Water and Power Associates Informing the Public about Critical Water and Energy Issues facing Los Angeles and California

Historical Notes

For many years the main attraction in Tournament Park (the predecessor of the current Rose Bowl stadium) was chariot races, although polo matches attracted equally large crowds.*

Historical Notes

In 1902 football was substituted for chariot racing as the midwinter attraction. The first game was played between Michigan (49) and Stanford (0). The game was so lopsided that it didn't go over well with the fans and the Tournament organizers decided to revert back to the chariot races.*

Historical Notes

Originally titled the "Tournament East-West football game," the first Rose Bowl was played on January 1, 1902, starting the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games. The football game was added in 1902 to help fund the cost of the Rose Parade.

The inaugural game featured Fielding H. Yost's dominating 1901 Michigan team, representing the East, which crushed a previously 3-1-2 team from Stanford University, representing the West, by a score of 49–0 after Stanford quit in the third quarter. Michigan finished the season 11–0 and was crowned the national champion. Yost had been Stanford's coach the previous year. The game was so lopsided that for the next 13 years, the Tournament of Roses officials ran chariot races, ostrich races, and other various events instead of football.

On New Year's Day 1916 football returned to stay as The State College of Washington (now Washington State University) defeated Brown University in the first annual Rose Bowl with that explicit name.*

Historical Notes

In 1920, City officials declared the football facilities at Tournament Park unsafe for the growing New Year’s Day crowds. Ten-year $100 box seats were sold to raise funds for construction of a new facility.

Historical Notes

The Rose Bowl Game was played at Tournament Park until 1922. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, the game's organizer, realized that the temporary stands were inadequate for a crowd of more than 40,000, and sought to build a better, permanent stadium.

Historical Notes

The stadium was designed by architect Myron Hunt in 1921. His design was influenced by the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, which was built in 1914. The Arroyo Seco dry riverbed was selected as the location for the stadium.*

Historical Notes

The Rose Bowl was under construction for about a year (1921 to 1922). The design of the stadium was intended to accommodate as many patrons as possible, sitting close to the action. The first portion of the stadium was completed for less money than had been budgeted, and the seating capacity at the time was 57,000.

Historical Notes

The Rose Bowl was completed in Octobeer 1922, just several months prior to the completion of the nearby Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, May 1923.

The first game was a regular season contest on October 28, 1922 when Cal defeated USC 12–0. This was the only loss for USC and California finished the season undefeated. California declined the invitation to the 1923 Rose Bowl game and USC went in their place.*

Historical Notes

January 1, 1923 was the first time that the Rose Bowl Game was held at the Rose Bowl Stadium. The game featured Penn State University and the University of Southern California. Start of play was delayed more than an hour when Penn’s team was stuck in traffic. USC would go on to defeat Penn State 14 to 3. ##^

The name of the stadium was alternatively "Tournament of Roses Stadium" or "Tournament of Roses Bowl", until being settled as "Rose Bowl" before the 1923 Rose Bowl game.*

Click HERE to see more in Early Views of USC.

Historical Notes

Originally built as a horseshoe, the stadium was expanded several times over the years. The southern stands were completed in 1926, making the stadium a complete bowl. .*

Historical Notes

The 1926 Rose Bowl Game is commonly referred to as "the game that changed the south." The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide, making their first bowl appearance, and the Washington Huskies.

Alabama was victorious 20–19, as they scored all twenty points in the third quarter. With the victory, the Crimson Tide was awarded its first National Championship.

The game made its radio broadcast debut, with Charles Paddock, a sports writer and former Olympian track star, at the microphone. Alabama’s coach, Wallace Wade, was later inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame (1990).*

Historical Notes

For many years, the Rose Bowl had the largest football stadium capacity in the U.S., and from 1972 to 1997, the maximum seating capacity was 104,594. Current official seating capacity is 92,542.

The Rose Bowl game grew to become the "granddaddy" of all bowl games, because of its stature as the oldest of all the bowl games. The Rose Bowl stadium is a National Historic Landmark, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 27, 1987.*

Historical Notes

January 1, 1923 was the first time that the Rose Bowl Game was held at the Rose Bowl Stadium. The game featured Penn State University and the University of Southern California. Start of play was delayed more than an hour when Penn’s team was stuck in traffic. USC would go on to defeat Penn State 14 to 3. ##^

The name of the stadium was alternatively "Tournament of Roses Stadium" or "Tournament of Roses Bowl", until being settled as "Rose Bowl" before the 1923 Rose Bowl game.*

Click HERE to see more in Early Views of USC.

Historical Notes

Today, the stadium still hosts commencement ceremonies for John Muir High School and Pasadena High School. It also hosts the annual football homecoming game, called the Turkey Tussle, between Pasadena High School and John Muir High School, in mid-November.*^

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Rose Bowl (1930s & 1940s).

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see early Tournament of Roses Parades.

Historical Notes

The American Legion is an organization of U.S. war veterans formed in Paris on March 15–17, 1919, by delegates from all units of the American Expeditionary Forces. Their main mission is to sponsor programs that improve veterans communities, such as scholarships, veterans help programs (i.e. ending veterans homelessness), and youth sports. They also promote national security, patriotism, and devotion to veterans.*^

Historical Notes

The Pasadena Post No. 13 was organized July 22, 1919. Architects Marston and Van Pelt designed the building, which was built in 1925.*

Historical Notes

Located atop Bacon Hill, renamed Raymond Hill, which lies between Pasadena and South Pasadena, the first Raymond Hotel burned down in 1895 and was replaced by a second in 1903. The architect was T. W. Parkes. In 1934 the hotel was torn down for residential development due to fallout from the Great Depression.*

(1925)**- Night view of the exterior of the Pasadena Furniture Company at 530 East Colorado.

Historical Notes

Pasadena's Sears, Roebuck and Company was located at 532 East Colorado Street.  Sears sold nearly everything one could want--from linoleum to sofas, trousers to electric refrigerators, washing machines to roofing materials, and building supplies to automobile accessories. The building was previously occupied by the Pasadena Furniture Company. Sears bought the building after the Pasadena Furniture Company went out of business.

Historical Notes

William Kerckhoff, a German-American, began his career in Los Angeles with the Jackson Lumber Company. Later he and Guy Cuzner owned the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill and Lumber Company. To transport lumber, the company was the first to use oil for fuel in an ocean going vessel.

In the 1890s, Kerchoff founded the San Gabriel Power Company. By the turn of the century, together with A.C. Balch, he owned half the stock of Henry E. Huntington Pacific Light & Power Company used to provide electricity to Pacific Electric, and he served as its President. In 1902, they purchased the San Joaquin Electric Company. They also founded Southern California Gas Corporation in 1910, and built a 120-mile pipeline from the San Joaquin Valley to Los Angeles.*^

Historical Notes

The Armenian Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena was founded in 1986. The church is one of a handful of other Armenian Nazarene churches in the Los Angeles area, including the original one in Glendale.

Historical Notes

United Cigar Stores was the largest chain of cigar stores in the United States. Though initially specializing in cigars, it eventually sold many other items, such as Mickey Mouse watches and shoe trees. The chain was founded in 1901 and represented the interests of the Consolidated Tobacco Company, the tobacco trust that controlled the American Tobacco Company and others. In September 1903 a settlement was reached with the chain's competitors and all competition ended. By 1926 the chain had close to 3000 retail stores.*^

Historical Notes

The Model Grocery was one of Pasadena’s best-known names in the local market business.  The company got its start at a store located at 21-25 North Fair Oaks Avenue.  By the 1920s it had more than 250 employees, as well as its own bakery, line of household equipment, a candy department, a post office, and other customer amenities.+^+

Historical Notes

Don Lee was the west coast's most successful Cadillac dealer. He held the franchises for California and Nevada Cadillac dealerships, fostered Los Angeles radio, and was a leading pioneer of television on the West Coast. He was also famous for his Don Lee Mutual Broadcasting Studio and Mt. Lee Tower in Hollywood.

