Monrovia Movers

Getting to Know Monrovia

How Monrovia Sits

Monrovia is an independent city in the San Gabriel Valley, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, about twenty miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Because Monrovia is its own city, it sets its own rules on truck access, oversized vehicles, and permits. It also has protections around its historic neighborhoods. It is the fourth-oldest city in Los Angeles County, incorporated in 1887, and runs on a council-manager government. The city covers about 13.7 square miles, much of it climbing into the foothills.

The land runs from flatter neighborhoods in the south up into hillside streets that meet the mountains in the north. The terrain itself shapes a move. The 210 Freeway crosses the city. Myrtle Avenue, Huntington Drive, and Foothill Boulevard are among the main surface routes. Monrovia borders Arcadia to the west and Duarte to the east. The small hillside city of Bradbury and the national forest foothills lie to the north, with unincorporated county land toward the south.

The housing is a point of pride. Monrovia holds more than two thousand homes built before 1940, from Queen Anne Victorians and Craftsman bungalows to Spanish and Neo-Mediterranean styles. The city’s two historic groups have preserved many of them. Old Town along Myrtle Avenue is the walkable heart of the city. It has restored commercial buildings, restaurants, a weekly farmers market, and the Friday Night Family Street Fair. The foothill neighborhoods hold larger homes on the slopes. The population of about 38,000 is diverse and family-oriented, with a strong civic streak that earned Monrovia an All-America City Award in the mid-1990s.

From Orange Ranches to the Gem City

The land was home to the Tongva, also called the Gabrielino people, who settled the San Gabriel Valley thousands of years ago. Under Spanish and Mexican rule, it became part of Rancho Santa Anita, granted to Hugo Reid in 1841. The wider rancho later passed to the rancher and developer Elias “Lucky” Baldwin. In 1884, a railroad man named William N. Monroe bought a parcel of that land at the base of the mountains. Travelers passing between Los Angeles and San Bernardino came to speak of going by way of Monroe’s ranch, which gave the future city its name.

Monrovia was born in the land boom of the 1880s. The first townsite lots sold in May 1886, just as the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad reached the foothills. The town incorporated on December 15, 1887, the fourth city in Los Angeles County after Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Pasadena. Its early leaders were prohibitionists who incorporated in part to keep saloons out. The new town set itself up as a family-oriented community among the orange groves.

For its first decades, Monrovia was citrus country, with orange ranches and vineyards spreading across the foothill slopes. Through the twentieth century it grew into a residential city while holding onto its early architecture. Its historic homes and Old Town streets made it a favorite filming location for movies and television. The author Upton Sinclair lived in Monrovia, and his home is a National Historic Landmark. Today the city balances its preserved past with a modern Technology Corridor. The bears and deer that wander down from the mountains are a reminder of how close the wild foothills remain.

What a Monrovia Move Really Involves

Monrovia is an independent city, so a move here works under City Hall rather than the county or the City of Los Angeles. For larger moves, the city issues temporary no-parking permits that hold curb space at the address, and our office arranges and posts these in advance. The permit matters most on the narrow older streets around Old Town and on the tight foothill streets, where there is little room to leave a truck.

The historic homes shape much of the work. Monrovia is known for its pre-war houses: Victorians, Craftsman bungalows, and early Spanish styles. They come with narrow doorways, tight staircases, and original woodwork and finishes that should not be scuffed. We bring door, railing, and floor protection as a matter of course and plan the carry to suit an older home. We also account for the access quirks of the historic commercial buildings on Myrtle when we handle a move in Old Town.

The foothills are the other factor. North of the 210, the streets climb into the hills. Homes sit on slopes behind steep or curving driveways. That can mean a longer carry from where the truck can park, and a shuttle plan for the heaviest pieces. We check the grade and the access before move day. The flatter south side is more straightforward. We settle the permit, the access, the historic-home protection, and the truck size before move day. Nothing slows the job once the crew arrives.