Los Angeles Much of the commercial life of the city of Los Angeles, as well as the high society life, centered on Abel and de Stearns Baker because of the prominence of Abel Stearns' warehouse, "La Casa de San Pedro." The warehouse operated as one of the four most significant trading ports in the West during this time period and was connected from San Pedro to Los Angeles via a stagecoach line. de Stearns Baker's name was on all of Abel Stearns' investments alongside his, so she shared in his wealth as a business partner in addition to as a wife. After Stearns' death, de Stearns Baker ran his businesses. Even when de Stearns Baker had moved to Santa Monica, she remained a powerful presence in Los Angeles society and charity work. In the early 1900s, when she was in her seventies and thus not very involved with the new women's clubs of the city, she was still "a key source of funds, in-kind donations, and society support" for the club causes. de Stearns Baker's wealth and social status made her "the most formidable of all" the elite California women, and she worked with Los Angeles club women on events like the yearly Fiesta de las Flores. Santa Monica Arcadia de Stearns Baker was known as the "godmother of Santa Monica" and a "great benefactress" for her contributions to and vision for the formation and development of the city. As she created the original map for the city plan and layout, her aesthetic vision was crucial in structuring Santa Monica. She donated a great deal of her land – for example, to the city of Santa Monica for Palisades Park; to the government to form a National Home for Disabled Veterans (now the Veterans' Administration); to the government to create the first experimental forestry station in the United States; and to schools, churches, and clubs (like the Bay City Women's Club). In 1879, de Stearns Baker bought out her husband Colonel Baker's land and business holdings and officially became the business partner of John Percival Jones. In 1897, de Stearns Baker and Jones founded the Santa Monica Land and Water Company, which "subdivided and developed about 50,000 acres in West Los Angeles." Legacy The grand hotel at 1700 Ocean Avenue, by the Santa Monica pier, was named "The Arcadia Hotel" in honor of Arcadia Bandini de Baker. It opened its