Historical Notes

The building today is occupied by Jacob Maarse Florists.  Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The Pasadena Star-News building was designed by Joseph Blick in 1924 in a Beaux-Arts style and completed in 1925.

First published in 1884, the Pasadena Star-News moved into the building in 1925 and stayed until the 1990s. The building is now home to Technique at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and 24 Hour Fitness. Editors in the historical Star-News Building included Ed Essertier, Charles Cherniss, Bill Winter, Larry Wilson, and Frank Girardot. Publishers after Bernard J. Ridder included Bill Applebee. ^

Historical Notes

The building has also played a role in the history of radio in Southern California, once hosting a pair of radio towers that broadcast Star-News programming under the call sign KPSN. The first radio broadcast of the Rose Parade aired on KPSN in 1926, and famed underground FM station KPPC also used the towers to transmit their signal from their studios in the basement of the adjacent Pasadena Presbyterian Church. ^

(1973)*# - Don Phillips operates a Linotype machine in the basement of the Pasadena Star-News Building at 525 E. Colorado Blvd.

Historical Notes

For decades just about every newspaper, magazine, publishing house and printing firm in the western world used Linotype machines, invented in 1884 by German watchmaker Ottmar Mergenthaler.

Every time an operator touched a key on the typewriter-style keyboard, a matrix with the corresponding indented letter would drop into an assembler. When the matrices for an entire line were assembled, the line was automatically justified and molten metal cast "slugs" would be organized line by line into columns and pages for the purposes of printing. This could be done at a rate of 1,000 words per hour or 14 lines per minute.

Thomas Edison called the Linotype machine the eighth wonder of the world because it revolutionized the printing industry.

Prior to Linotype there was moveable type, invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1436, that created a sea change in western civilization.

Even as late as the 1930s moveable type was still in use at some newspapers where type was still being set by hand, one painstaking letter and punctuation mark at a time. These newspapers were limited to a maximum of eight pages -- the number of pages that could be typeset at a snail's pace in a day's time.

By 2000 printing technology changed again, switching from mechanical hardware to digital software.*

Historical Notes

Ridder Newspapers bought the Star-News in 1956 and Bernard J. Ridder took over as publisher. Ridder merged with Knight to form Knight Ridder in 1974. The paper was sold off in 1989 to a company owned by William Dean Singleton; the Thomson Corporation bought majority control of the paper a year later. Thomson sold the Star-News to Singleton's MediaNews Group in 1996, which went on to become part of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.*^

The newspaper also publishes the Rose Magazine which provide coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl Game.

Historical Notes

The 4-story Beaux-Arts style building has a Penthouse. It also two levels below grade.

The Star-News Building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Historical Notes

The Pasadena Athletic Club was located at 425 E. Green Street. The building was torn down in 1977 to make way for the Plaza Pasadena Mall.

Historical Notes

The library was designed by architects Myron Hunt and H. C. Chambers in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and was built between 1925-27.

Construction began May 19, 1925 . This is why the year 1925 is carved in Roman numerals over the front entrance of the building after "Public Library of the City of Pasadena." The Central Library was dedicated on Lincoln's birthday (February 12), 1927, and was the first building completed of the new Civic Center Plan. *

This was Pasadena's 3rd Central Library Building. Click HERE to see Pasadena's 2nd Public Library Building.

Historical Notes

In the original plans for Central Library, Myron Hunt designed a four-level bookstack area, which could someday be finished to accommodate a growing collection. When this building was originally opened in 1927, only two levels were completed, the main level (with an immense open space above where more bookstacks could one day go) and one below at the basement level.

Historical Notes

The Library, as well as the entire Civic Center, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the years, Central Library has been the location for some major motion pictures. *

This was Pasadena's 3rd Central Library Building. Click HERE to see Pasadena's 2nd Public Library Building.

Historical Notes

The car at the curb with 1927 dealers' plates is most likely a 1927 Pierce-Arrow Model 80. In 1928 Studebaker took over Pierce-Arrow and in 1930 local Studebaker dealers Keller Brothers and Marcy Auto operated at this location. In 1935 is was called Earl Lundy Motor Company. Currenly (2014) it is Rusnak/Pasadena.**

Historical Notes

The Tower Theatre was a movie palace located at 114 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, California. It opened on December 28, 1929 with the film "General Crack" starring John Barrymore.

After closing as a movie theater in 1951, it had a brief stint as a church starting on October 4, 1952. However, by 1954 the Polk city directory listed the address as vacant, indicating the Tower Theatre had been demolished by that point. Today, there is just a parking lot on the site where the theater once stood.

Historical Notes

The Chief was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Its route ran from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles. The Chief was inaugurated as an all-Pullman limited train to supplement the road's California Limited, with a surcharge of $10.00 for an end-to-end trip. The heavyweight began its first run from both ends of the line, simultaneously, on November 14, 1926, scheduled 63 hours each way between Chicago and Los Angeles, five hours faster than the California Limited.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Santa Fe 'Chief'.

Historical Notes

Opened in 1925 as Bard's Egyptian, the 1709-seat theater was designed by Lewis A. Smith. Later it was Bard's Colorado and by 1931 Fox West Coast had acquired the house and it became the Fox Colorado.*##

Historical Notes

The theater got a moderne makeover in the 1940s and was renamed the Academy. In the 1980s it got turned into a 6-plex and is now operated by Regency Theatres.*##

Historical Notes

Opened in 1918 as the Florence Theatre. This former Fox house closed and was later operated by Pussycat Theatres, in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It became an independent theatre, closing in 2000 and gutted afterward for a conversion to retail and office use.**^^

Historical Notes

The above photo was taken for the Pasadena Water and Power Department (then called the Power Department), most likely to record the installation of new traffic signals.**

Historical Notes

"What Common Cents Did: Formal dedication of Oak Knoll branch of Los Angeles First National Trust & Savings Bank at Colorado and Lake, Pasadena, was held Thursday." -- Examiner clipping attached to verso, date January 8, 1928.^

Historical Notes

The Bank of Italy was founded in San Francisco, in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini. It grew by a branch banking strategy to become the Bank of America, the world's largest commercial bank with 493 branches in California and assets of $5 billion in 1945. It was also the first state-wide branch banking system.

The Bank of Italy merged with the smaller Bank of America, Los Angeles in the 1928. In 1930, Giannini changed the name "Bank of Italy" to "Bank of America." As Chairman of the new, larger Bank of America, Giannini expanded the bank throughout his tenure, which ended with his death in 1949.*^

Historical Notes

In 1923, the people of Pasadena approved a bond measure issuing $3.5 million towards the development of a civic center. City Hall was to be the central element of this center. The San Francisco architecture firm of Bakewell and Brown designed City Hall, which has elements of both Mediterranean Revival Style and Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture.^

Historical Notes

Completed on December 27, 1927, the massive circular structure rises perpendicularly for six stories. The fifth story is 41 feet high and pierced with four huge round arches and four smaller ones. The next story, set back a little, is 30 feet high and is also pierced with arches. Above it rises the dome 26 feet high and 54 feet across. On top of the dome is the lantern, a column-supported cupola 41 feet high, surmounted by an urn and ball. The highest point is 206 feet above the ground.*

Historical Notes

For the final design, the San Francisco architectural firm of Bakewell and Brown turned to the style of 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, who had studied and admired the Roman architect Vitruvius, as did the California mission-building padres. Palladio represented the simple, serene, classical style of the early Renaissance, in contrast to the Gothic style of medieval times and the rococo style of the later Renaissance.

