Meet the Mesnagers: Glendale Barn Getting Fixed Up

This week, Glendale city officials are expected to approve upgrades to the historic barn at Deukmejian Wilderness Park, according to the Glendale-News Press. According to the city's web site, French emigrant and winegrower George Le Mesnager ran his winery on the site until 1920, when it was shut down by prohibition. It re-opened back in 1933, and then...tragedy! "In December of that year a massive fire swept the hillside area, gutting the barn and shed and destroying the winemaking equipment and most of the smaller buildings....The barn was rebuilt with a new arch roof and residential quarters on the upper floor. The Le Mesnager family moved to the site in 1937 and lived there until 1960." And then the zinger: "In 1968 the property was sold to a developer who intended to construct homes on the site." In the end, the the city purchased the land, and renamed it Deukmejian Wilderness Park." Go little barn, go! With the seismic upgrades, docent-led tours of the structure are expected.
· Barn getting retrofit [GNP]
· Deukmejian Wilderness Park / Le Mesnager Barn [City of Glendale]