the electric light and the automobile. With that it was listed as California State Landmark No. 990. The State marker at the intersection of Woodbury and Alameda St. in Altadena reads: NO. 990 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE - The 135 Deodar Cedar trees were planted in 1885 by the Woodbury Family, the founders of Altadena. First organized by F.C. Nash in 1920, the 'Mile of Christmas Trees' has been strung with 10,000 lights each holiday season through the efforts of volunteers and the Christmas Tree Lane Association. It is the oldest large-scale Christmas lighting spectacle in Southern California. Deregulation threatens the Lane In 2000, deregulation of the state's electrical utilities caused Southern California Edison to withdraw its maintenance of the Lane's electrical system and provision of free electricity. This meant that the grid would have to be metered and electricity would have to be billed. Thus the system would require permitting and have to meet all existing electrical codes. The Los Angeles County Public Works Department, which is responsible for meters and permits, deemed the old electrical system unsafe, and prohibitive cost estimates to rewire the grid threatened the Christmas Tree Lane tradition. The Board of the Christmas Tree Lane Association appealed to the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. The Department of Public Works assisted in designing a workable, safe and legitimate system. The installation cost of $130,000 was covered by Supervisor Antonovich, and the Lane was lighted that year on schedule. References External links Altadena Christmas Tree Lane Association History of Altadena Christmas Tree Lane Altadena, California National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in California California Historical Landmarks Streets in the San Gabriel Valley Christmas in California