Pasadena is a sizeable city located at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.
You may have heard the popular 60's pop song, The Little Old Lady from
Pasadena recorded by Jan and Dean...a classic that can still be
enjoyed today especially with the windows rolled down driving down
Colorado Blvd or part of the 210 or 134 Freeways! The city enjoys a high
standard of living - it was founded when wealthy East Coaster's would
build "winter" homes and retire here for the warmer weather. Colorado Blvd is the
heart of the "old town" and is where most of the shopping and
restaurants are located. There are several parking garages within walking distance of
old town.
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It is also easy to take the metro to Pasadena - the LA metro's
gold line has several stops in the Pasadena area. Pasadena is
home to two world class museums located minutes apart, the
Huntington and the
Norton Simon. Pasadena is also famous for hosting the annual January 1st
Tournament of Roses Parade. The first parade dates from 1890 and
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was formed to show those living in "cold
weather" just how nice the Pasadena weather was in the
middle of winter. Today this parade is a widely televised event and
seats are highly coveted. For more information visit the official
website:
www.tournamentofroses.com To purchase tickets visit:
www.sharpseating.com
The prestigious science math & engineering university Cal Tech is
also located in Pasadena. |
Visit our
LA Universities page for more details & photos.
When in Pasadena you should also visit Old town Pasadena. This is a
unique upscale shopping district centered around Colorado Blvd just a
few blocks down from the Norton Simon Museum. Tiffany's even has a store
here. Visit:
www.oldpasadena.org
Gamble House is located in old Pasadena not
too far from the Rose Bowl at 4 Westmoreland Place (you can look down
the hill and see the Rose Bowl from the 2nd floor). This house was built
by two local architects (the Green brothers) in 1908 for David and Mary
Gamble (yes of the Procter Gamble company) and is one of the beset
preserved examples of Craftsman-style architecture in Pasadena. The
house is extremely well preserved. Tours times are somewhat limited so
plan ahead. Tours are offered every 20 or 30 minutes only from 12-3pm
Thursday-Sunday. This part of Pasadena is the old "Millionaires Row"
where wealthy folks from back East would come to spend their winters in
this very mild climate.
The general tour takes about 1 hour and includes seeing the first and
second floors as well as the attic. The woodwork inside is excellent and
the Gambles placed a lot of attention to detail in the design of this
house. The house is wired with electricity but the maximum wattage light
bulb in 1908 was 15 watts, as a result the house is still dimly lit. The
Gambles took a trip to Japan and returned with a number of items - both
Western and Asian art have influenced the decorations.
The house itself is a National Historic landmark and is operated by the
University of Southern California (USC). Two lucky architecture students
are chosen each year to live in the house for one year. Movie trivia
time - did you know that a scene in the movie, Back to the Future was
filmed on the property. The original garage which is now the bookstore
appeared in that movie. The house cost about $50,000 to build at the
time - to put that into perspective a middle class family home at that
time was about $1500! Heck the small garage cost $3700 to build.
Visit:
www.gamblehouse.org
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
is located in the hills just east of Pasadena and its
recent fame comes from the fact that it is headquarters for the rovers
currently roaming the harsh landscapes of Mars. This is a working
laboratory environment and the free tour typically takes 2.5 hours. As of
press time they are scheduled on a Monday or Wednesday and because of
their popularity you should reserve well in advance (up to a month).
Part of the reason for the advance reservation is you also must pass
their security clearance - government issued photo ID's are required to
enter JPL and go on the tour. JPL is a part of NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration), but is the only branch of NASA that is
managed and operated by a University (Caltech). Their early beginnings
were in fact a student project dealing with rockets. Today this is the
branch of NASA that deals with robotics and unmanned missions.
Tours usually have 15 to 20 people - once you pass through the security
checkpoint, head to the parking lot and then walk to the main visitor
center office where you will meet your tour guide. We've been here
several times and each time we always saw several kids dressed up in
full space suits! A small gift shop sells JPL and other NASA related
souvenirs. While you are waiting use one of the several interactive
computer stations to view photos and videos from previous and current
missions. An inspirational film about JPL and their past projects will
be shown. At the time of our visit, appropriately Harrison Ford is the
narrator.
A major highlight on the tour is the mission control room with its bank
of computers and large screens providing data from various missions.
Another highlight is the clean room where robots and rovers are
constructed. From a viewing platform you look down on people dressed in
white suits working on various components and stages of rovers, robots
and circuitry. At the time of our last visit, engineers were building
another rover to send to Mars - we saw the model for this one...its the
size of a car with huge wheels!
Visit:
www.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
Museums
We have reviewed several museums in Pasadena including the following:
Huntington Library
Norton Simon Museum
Pacific Asia Museum
Pasadena Art Museum (will visit at a later date)
Please visit and reference these museums on our main Los Angeles Museums
page here
Pasadena Art Weekend
is three days of events that include
ArtNight,
ArtTalk,
and ArtMart.
It is a joint venture with the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs with
the Arts & Culture Commission, Pasadena Convention Center & Visitors
Bureau, One Colorado and The Playhouse District to promote the many
cultural opportunities within the city of Pasadena. For more info visit:
www.pasadenaartweekend.com
Pasadena Farmer's Market
is held Tuesdays and Saturdays in
different locations. An excellent selection of produce is always
available even in the winter months. For times and locations visit:
www.pasadenafarmersmarket.org
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Paseo
Colorado is a destination shopping center
located along Colorado Blvd in the heart of Old Town
Pasadena. This mall is anchored by Macy's and the upscale
Gelson's grocery store and features a number of clothing and
specialty shops as well as National chain restaurants.
The mall borders Colorado Blvd so some of the shops are
actually on the main street while many of the shops are
within the actual mall itself. Three parking garages service
the mall including the main garage right on Colorado Blvd
located under the mall. Be sure to validate your parking
ticket before you leave using any of the machines in the
garage - with a validation 90 minutes of parking is free.
Visit:
www.paseocoloradopasadena.com
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The Rose Bowl is located at 1001 Rose
Bowl Drive, not far off the 210 Freeway. Directions to this
historical location are well signed from all major intersections.
The Rose Bowl dates to 1922 and is most famous for serving as home
to the Rose Bowl College Football game every January 1st.
Unfortunately access is limited during non events so you can only
see the stadium through the tall metal gates in front. Be sure to
incorporate the rose bushes in the front of the stadium in your
photos! A grass lawn near the parking lot is a popular spot for
playing soccer.
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Dave's Pick