The tiny cars first had to negotiate the strenuous Lake Avenue grade of 8% which basically pours out of the Las Flores Canyon. Then they traversed the lush poppy fields toward the mouth of Rubio Canyon. They came upon a transition bridge, seen to the left, which would be one of the few of all the bridges and trestles that would take on its own name, Las Flores Bridge.

The journey continued into the Rubio for a little less than a mile where they came upon the first in a line of hotels, the Rubio Pavilion, seen above. see map

In the picture to the left you can see the Pavilion platform with the incline to the rear.

The Rubio Pavilion (above) was a modest 12 room hotel with a ballroom, and a dining room which was located below the platform, the house-like structure in the above photo.

Left see the dining room from the inside.

A series of stairways ascended the Rubio Canyon crevasse graced by 11 cascading waterfalls. In the photo to the left is Bonita bridge with water rushing under it.

Standing on the bridge is Ernest Crocker who assited in rescuing the Pavilion caretakers, the Drew Family, in a 1909 disaster described in a later chapter.

Notice the cascades of water (arrows) along side the scaffolds of bridges and stairways in the photo to the right.

The whole scene was set for festivity, as seen in the photo above, where Prof. Lowe, at the far left, is entertaining guests in a Rubio patio graced by Japanese lanterns.

And it was only the beginning.

From the platform at the Rubio Pavilion travelers transferred to the Great Incline which would take them up some 2,800 feet to Mount Echo.

The picture to the left shows the incline on opening day.

A band was the first to ascend the incline which disappeared into a wisp of clouds as they played Nearer My God To Thee.

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