Three famous European domed structures show Palladio’s influence: the church of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice, the Hotel des Invalides in Paris and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Without being a direct imitation, Pasadena City Hall is related to them all.*

Historical Notes

The massive circular tower structure rises perpendicularly for six stories. The fifth story is 41 feet high and pierced with four huge, round arches and four smaller ones. The next story, set back a little, is 30 feet high and is also pierced with arches. Above rises the dome, 26 feet high and 54 feet across. On top of the dome is the lantern, a column-supported cupola 41 feet high, surmounted by an urn and ball. The highest point is 206 feet above the ground.*

Historical Notes

Pasadena City Hall has long been a favorite shooting location for filmmakers. The courtyard was used in the 1995 movie "A Walk in the Clouds" to portray a Napa Valley town square. It has also been used as an embassy in the "Mission: Impossible" television series, and a villa in Charlie Chaplin's Oscar-nominated 1940 film "The Great Dictator."^

Historical Notes

The courtyard has a strong Spanish Colonial atmosphere. The focal point is the cast stone Baroque fountain. 22.5 feet tall with a basin 25 feet in diameter. Paths of crushed granite define the flower beds and cloistered arches paved with red Padre tile surround the courtyard. California live oak trees provide shade for the azaleas, hydrangeas, rhododendron and beds of annuals that are planted on a rotational basis.*

Historical Notes

The way had been prepared in 1923, when the people of Pasadena passed a bond issue of $3.5 million to establish a civic center. The Chicago firm of Bennett, Parsons and Frost was commissioned to draw up a civic center plan. The planners established Garfield Avenue as an axis, on which City Hall was to be the central element, with the Pasadena Public Library to the north and the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to the south. Also included in the original design were the Pasadena Police Department, Pasadena Municipal Court, YMCA, YWCA, Southern California Gas Company and United States Post Office. Over the years the new police building and county court house have been added. The YMCA building is now Centennial Place, a single-room-occupancy residential complex, and the Southern California Gas Company building now serves as the city's Permit Center. The YWCA building is unoccupied because of seismic and other issues.^

Historical Notes

City Hall is an internationally recognized star of stage and screen, appearing in Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” in 1940, and many, many films, television shows, and wedding albums since.

Historical Notes

Pasadena City Hall served as the city hall of fictional Pawnee, Indiana, in the television show "Parks and Recreation." The dome is visible through the window of the main characters' apartment building in the television show The Big Bang Theory.^

Historical Notes

On July 28, 1980 the Civic Center District, including Pasadena City Hall, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historical Notes

In February, 1932, during the lowest ebb of the Great Depression, the new Pasadena Civic Auditorium was dedicated "to the citizens of Pasadena, whose efforts and sacrifices have made the erection of this beautiful and useful building possible." In the decades since its dedication, the Civic has hosted millions of patrons from several generations of Southern Californians.

Historical Notes

The Civic Auditorium has been the center of Pasadena's Cultural life by hosting thousands of community events such as Rose Queen Ceremonies, graduations, benefit concerts, speeches by famous personalities, and countless programs for children. The live radio broadcasts of the big band dances from the Civic in the 1940s helped to spread the fame of Pasadena across the United States.

Historical Notes

The hall was originally constructed in 1931 as part of the civic center and the original Civic Auditorium and was used as an exhibit hall and ballroom.

Historical Notes

The hall became the Pasadena Ice Skating Center in 1976 until the center moved to a new location in the Convention Center courtyard in 2011. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.             

List of Awards

Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 by George Albert Ralphs with the original store being located at Sixth and Spring Streets in Los Angeles. The company employed notable architects in designing its stores.

Click HERE to see an 1886 photo of George Ralphs standing in front of his original store in the Early LA Buildings (1800s) Section.”                                                                                                      

List of Awards

The Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1940 by the Hupp Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan. Its first car, the Model 20, was introduced to the public at the Detroit Auto Show in February 1909. The company initially produced 500 vehicles.

Robert Hupp, a former employee of Oldsmobile and Ford, founded the company with his brother Louis in 1908. Production began in 1909. In 1910, production increased by more than 5000. Hupp Motor Company continued to grow after its founder left. A new plant was purchased in 1924 as Hupp competed strongly against Ford and Chevrolet. DuBois Young became company president in 1924 moving up from vice-president of manufacturing. By 1928 sales had reached over 65,000 units

Sales and production began to fall even before the onset of the depression in 1930.  By 1940, the company became defunct.                                                                             

Historical Notes

Historic U.S. Route 66 ran through Pasadena until it was decommissioned in 1964. The historic highway entered Pasadena from the east on Colorado Boulevard and then jogged south on Arroyo Parkway before becoming part of the Pasadena Freeway (SR 110).*^

Historical Notes

Super service stations were important elaborations of the original filling stations. Introduced in Los Angeles prior to World War I, super service stations combined operations that had been handled separately. Before that time, a motorist went one place for gas and oil, and other places for lubrication and cleaning, for repairs, or for tires and other accessories. Combining these activities was convenient for consumers and opened up new marketing possibilities for those interested in taking advantage of the boom in automobiles. The earliest known super service station—Service Town—was built in 1914, three miles from downtown Los Angeles. Several of these stations were constructed in southern California in the early 1920s and soon spread across the country. +**

Click HERE to see more Views of Early Gas Stations.

Historical Notes

With an untimely opening soon after the stock market crash in 1929, the building’s main tenant, the United States Building and Loan Association, was soon history. The building exists today but without the spires that used to extend above the third story windows. #*#

(1930)* - Street view of the Anderson Typewriter Company at 104 East Colorado. The display windows show various kinds of typewriters. A sign in the window announces that all makes of typewriters are available for rent. The space above is occupied by Crown City Jewelers. 

Historical Notes

Harry Ridgway designed the imposing Masonic Temple block at the southeast corner of Raymond and Colorado in Romanesque Revival style in 1894.  He was also the architect/designer for the First National Bank building, built in 1886 on the n/w corner of Colorado and Fair Oaks.

Historical Notes

The above corner site is currently occupied by a Target Store.

Historical Notes

Built in 1927, the Pasadena bakery was located on the southeast corner of East Colorado Boulevard and Bonnie Avenue (1696 E Colorado Boulevard). A prominent windmill atop the store was attached to a white L-shaped structure with stepped Dutch pediments. It’s very likely it was a project of New York architect J. Edwin Hopkins who designed Van de Kamp’s factory and headquarters in Glassell Park in 1930 – the two buildings had much in common. It’s a pity this little plaza resembling an old Dutch farmhouse was demolished in 1974 and later replaced by a generic Chick-fil-A branch. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Although the Van de Kamp’s company was based in Los Angeles, the Van de Kamp family was from Pasadena.  The company formed in 1915 by Theodore, Marian, and Henrietta Van de Kamp, along with Lawrence Frank.

Theodore J. Van de Kamp and brother-in-law Lawrence L. Frank were the owners and originators of the Van de Kamp Bakeries. Fondly known as the "Taj Mahal of all bakeries". Van de Kamp and Frank also founded both the Tam O'Shanter's (1922) and Lawry's The Prime Rib (1938) restaurants.

