Landmark club reopens in Altadena: Life isn't the same, community members say, but it's a start

LOS ANGELES — Children somersaulted into a pool as adults sipped cocktails and dined on burgers, blue- and orange-striped umbrellas shielding them from the summer sun. Nearby, families squared off on newly redone tennis courts. But it was impossible not to notice, beyond the cool splashing and camaraderie, a charred and empty landscape.

The Altadena Town & Country Club — a storied establishment that has been a center of play as well as employment in the foothill town for more than a century — was destroyed in the Eaton fire. On Sunday, it reopened.

The noise of the crowd that gathered was a marked change from the silence that had reigned over Altadena since January's firestorm.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, whose congressional district includes Altadena, spoke at the reopening and rec