Explore South Pasadena's Historic Buildings

Then and now...

The Los Angeles region doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to preserving landmarks.  Despite the efforts of dedicated preservationists, many architectural wonders have been lost to the wrecking ball.  The Richfield Tower, The Brown Derby, The Garden of Allah, and The Ambassador Hotel are just a few of the historic structures that have been demolished in the name of progress.  (Many South Pasadena residents were worried that our very own Rialto Theater would meet the same fate.  Luckily, for now, that disaster seems to be averted.)

You won't find points of interest once the last art deco tile or Spanish arch has been hauled off to a landfill -- a parking lot here, a nondescript office building there.  What's left behind is a creeping blight of utilitarian sameness that has earned Los Angeles the title of "Strip Mall Capital of the World."  We've gained a lot of dry cleaners and nail salons, but we've lost a lot of our history and perhaps more than a little of our soul.

Beautiful Decay

I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression of life as growth.
--Henry Miller

Want to leave a comment? Head over to the Glimpses of South Pasadena Community Forum and start a conversation!

Walking South Pas

This little guy is ready to walk all the way to Santa Monica...

Los Angeles has a reputation for not being terribly pedestrian-friendly.  While I certainly can't deny the reality of Southern California's car culture, I do think that much of LA's walkability is underrated.  South Pasadena offers a great little pocket of strolling splendor.  Besides the abundance of neighborhood sidewalks, there are great paths to hike around the stables, golf course, Lower Arroyo Park and skate park as well as rumored steps up the hillside in Monterey Hills.  (I haven't found those yet!)

And the bonus: you can walk over to your bike, get on it and ride along the Arroyo up to the Rose Bowl loop.  You can also walk over to Mission Station and hop on the Gold Line.  (I love to go to downtown LA and have drinks at this place.  No designated driver, cab or Uber necessary ... just feet and rail.  Take that, NYC!)

Last year my family took the train to Union Station, where we then took Amtrak to Santa Barbara for our vacation.  Imagine that: a SoCal vacation without a car.)

By the way, longtime readers will wonder about the little white dog in the photo.  Meet Rocky!  He's the newest addition to the Allee family.  He has already (literally) left his mark all over South Pasadena.

Check out this current exhibit of Car-Free Photography at the South Pas Library!

I see you lurking, people!  Head on over to the new Glimpses of South Pasadena Community Forum and start a conversation!

Storm Clouds

Nice of that woman to be walking with such a striking red coat just as the clouds parted...

(For Rialto fans, the clouds have still not parted. I'll repeat my update from the bottom of yesterday's post:

Pasadena Star News reports that Rialto sign can be saved if Landmark Theaters fund repairs. Officials from Landmark have not returned repeated calls for comment.

I'll say it again: write and let Landmark know how much the Rialto means to us. After all, there's power (and persuasion) in numbers. Just take a look at this.

What Was That Name Again?

The man who built this building, Alexander R. Graham, named it after himself. (The Alexander Building.) Not content with one mere structure as his namesake, he built another one right next to it and named that one after himself, too. (The A. R. Graham Building.)

What would you bet he would have been peeved to be upstaged by that dramatic sky?

Oldies but Goodies

You never know what you'll stumble upon when you explore Mission Street's antique stores. (But can you still buy Tri-X film?)

Double Scoop Still Life

These warm days sure don't feel like February. For a little bit of frosty goodness, head over to Busters for some Fosselman's ice cream. It's even better if you sit at one of the charming little outdoor tables. There are views of this, and this, and this, and sometimes this and (if you look closely enough) this.

Bonus

The next time you head over to Mission in the early morning -- maybe for coffee at Great Harvest, or perhaps a class at Mission Yoga, be sure to notice the amazing shadows cast by the trees...

shhhhh...

Don't tell anyone I was standing in the street when I took this picture...

Moon With Two Palms

Aren't you tired of the news? The summer heat? The hectic pace? The existential crises that seem to turn the background into shades of muddy gray?

Me too.

So, this week Glimpses is all about pretty stuff -- simple, lovely little details grabbed with the camera. Today, take a look at two ordinary palms topped with an extraordinary daytime moon.

I feel better already...

Sidewalk Greetings

Happy Easter, everyone.

Who me? Jealous?

One of these days I'll discuss the wonders of Great Harvest Bread Company -- although, someone with a wheat allergy reviewing a bakery is kind of like an alcoholic reviewing a bar -- but I'm too exhausted to discuss much of anything since I've been sick for two weeks and I am starting to feel like one of those characters in a Victorian novel. You know the ones: wrapped up in a blanket, stretched out in a wicker chaise lounge on a sun porch, meekly coughing into a lace hanky. Well, actually, I'm about as meek as a rabid armadillo and I'm not coughing into a lace hanky, I'm hacking into enough tissues to send a team of angry environmentalists over here to admonish me for depleting all those trees in the rain forest. My neighbor said she found out that strep is going around South Pas. I think I managed to get it on top of the cold I caught from Little Bit and now it is time for a throat culture, a large vat of penicillin and possibly a sledgehammer to put me out of my misery.