Historical Notes

The bakery was sold by the Van de Kamp family and acquired by General Baking Co. in 1956. The company was sold to private investors in 1979, and closed in bankruptcy in 1990. The Van de Kamp's brand is now owned by Ralphs supermarket chain and used for their line of private-label baked goods.

Historical Notes

Today, the 144 West Colorado building is occupied (from L to R) by Urban Outfitters, The Body Shop, and Su le Table.

Historical Notes

The Pyroil brand is a trademarked name for a line of automotive chemicals offered today by the Ashland Oil Company. But in 1932, it was also a brand of gasoline that was being heavily promoted. Click HERE to see more Early Gas Stations.

The roadster looks like a 29 Chrysler Series 75.

1070 E. Walnut in Pasadena is still there and today is an automobile repair shop.

Historical Notes

Prior to ‘The Famous Department Store’ there was Jordan’s Department Store, located in the same building at 268 East Colorado.

Historical Notes

The Arcade Building was one of the many new developments growing up on East Colorado, far from the traditional core downtown. It employed a new design that accommodated shoppers and their automobiles; the driveways to the heavily advertised parking lot was dubbed "Luxury Lane." It was, as the Pasadena Star News reported, "another page in the city's development." The Arcade Building's design was inspired by a similar structure in Budapest. Opening in 1927, the building was home to 27 stores and offices, including a wax flower shop, a tearoom, a candy shop, a jewelry store, and "moth proofers de luxe." The businesses were advertised as among the finest in the world, and several retailers had international branches.

Historical Notes

It is officially known as First Church of Christ, Scientist, Pasadena. The church is a branch of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts, which was founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879.

Historical Notes

The First Church of Christ, Scientist Pasadena was built beginning in 1909. The Classical Revival church building was designed by architects Marston & Van Pelt. At the time of its construction it was the largest building in Pasadena. It was designed to be completely fireproof and was topped by one of the earliest examples of a reinforced concrete dome. ##+

Historical Notes

The building recently underwent an 18-month restoration and seismic upgrade and is a contributing building in the Pasadena Playhouse Historic District.

Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Founded in 1917 by Gilmor Brown, the Pasadena Playhouse was designed by architect Elmer Grey and the cornerstone laid May 31, 1924. In 1928 the College of Theatre Arts was incorporated with the Pasadena Playhouse Association as a non-profit institution.*

Historical Notes

A school of theatre arts was established in the late 1920s that became an accredited college by 1937, eventually training such notable talents as Raymond Burr, Victor Mature, Ernest Borgnine, Eleanor Parker, Charles Bronson, Mako, Jamie Farr, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Sally Struthers and others.*

Historical Notes

The Playhouse was recognized by the Legislature as the State Theatre of California in 1937 after the laudable achievement of having performed the entire Shakespeare canon on a single stage for the first time in the United States.

Historical Notes

The Pasadena Playhouse drew the attention of the nation, bringing Southern California world premieres by authors such as Eugene O'Neill, William Saroyan, Noël Coward, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Tennessee Williams, as well as many English language premieres of significant Continental dramas.*

Historical Notes

The Pasadena Playhouse was designated California Historical Landmark No. 887 (Click HERE to see more California Historical Landmarks in LA County).

Historical Notes

A Spanish Colonial Revival building with Mission elements, the Playhouse is centered around a courtyard enclosed on three sides. Paved in flagstone and surrounded by arcades, the central courtyard is raised above street level. The composition of the building is asymmetrical and informal, almost residential in scale. The stucco walls are textured and irregular to resemble adobe and masonry construction.

Historical Notes

The adjacent six-story concrete school Fannie E. Morrison Annex building was designed by J. Cyril Bennett in 1936 to house the School of Theatre Arts, an accredited college.

Historical Notes

Due to changes in Actors' Equity Association laws, and the opening of drama departments in many schools and universities across the country, the School of Theatre Arts shut down in 1969. Later that year, after the death of founding director Gilmor Brown, the theatre itself went bankrupt. After six years, the city bought the building in 1975 and later transferred it to real estate developer David Houk. After 17 years of lying dormant, he relaunched the theatre in 1986 as a place to develop shows that would tour other California venues.  While the Pasadena Playhouse reopened for use as a community theatre, the acting school remained closed. Over the next twenty years, the theatre staged classic drama, new musicals and plays, and integrated itself as an educational facility, slowly regaining a prominent place in the national theatre scene to become a major operation of over 8 million dollars a year by 2008.*

Historical Notes

In Sept. 2014, the historic theatre received a makeover with new carpet and seats as it geared up to look good for its 100th birthday in 2017.

Historical Notes

Opened in 1925 as the Pasadena Community Playhouse.  The Playhouse quickly became a hub of the theatre community west of the Mississippi River.

Historical Notes

Pasadena Playhouse received the 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award, becoming only the second Los Angeles institution to earn the honor.*

Historical Notes

The theatre opened as Clune's Pasadena Theatre in 1911, a project of pioneer showman Billy Clune. His best known theatre was Clune's Broadway, still around as the Cameo Theatre.  Clune was also a film producer with his own studio, now a part of Raleigh Studios. 

Clune's Pasadena once had a rooftop sign with over 2,000 lamps. In addition to the theatre, the building had ground floor stores and a space housing the Pasadena Athletic Club.

The venue was later operated by Fox West Coast and known then as the Fox Pasadena. Fox closed the theater in 1953.*##

Historical Notes

The opening night show was all live acts including singer Lilly Dorn, a saxophone sextet, and storyteller Frank M. Clark.

The Clune's Pasadena Theater, located near Colorado Street and Delacey Avenue, later became the Fox Pasadena Theater and was in operation until the 1950s.*^^*

Historical Notes

Originally built as a hotel during the late stages of Pasadena's great resort hotel age, The Vista Del Arroyo Hotel's main building was constructed in two sections—the two-story north wing, in 1920, and the six-story bell tower with flanking wings, in 1930.*^

Historical Notes

In 1926, the Vista Del Arroyo Hotel  and resort was sold to H.O. Comstock. Comstock hired architect George H. Wiemeyer to redesign the hotel and added a grand six-story addition that consisted of a central bell tower and flanking wings set at an angle. The new Vista opened in 1931 with iridescent color, entertainment, and social gaiety. In 1936, Linnard repurchased the property and hired landscape architect Verner S. Anderson to improve the hotel's grounds by designing formal gardens and adding fountains, tennis courts, and a swimming pool.

Historical Notes

Marston and Van Pelt designed the Vista del Arroyo Hotel in 1920 and in 1930 George Wiemeyer added the tower. Myron Hunt designed some of the bungalows. *

Historical Notes

In 1943 the U.S. War Department acquired the hotel complex and converted it into the McCormack Army Hospital and offices for the U.S. Army. In 1949, the hospital was deactivated and the old hotel, under the care of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), housed a variety of Federal agencies from 1951 to 1974.

In 1981 the Vista del Arroyo was placed in the National Register of Historic Places and GSA began design work to restore the building as the southern seat of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1995, the building was renamed to honor Judge Richard H. Chambers, whose concept it was to bring a Federal courthouse to Pasadena.*^

Historical Notes

In 1924, bonds were passed to make money available to purchase the site for a junior high school. The town then waited for the population to grow which would necessitate construction.  In 1927, $555,000 was budgeted for erection and equipping of the junior high school.

