Prospect Avenue: Once a Dirt Road, Now a Major Corridor Between Two Medical Centers

The Intersection of Benton Street and Prospect Avenue

That was Then: Circa 1900 …

Captain Lewis Smith Davis (standing, right) and family (in the carriage, with a farm hand standing next to the carriage), pose at the corner of Benton Street and Prospect Avenue.

… What the Land Would One Day Be was Beyond Captain Davis’ Wildest Imagination …  

If only Captain Davis had the ability to close his eyes and imagine how the land around him might change by the year 2018. He had no idea that from where he stood and where he was looking that 100 years hence he would be standing at the intersection to the entrance of the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center. Nor would he have believed his wife if she had exclaimed : “Lewis, look back over your right shoulder at the steel rising between the palm trees.” Seeing nothing but rows of orange trees, Captain Davis turned and looked over his left shoulder toward the family mansion, “Snug Harbor,” up on the knoll. The inset photo (circa 1900) is of the southeast elevation of “Snug Harbor.” Little did Davis know that 18 years into the twenty-first century some bloke would resurrect this photo from the Loma Linda University archives and immortalize him, his family, and farm hand by weaving them in the tapestry of Loma Linda University campus history. Photo inset: courtesy of the Loma Linda University archives.

… This is Now: 2018

Prospect Avenue in Loma Linda could be referred to as the Avenue of the Medical Centers. On the east end of Prospect Avenue at the intersection of Benton Street and Prospect Ave is the main entrance to the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Medical Center. Approximately one mile due west is the main entrance to the Loma Linda University Medical Center. one was able to see the top three floors of what is known as the Loma Linda University Medical Center research wing. At the top of the knoll, and to the right “Snug Harbor” still stands, albeit renovated over the years.

Prospect Avenue: The Corridor Between Two Medical Centers

An aerial view of Captain Davis’ Loma Linda environs along Prospect Avenue, which today bridges—center point—two world renowned medical centers.

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                                                                                                                  Left: Southeast elevation of “Snug Harbor” circa 1900. The Ritchie Mansion Plague, which is affixed near the entrance.

Center: The Ritchie Mansion plaque, which is affixed near the front entrance.

Right: Ritchie Mansion (formerly known as “Snug Harbor”) circa 2004.