It's clear that, unlike your cranky blogger, the lovely women in this photograph were feeling healthy and happy, enjoying Sunday's Indian Summer weather while noshing on homemade baked goodies. I'm just enough of a sickly curmudgeon to be irritated by them.

So, what did you guys do this weekend?

Boo!

Just look who I caught leering at me as I walked past Videotheque yesterday. If you're in the mood for the perfect Halloween movie to watch -- or maybe something to forget the holiday altogether -- check out the shop's amazing collection of films. We're not talking your average video store ... Videotheque is the San Gabriel Valley's independent source of indie, foreign, cult, classic, documentary, new and rare cinema DVDs and Blu-rays. Their
catalogue is so vast even Quentin Tarantino might find a movie he hasn't seen before.

And for spooky South Pasadena stories, if you haven't already taken a look, check out my Halloween column with video at South Pasadena Patch. Patch also has a great round-up of events around town and some wonderful photo montages of our town's best ghouls and goblins.

Menchies

Where can you go to load up on a bowl of frozen sweetness topped with four types of chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, jelly beans and hot fudge ... and still rationalize that its health food? Welcome to Menchies, the frozen yogurt bar happily justifying decadent behavior on Mission, right next to Mike and Anne's.

For the angel on your right shoulder: it's an eclectic collection of wholesome frozen yogurt with all those live cultures your internist tells you your gut craves. You can pick from a huge selection of regular flavors or suit your particular dietary fancy with choices of low-carb, no sugar added and dairy free. Isn't that nice? Can't you feel your cholesterol numbers dropping? Not so fast, cowboy. For the devil on your left shoulder: let me introduce you to the toppings bar. Browse bin upon bin of sugary goodness including marshmallows, nuts, brownies, M&Ms, butterfinger pieces, Fruity Pebbles cereal, hot fudge and caramel. Oh, all right, tell that angel he can get the carob chips, fresh berries and no sugar added fudge.

Choose your pleasure and pay by weight so you can have as little (yes, Mr. Angel) or as much (right on, Devil Man!) as you want.

In a word? Yum.

Zinnia

If you haven't wandered into Zinnia, you're definitely missing out on one of the funkiest, most inspiring shops in the greater Los Angeles area. Modestly described as "an artist's store," Zinnia is more like a garage sale hosted by muses. You won't find oil paints or sketch pads (well, maybe they're in there somewhere...) but what you will find are overflowing baskets, bins and shelves of interesting stuff. There are beads and trinkets, stamps and old postcards, antique keys and buttons, shells, old typewriter keys, vintage photos, ribbons, rocks, papers, mismatched door handles, doll heads, springs and some unidentifiable items that just look cool. This isn't a mere store, it's an emporium of exquisite doodads and magical bijoux. If ever there was a chance to finally use the word gewgaw in conversation, it would be here. Zinnia definitely has the gewgaw you're looking for. (And a few more you didn't know you needed.)

The last time I stopped by I couldn't resist buying a mobile made out of old chandelier crystals and a rusted house number 3. If you are nodding your head, then Zinnia is the place for you. Plus, how can you go wrong with a shop that also has classes with names like "Needle Felted Fairy" and "The Art of the Altered Page?"

Read what others say about Zinnia here. Better yet, stop by and get lost among all the treasures. (And be sure to pet the store cat. He's a sweetheart.)

Synchronized

I wonder if the women noticed the mannequin head in the window copying her pose?

In a Minor Key

We didn't have much June Gloom this year, but July seems to be feeling a bit melancholy. While the rest of the country swelters, South Pas chills under heavy morning clouds. When this guy walked by he was humming something plaintive and beautiful. (Sunny days may be great for falling in love, but cloudy days are perfect for writing songs about it...)

With a Cherry on Top

I've raved about Fair Oaks Pharmacy before, but allow me to repeat myself. On a hot summer day there is nothing quite like bellying up to the counter of an old fashioned soda fountain for a cherry coke or -- better yet -- a caramel-slathered chocolate sundae. (Get The Raymond. It has both hot fudge and caramel. Yeah, baby!)

Skipping Down the Platform...

...because sometimes life is way too serious.

Urban Moon(s)

I was looking through my files last night and found this image from late September. I liked the way the full moon was upstaged by Mission Station's moon-like clock...

The moonlight breaks upon the city's domes,
And falls along cemented steel and stone,
Upon the grayness of a million homes,
Lugubrious in unchanging monotone.
Upon the clothes behind the tenement,
That hang like ghosts suspended from the lines,
Linking each flat to each indifferent,
Incongruous and strange the moonlight shines.

There is no magic from your presence here,
Ho, moon, sad moon, tuck up your trailing robe,
Whose silver seems antique and so severe
Against the glow of one electric globe.

Go spill your beauty on the laughing faces
Of happy flowers that bloom a thousand hues,
Waiting on tiptoe in the wilding spaces,
To drink your wine mixed with sweet drafts of dews.

--Claude McKay