In mid-January, 1928 the ground was broken for the Junior high and on September 10, 1928 the school officially opened.^#

Historical Notes

The Oneonta Park Station was constructed in 1906 and had a small counter where tickets, daily newspapers and soft drinks could be purchased before boarding the Red Cars.  A tower located within the station housed an interlocking system which controlled all the switches at the Junction, including Southern Pacific Railway crossing at Huntington Drive and Marengo Avenue.  From the tower, the controller had a view in all directions.  The Oneonta Park Station was demolished when operations were discontinued in late 1951. ^

Historical Notes

The largest electric railway system in the world at that time, the Pacific Electric Railway and the Big Red Cars reached the end of the line when virtually all operations ceased by late 1951, ending nearly 50 years of service to more than 50 cities.  Closing the chapter on the Pacific Electric Railway, most of the nearly 1,300 miles of rail along with the trolley wire were removed throughout 1952.^

Click HERE to see more early views of Oneonta Park Junction (1910 +).

Historical Notes

M-M Foods Market later became El Rancho Market, now its a Big Lots.  Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

It has rained ten times on the Rose Parade, but the parade has never been canceled due to weather.  Those rainy years were 1895, 1899, 1906, 1910, 1916, 1922, 1934, 1937, 1955, and 2006.

Historical Notes

The southern stands were completed in 1928.

Historical Notes

The Arroyo Seco Storm Channel was built during the late 1930s.

Historical Notes

By 1950 the Rose Bowl Stadium saw its fourth expansion when its capacity increased to 100,983. The Rose Bowl Game became the first bowl game to have 100,000 spectators in attendance.*^ 

Historical Notes

A. R. Ahrens Ford Sales and Service was located at 285 W. Colorado, near the Old Town area in Pasadena. The auto on the trailer is a 1935 Ford V-8 Fordor sedan.**

Historical Notes

In early 2012, the post office building was renamed "First Lieutenant Oliver Goodall Post Office Building," in honor of an Altadena resident and Tuskegee Airman. Goodall lived in Altadena from 1961 until his death in November 2010.

Goodall entered the service at Tuskegee in February 1943. In October 1944, he graduated as a multi-engine pilot and was assigned to the 477th Bomber Group at Godman Field, Kentucky, in January 1945, where he attained his First Pilots rating in six months. Goodall was among 60 African American U.S. Army Air Corps officers arrested for trying to peacefully integrate an all-white officers’ club, which came to be known as the Freeman Field Mutiny. The ‘mutiny’ was an important step toward full integration of all U.S. armed forces worldwide in June 1949, serving as a model for later Civil Rights efforts to integrate public facilities.*

Historical Notes

In the 1936 Rose Bowl, Stanford played Southern Methodist University and beat them 7 – 0.  The only Rose Bowl team from Texas in the game’s first 92 editions, SMU suffered its first loss of the season in front of the game’s first ever sellout crowd of 84,784 while Stanford avenged consecutive Rose Bowl losses the previous two years.

Historical Notes

Colorado Street was renamed "Boulevard" in 1958.

Historical Notes

First published in 1884, the Pasadena Star-News moved into the building in 1925 and stayed until the 1990s. Click HERE to see more views of this beautiful Beaux-Arts style building which still stands today.

Historical Notes

The building was originally built in 1884 at the corner of Colorado and Raymond. In 1886 the building was moved to Dayton Street.  The second floor was used for meetings of the Independent Order of Good Templars and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.*^*

Historical Notes

The Tower Theatre opened in 1930 and was designed by architect B.G. Horton, who also designed the Barney’s Beanery building across the street and the elegant MacArthur Building at 24 N. Marengo Avenue.

Next door was a tobacco shop and a pool hall—The Tower Palace, and beyond that, the Sante Fe railroad line, which used to rattle the theater like a Southern California temblor. #^^

(ca. 1952)**^^ - The Tower Theatre opened in 1930 and it closed 22 years later, in 1952.  A parking lot occupies the spot where the Tower Theater once stood—between railroad tracks and the Anderson Typewriter Company.

Historical Notes

Hardly a spectacular movie palace, the Tower Theatre nevertheless attracted the youth of Pasadena. “We used to go there on Saturday mornings for serials—Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy, and Bob Steele,” recalled former Pasadena city councilman Chuck McKenney in a 2000 interview with the Pasadena Star-News. #^^

Historical Notes

Caltech began as a vocational school founded in Pasadena in 1891 by local businessman and politician Amos G. Throop. The school was known successively as Throop University, Throop Polytechnic Institute (and Manual Training School), and Throop College of Technology, before acquiring its current name in 1920. The vocational school was disbanded and the preparatory program was split off to form an independent Polytechnic School in 1907.

In 1910, Throop moved to its current site. Arther Fleming donated the land for the permanent campus site. Theodore Roosevelt delivered an address at Throop Institute on March 21, 1911, and he declared:

“I want to see institutions like Throop turn out perhaps ninety-nine of every hundred students as men who are to do given pieces of industrial work better than any one else can do them; I want to see those men do the kind of work that is now being done on the Panama Canal and on the great irrigation projects in the interior of this country—and the one-hundredth man I want to see with the kind of cultural scientific training that will make him and his fellows the matrix out of which you can occasionally develop a man like your great astronomer, George Ellery Hale.” *^

Historical Notes

Although founded as a preparatory and vocational school by Amos G. Throop in 1891, the college attracted influential scientists such as George Ellery Hale, Arthur Amos Noyes, and Robert Andrews Millikan in the early 20th century. The vocational and preparatory schools were disbanded and spun off in 1910, and the college assumed its present name in 1921.*^

Historical Notes

Robert Millikan was the 1st President of California Institute of Technology and in office between 1920 and 1946.

In 1914 Millikan worked on the experimental verification of the equation introduced by Albert Einstein in 1905 to describe the photoelectric effect. He used this same research to obtain an accurate value of Planck’s constant. In 1921 Millikan left the University of Chicago to become director of the Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California. There he undertook a major study of the radiation that the physicist Victor Hess had detected coming from outer space. Millikan proved that this radiation is indeed of extraterrestrial origin, and he named it "cosmic rays." As chairman of the Executive Council of Caltech (the school's governing body at the time) from 1921 until his retirement in 1945, Millikan helped to turn the school into one of the leading research institutions in the United States.  He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public, from 1921 to 1953.

Robert Millikan was honored with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for the measurement of the elementary electric charge and for his work on the photoelectric effect.*

Historical Notes

Since 1923, Caltech faculty and alumni have garnered 32 Nobel Prizes and five Crafoord Prizes.

Historical Notes

At a time when scientific research in the United States was still in its infancy, George Ellery Hale, a solar astronomer from the University of Chicago, founded the Mount Wilson Observatory in 1904. He joined Throop's board of trustees in 1907, and soon began developing it and the whole of Pasadena into a major scientific and cultural destination.*^

Historical Notes

Albert Einstein arrived on the Caltech campus for the first time in 1931 to polish up his Theory of General Relativity, and he returned to Caltech subsequently as a visiting professor in 1932 and 1933.

Since 2000, the Einstein Papers Project has been located at Caltech. The project was established in 1986 to assemble, preserve, translate, and publish papers selected from the literary estate of Albert Einstein and from other collections.*^

Historical Notes

Built in 1932, the awe-inspiring observatory was designed in an eclectic Californian Churrigueresque style, with nods to Art Deco, designed by famed architects Mayers Murray & Phillip. The laboratory, along with the rest of Caltech's exuberant campus, is one of the most exquisite and unique executions of Churrigueresque architecture in all of California. Famed astronomer Fritz Zwicky discovered the existence of Dark Matter while working in the basement of the Robinson Lab in 1933.

