in. In 2003, he ended his 45-year career in engineering, freeing up his time to pursue the perfect photograph.

Along with capturing life in the valley, he was especially interested in trains and airplanes.

“I found the machines of both trains and airliners big and noisy,” he said. His vast collection of those images is promised to the Center for Railroad Photography and Art in Madison, Wisconsin.

About a quarter of the images in the box capture earthquake damage from the Sylmar quake of 1971 and an earthquake in 1988 where the epicenter was beneath Pasadena’s City Hall. The rest are local scenes, including some memorable snow days.

A benefit he didn’t expect from his photography was visiting all 50 states and 45 different countries. “It was a fringe benefit; it took me places I never would have gone.”

“What is funny, just before I retired, I saw the movie “About Schmidt,” about a guy who retires and then discovers he doesn’t have a life. I thought, ‘My god, is that going to be me?’”

Not a chance. He’s too busy capturing life from behind a lens.  Learn more about the SCV’s colorful local history by visiting our website at www.scvhs.org.

Pictured Top Right:  Retired engineer and photography buff Gordon Glattenberg has donated several hundred slides of life in the SCV between 1970 and 2000 to the SCV Historical Society.

Bottom Right:  A Southern Pacific engine and train goes past the Saugus Depot (in its original location across from the Saugus Café) after a snowstorm in January 1974. Photo by Gordon Glattenberg.

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