In 1883, returning from a trip to Italy, John described an impressive stand of deodars (Cedrus deodara, the Tree of God), indigenous to the Himalayas.

Having consulted with an arborist friend of his at the Department of Agriculture, who assured him the trees should do well in Southern California, he had Frederick plant them in a nursery behind his house.

This included the employment of a large Chinese labor crew not only to perform the transplanting, but also to lay the river-rock-lined gutters which have become an important part of the lane's historical landscape.

Entries consisted of some of the latest race cars of the period, including the Stutz Bearcat, and Barney Oldfield's Ford No.

Over the next few years as the lighting grew along the lane, the number of spectators increased with many arriving by automobile to motor their way between the illuminated rows.

[citation needed] In 1927 the Altadena chapter of Kiwanis formed, and annually they would take children from the local Boys and Girls Aid Society for rides along the Lane that they called "Christmas Tree Street.

"[citation needed] The lane was fully lit each year up until 1943 and the "switch" was pulled annually by honoree Tom Hoag, the old foreman.

That year saw a light snow pack and water for power generation was predicted to be low, so the lane was left unlit for conservation purposes.

Each year scores of volunteers would come out to string (and after the season unstring) the trees with electric lines full of dangling bulbs.

The narrative impressed the state officials with a particular phenomenon: the Lane brought two relatively new products together in a single social activity, the electric light and the automobile.

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.

[citation needed] The Board of the Christmas Tree Lane Association appealed to the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

[citation needed] In early January 2025, Christmas Tree Lane was one of the many landmarks threatened by the devastating Eaton Fire.

One house on Christmas Tree Lane, and an electrical pole on the nearby Calaveras St were reported to have caught on fire.

[9] On January 15th, the L.A. Times reported that the trees had escaped damage despite "a torrent" of embers coming down on the street's historic cedars and that despite broken branches, most "appear unscathed."

Cristhian Mace, a biologist for Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation said he thought the trees may have been spared because they were well irrigated and not dry and brittle, and that cedar bark is thick and somewhat fire resistant.