The laboratory housed Caltech's astronomers and astrophysicists for nearly eighty years. Among countless achievements made here, Caltech co-founder and renowned astrophysicist George Ellery Hale led the construction of the 200-inch telescope on Mount Palomar.

Historical Notes

After the end of World War II, grinding work was resumed on the mirror. Work had been halted in 1942 when engineers, scientists and Caltech laboratories were assigned war-related work.

The mirror was transported to Palomar Observatory in 1947. The 200-inch telescope was dedicated in 1948.^^*

Historical Notes

In 1910, a bill was introduced in the California Legislature calling for the establishment of a publicly funded "California Institute of Technology," with an initial budget of a million dollars, ten times the budget of Throop at the time. The board of trustees offered to turn Throop over to the state, but the presidents of Stanford University and the University of California successfully lobbied to defeat the bill, which allowed Throop to develop as the only scientific research-oriented education institute in southern California, public or private, until the onset of the World War II necessitated the broader development of research-based science education.

The promise of Throop attracted physical chemist Arthur Amos Noyes from MIT to develop the institution and assist in establishing it as a center for science and technology.*^

Historical Notes

In the 1950s–1970s, Caltech was the home of Murray Gell-Mann and Richard Feynman, whose work was central to the establishment of the Standard Model of particle physics. Feynman was also widely known outside the physics community as an exceptional teacher and colorful, unconventional character.*^

Historical Notes

In addition to managing JPL, Caltech also operates the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, the Owens Valley Radio Observatory in Bishop, California, the Submillimeter Observatory and W. M. Keck Observatory at the Mauna Kea Observatory, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory at Livingston, Louisiana and Richland, Washington, and Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory in Corona del Mar, California.*^

Historical Notes

Caltech opened its doors to female undergraduates during the presidency of Harold Brown in 1970, and they made up 14% of the entering class. The fraction of female undergraduates has been increasing since then. In fall 2008, the freshman class was 42% female, a record for Caltech's undergraduate enrollment.*^

Historical Notes

Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering.

Caltech was ranked 1st internationally in 2011 and 2012 by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Caltech was ranked as the best university in the world in two categories: Engineering & Technology and Physical Sciences. It was also found to have the highest faculty citation rate in the world.*^

Historical Notes

In 2012, the Center for World University Rankings ranked Caltech fifth in the world and fourth nationally in its CWUR World University Rankings.*^

Historical Notes

Grace Nicholson, a noted collector and authority on American Indian and Asian Art and artifacts, supervised the design of her combination gallery and museum which was completed in 1929. It has been called an outstanding example of 1920s revival architecture and is unique for its use of Chinese ornamentation. Since then it has been designated as a California Historical Landmark, No. 988, located at 46 North Los Robles Ave, Pasadena.

Click HERE to see more California Historical Landmarks in LA County.^*

Historical Notes

In 1901, Grace Nicholson moved to California, and soon opened a small shop in Pasadena, selling Native American handicrafts such as baskets and weaving.  She hired crafters to teach traditional beadwork and other skills; she rented space to local artists. She traveled extensively in the rural western and Southwestern United States, worked with local dealers to build her collection, and corresponded with East Coast collectors to sell the objects.  She personally photographed and catalogued her holdings; she also built an extensive photographic record beyond the objects, especially of the Klamath River people, with whom she had frequent dealings.  

Nicholson acquired artifacts for sale, but also for major museums such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Field Museum in Chicago. She lectured about "the Indian" to churches and civic groups. In recognition of her expertise, Nicholson was elected to the American Anthropological Association in 1904. As a member of the "Anthropological Society," she joined a tour group that visited horticulturist Luther Burbank in 1905, in Santa Rosa, California. In 1909, she was awarded a silver medal at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, for a display of baskets and other artifacts.

In 1924, she designed a new building for her collections, which (reflective of changing fashions) had begun to focus on Asian art.  The architectural firm of Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury worked with Nicholson to realize her vision. Her design, nicknamed the "Treasure House," borrowed elements from buildings she had seen in China.  The building was opened as an art gallery and shop in 1925, although the interior garden courtyard was not completed until 1929.*^

Historical Notes

In 2013, University of Southern California partnered with the museum to form USC Pacific Asia Museum.

USC Pacific Asia Museum is the only university museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. The museum’s mission is to further intercultural understanding through the arts of Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Historical Notes

The War Memorial Building, designed by Norman Foote Marsh, has served as a memorial to veterans and as a meeting place for South Pasadena's American Legion Post No. 140. In 1921, the cornerstone was laid and two years later General John J. Pershing planted a redwood tree on the grounds. The building is #2 on South Pasadena's Register of Cultural Heritage Landmarks.*

Historical Notes

The Millard House was the first of Frank Lloyd Wright's four "textile block" houses — all built in Los Angeles County in 1923 and 1924. Wright took on the Millard House following his completion of the Hollyhock House in Hollywood and the Imperial Hotel in Japan.*^

It was commissioned by rare book dealer Alice Millard, for whom Wright had already designed a home in Chicago in 1906.

Historical Notes

The 4,230 square foot home has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, two kitchens, and a studio guest house that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, Lloyd Wright, a year after the original home was completed.

Built in 1923, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Historical Notes

Built during the Great Depression, construction of the Arroyo Seco Parkway put a lot of people to work.

At the time, it was considered an engineering marvel, reducing travel time between Los Angeles and Pasadena from 27 to 12 minutes.

Historical Notes

Before the Parkway was built, cottonwoods filled the Arroyo Seco at Avenue 26. The first known survey for a permanent roadway through the Arroyo was made by T.D. Allen of Pasadena in 1895, and in 1897 two more proposals were made, one for a scenic parkway and the other for a commuter cycleway.*^

Historical Notes

The Arroyo Seco Parkway was the first freeway in California and the western United States, connecting Los Angeles with Pasadena alongside the Arroyo Seco seasonal river. It is notable not only for being the first, mostly opened in 1940, but for representing the transitional phase between early parkways and modern freeways. It conformed to modern standards when it was built, but is now regarded as a narrow, outdated roadway.*^

Historical Notes

The Arroyo Seco Parkway was designed with two 11–12 foot lanes and one ten-foot shoulder in each direction, with the wider inside (passing) lanes paved in black asphalt concrete and the outside lanes paved in gray Portland cement concrete.*^

Historical Notes

At the time, it was considered an engineering marvel, reducing travel time between Los Angeles and Pasadena from 27 to 12 minutes.

Historical Notes

The Arroyo Seco Parkway design, state-of-the-art when built, included tight "right-in/right-out" access with a recommended exit speed of 5 miles per hour and stop signs on the entrance ramps; there are no acceleration or deceleration lanes.*^

Historical Notes

Today, the Arroyo Seco Parkway remains the most direct route between downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena despite its flaws; the only reasonable freeway alternate (which trucks must use) is the Glendale Freeway to the west, which is itself not easily reached by trucks from downtown Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

When built in the 1930s the Arroyo Seco Parkway conformed to modern standards of the times (including a speed limit of 45 mph), but is now considered by many as too narrow and dangerous for the amount of vehicular traffic it serves on a daily basis.  The six-lane, six-mile long highway was designed for 27,000 automobiles a day.  These days, it carries more than 122,000 cars daily.**#

Historical Notes

Between 1954 and 2010, Arroyo Seco Parkway was officially designated the Pasadena Freeway. In 2010, as part of plans to revitalize its scenic value and improve safety, Caltrans renamed the roadway back to its original name. All the bridges built during parkway construction remain, as do four older bridges that crossed the Arroyo Seco before the 1930s.*^

Historical Notes

The three story building with the "Go Farther" billboard, once housed the John Bull pub in the 70s & 80s.^*^#

Historical Notes

The Broadway began branch expansion in earnest with a striking art-deco store on Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard. A similar store anchored the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in 1947. With the help of its architects, The Broadway developed a signature look for its suburban stores, which numbered in the thirties by 1979. #***

Historical Notes

Built in 1947, the Streamline Moderne Art Deco building was designed by noted Los Angeles architects Wurdeman & Becket, a partnership between Welton Becket and Walter Wurdemen. In addition to the building itself, the architects oversaw the design and installation of all aspects of the store's interior, from the wallpaper and display cases, to the unique mechanical conveyor system that delivered purchases directly to the parking lot.

The design and merchandising of store were unique and stood in contrast to many older department stores of the time. Bullock's Pasadena was among the first department stores in the country to be located outside of a downtown area and was intended to appeal to the emerging "carriage trade," or those shoppers arriving by automobiles. As such, the store was oriented toward an unheard of 6-acre parking lot located behind the structure.

The store's promoters touted it as the "store of tomorrow" and Arts and Architecture magazine described it as "one of the world's most modern buildings." In fact, the design was recipient of an AIA Merit Award in 1950.

Historical Notes

To attract the garden-loving populace of Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, landscape architect Ruth Shellhorn worked with Wurdeman and Becket to create a lush landscape from which the massive building arose like an island. In a then-astonishing concession to the automobile, Bullock's Pasadena prefigured mid-century commercial development throughout Los Angeles by featuring a rear six-acre parking lot. The parking lot has since been developed into a new retail center by Johnson Favaro (2003).

The South Lake Avenue shopping district, in which Bullock's Pasadena was a major player, started to lose its luster in the late 1980s. While Pasadena's once-seedy Old Town district was reborn as a trendy shopping and entertainment district, once-proud South Lake Avenue lost much of its distinction.

On July 12, 1996, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as No. 96000776. In May 2000, the city of Pasadena's Design Review Board granted approval for a redevelopment of the building as part of a new shopping area called "The Shops on Lake Avenue," a $33 million project, featuring specialty shops, 27,000 square feet of new restaurants and a new 300-space-parking garage, increasing parking capacity to nearly 1,200 spaces. Developed by Cleveland, Ohio-based Forest City Development California, Inc. and owned by Federated Department Stores, the project opened in the spring of 200.

Historical Notes

Members of the Facebook group ‘You Know You Are from Old School Pasadena…’ disagree with the original location stated in the Huntington Library source. The majority opinion is that the station was actually located at Lake Ave and Green Street. Despite some conflicting evidence, we lean towards Green Street as the correct location instead of California Street. More details to come.

Historical Notes

Gwinn’s Drive-in was designed by Harold J. Bissner and Harold B. Zook.

Historical Notes

Guinn's Drive-in was demolished around 1992.

Historical Notes

The larger of the two gas towers provided gas for the entire city of Pasadena.

There are words, numbers and symbols on the roof of the larger tank providing directions and information for pilots flying overhead.  The arrow reading "Grand Central" refers to the Burbank Airport.

Historical Notes

The Pacific Electric Railway route consisted of travelling on Colorado Boulevard to Lake Avenue, then south to merge onto Oak Knoll where it ran further south to Huntington Drive and then west, on its way to the PE building at 6th and Main Streets in Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

Pasadena via Oak Knoll was a line of the Pacific Electric Railway, running from 1906 until 1950, between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Pasadena, with additional service to Altadena during rush hour. The route was originally built in 1906 to reach the Wentworth Hotel (later Huntington Hotel) in Oak Knoll. It was the second to last PE line to be decommissioned in Pasadena, and was the last line to run along Colorado Boulevard.

Historical Notes

The Red Car trolley line to Pasadena made its last run in 1950. The caption for the Oct. 3, 1950 photo read: "Its days are numbered. After Sunday, no more P.E. Oak Knoll Red Cars will rumble from Sixth and Main (above) to Pasadena".

Historical Notes

The Chief was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Its route ran from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles. The Chief was inaugurated as an all-Pullman limited train to supplement the road's California Limited, with a surcharge of $10.00 for an end-to-end trip. The heavyweight began its first run from both ends of the line, simultaneously, on November 14, 1926, scheduled 63 hours each way between Chicago and Los Angeles, five hours faster than the California Limited.

Historical Notes

The Chief became famous as a "rolling boudoir" for film stars and Hollywood executives. In 1954 the Chief reduced its schedule to equal its cousins, the Super Chief and El Capitan, and would ultimately drop the extra fare requirement as well.

Historical Notes

The Chief would have been the "crown jewel" of most railroads' passenger fleets. But it did not survive the national decline in passenger demand and its last run was on May 15, 1968.

Historical Notes

Low of 46 and a high of 57 that New Year's Day in 1955. That's cold for Southern California

Historical Notes

The Howard Motor Company built the showroom in 1927; it was one of several car dealerships built along Colorado Boulevard. The building has a Spanish Colonial Revival design with Churrigueresque ornamentation; its design includes a decorative frieze, chanfered corners, and an elliptical arched entrance topped by the dominant Churrigueresque element. The Bush-Morgan Motor Company moved into the building in 1938 and occupied it through the 1950s. *^

Most early Pasadena automobile dealers located their showrooms on Colorado Boulevard.  Two groupings developed: one on a two-block stretch of West Colorado Boulevard between Orange Grove Boulevard and downtown, and the other located in the then-geographic center of the city along East Colorado Boulevard between Lake and Hill Avenues.  Built in 1927, the Howard Motor Company Building was one of several auto-related buildings located along East Colorado Boulevard, and it was among the showiest.

Historical Notes

The last "real" Packards went out in a blaze of glory at this dealership. By 1957 imported makes were sold here by Noll-Baldwin Motor Co., including Hillman, Sunbeam, Jaguar, Simca, Triumph and Volvo. In the early '70s it was Pasadena Mazda, followed by California Custom Coach (which made replica Auburn Speedsters), and, finally, Acura of Pasadena until 2005.

The building was also an Aaardvark’s Odd Ark clothing store in the 90s.

Historical Notes

With considerable growth in the automobile industry during the 1920s, competition among dealers was fierce.  It was not unusual for dealerships to move often, each time seeking a more elaborate or advantageous location.  When builders constructed the Howard Motor Company building in 1927, Churrigueresque was an apt choice.  The exterior of the building is richly ornamented. Corners are chamfered and topped with a broad ornamental frieze. Showroom windows and entry doors are recessed in a single elliptical arch, which spans the entire street facade.  The arch has a grooved mold that terminates in unusual scrolled imposts. ^

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 18, 1996.

Click HERE for contemporary street view.

Historical Notes

“Churrigueresque” is the ornate, sculpted, baroque architectural style of the Howard Motor Company Building.  Popularized in Spain during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Churrigueresque was revived during the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park, San Diego.  In the years between World War I and World War II, the country entered the age of the automobile, and this high-relief style worked particularly well in the expanding California automotive market where dealers competed fiercely for attention and for sales. ^

Historical Notes

Built in 1940, Pasadena Winter Garden was located at 171 S. Arroyo Parkway, not far from Colorado Blvd., the main drag of Pasadena. It was the home of the Blade and Edge Figure Skating Club and is most renowned for being the original home of World and Olympic champion Peggy Fleming. ++

Historical Notes

Pasadena Winter Garden was home to the Pasadena Panthers, one of four teams in the California Ice Hockey League in the 1950s. The league contained four teams, who were vying for ice time in the three-rink Los Angeles basin.

The rink closed December 31, 1966 and the wonderful art deco exterior was all that remained when it was converted to a U. S. Post Office facility. However, the permafrost caused such serious discomfort to postal workers that the facility was closed. It sat vacant for some years and is now a Public Storage facility. ++

Historical Notes

The Santa Fe Railway’s Mission Revival-style passenger station on Raymond Ave. in Pasadena opened in 1935.

In the heyday of train travel, this station was favored by celebrities who didn’t want to have to deal with the whole “Movie Star Arrives in Los Angeles” press circus, and preferred to quietly arrive in town and sneak back home. So they’d get out at the station before Union Station in downtown L.A. – and that was this one. #+#

Historical Notes

This scene has changed drastically with the arrival of Metro's Gold Line, but the depot survives as a restaurant surrounded by high-rise living.

Historical Notes

When the Foothill (210) Freeway was planned in the early 1950s, the California Department of Transportation made known its intention to demolish the Colorado Street Bridge. But after much public outcry and appeals from the City of Pasadena and other organizations, Caltrans allowed the bridge to stand and built their own bridge parallel to it. ^

Historical Notes

Pasadena Pioneers Bridge is named for the party of settlers led by Dr. T.B. Elliot, a physician who held meetings in his Indianapolis home for people interested in moving to California and settling where the sun would shine year-round. After extensive fact-finding, the party of settlers came by train, then boat, then wagons to what became the Indiana Colony.

Historical Notes

Ground was broken for Pioneers Bridge in 1951. By then, daily traffic on the Colorado Street Bridge was causing stress to that structure to the point where traffic was not allowed during peak hours.

Historical Notes

The Colorado Freeway was first opened to traffic on June 25, 1954. The first segment ran from Orange Grove Blvd in Pasadena west to Avenue 64 in Eagle Rock. The westbound lanes of the Arroyo Seco Bridge were opened a little earlier on October 8, 1953. This first segment included four structures. The largest and most interesting structure was the Arroyo Seco Bridge. It was designed to compliment the 1913 Colorado Street Pioneer Bridges and still does so quite nicely to this day.

Historical Notes

A plaque placed on Orange Grove overlooking the Ventura Freeway reads, "Pasadena Pioneer Bridge erected by the California Commission and the Division of Highways of the Department of Public Works, named by resolution of the 1953 state legislature and dedicated to all Pasadena pioneers especially the twenty seven who founded this city near this spot on January 27, 1874 dedicated October 8, 1953 by the City of Pasadena and a committee of citizens grateful for our illustrious past and committed to a more glorious future."

Historical Notes

The Pioneer Bridge and the Colorado Street Bridge are two significant structures spanning the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, California. The Colorado Street Bridge, built in 1913, is an iconic concrete arch bridge that carries Colorado Boulevard and is recognized for its historical importance as the first high bridge across the Arroyo Seco. In contrast, the Pioneer Bridge, constructed between 1951 and 1953, serves as a modern counterpart, carrying State Route 134 over the same area. This bridge was dedicated to the pioneers of Pasadena, honoring the city's founding members. Together, these bridges create a striking architectural landscape that reflects Pasadena's growth and development, showcasing both historical and contemporary infrastructure side by side.

Historical Notes

The Colorado Street Bridge and the Pioneer Bridge, standing side by side in Pasadena, create a striking contrast of beauty and design. The Colorado Street Bridge, with its graceful open-spandrel arches, captures a sense of timeless elegance. Its curves follow the natural shape of the Arroyo Seco below, and its decorative balusters and cast-iron lamp posts add a touch of classic charm. This bridge, built in 1913, showcases the artistry of early 20th-century architecture.

In contrast, the Pioneer Bridge stands strong with its bold, practical design. Its large, simple arches are built for strength and functionality, serving the needs of modern traffic. Though less decorative, the Pioneer Bridge's massive structure reflects the engineering advancements of the mid-20th century. Together, these two bridges highlight Pasadena's blend of historic beauty and modern innovation, offering a unique visual harmony along the Arroyo Seco.

Historical Notes

The Richard H. Chambers United States Court of Appeals, originally the Vista del Arroyo Hotel, is a historic Spanish Colonial Revival building in Pasadena, California. Opened as a hotel in 1882, it was expanded in the 1920s by architects Marston & Van Pelt and Myron Hunt. During WWII, it served as a military hospital before housing federal offices and reopening as a Ninth Circuit courthouse in 1985.

Historical Notes

The Colorado Street Bridge and the Pioneer Bridge in Pasadena both feature striking arches but differ in style and purpose. The 1913 Colorado Street Bridge exemplifies Beaux Arts elegance with open-spandrel arches that follow the contours of the Arroyo Seco, enhanced by ornate balusters and cast-iron lamp posts, making it both functional and a historic landmark. In contrast, the Pioneer Bridge, part of the I-210 Freeway, prioritizes utility with massive, unadorned arches designed for heavy traffic, reflecting mid-20th-century engineering. Together, they showcase Pasadena's blend of historical beauty and modern functionality.

Historical Notes

The Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, completed in 1913, is an iconic blend of historical significance, engineering innovation, and architectural beauty. Once the tallest concrete bridge in the world, it helped connect Pasadena to Los Angeles, driving regional growth. Its Beaux Arts design features majestic arches, a gracefully curved deck, ornate balusters, and cast-iron lamp posts. Recognized as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the bridge has become a cultural symbol, hosting festivals, appearing in films, and earning the somber nickname "Suicide Bridge."

Efforts are underway to enhance safety on the bridge by installing permanent barriers to prevent suicides. Temporary 10-foot fences were added in 2017 and 2018 after several tragic incidents, but the city is now pursuing a more effective and aesthetically pleasing long-term solution. Proposed designs, such as vertical web mesh and metal pickets, were developed with community input, with the metal picket design being the most favored in a public survey. The Pasadena City Council's Public Safety Committee aims to finalize a design by early 2024, ensuring it balances safety with the bridge's historic character.

Historical Notes

The Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena is a historic landmark renowned for its cultural and architectural significance. Completed in 1922 and designed by architect Myron Hunt, the stadium draws inspiration from classical Greek and Roman coliseums, with its elliptical shape offering optimal sightlines for spectators. Its timeless design and functionality have made it a cornerstone of American sports history.

Historical Notes

Since its opening, the Rose Bowl has hosted numerous iconic events, including five Super Bowls, Olympic soccer matches, FIFA World Cup Finals, and the annual Rose Bowl Game. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, the stadium has maintained its architectural integrity through several expansions. These events have cemented its place as one of the most celebrated venues in the world, blending historic significance with modern relevance.

Historical Notes

Built in just nine months using local materials, the Rose Bowl originally seated 57,000 spectators but now accommodates over 100,000. Its design seamlessly combines early 20th-century architectural principles with classical influences, creating a venue that is both functional and visually striking. Today, it stands as a cherished symbol of Pasadena’s rich sporting and architectural heritage, continuing to inspire generations of fans and visitors.

Historical Notes

On July 28, 1980 the Civic Center District, including Pasadena City Hall, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Please Support Our Cause

Water and Power Associates, Inc. is a non-profit, public service organization dedicated to preserving historical records and photos. 

Your generosity allows us to continue to disseminate knowledge of the rich and diverse multicultural history of the greater Los Angeles area; to serve as a resource of historical information; and to assist in the preservation of the city's historic records.