Inspiration

Look up.

I think the one thing we can agree on about this election season is that we are all exhausted by it.  So,  regardless of your political views, let's stand on common ground together, look up, and reach for our better angels.  

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

Map of a Few Generations

Lucky for me, I live in a place where masterpieces are literally minutes away from home. Here, at the Norton Simon in Pasadena, Sam Francis' Basel Mural I offers a beautiful, expressive focal point.

Some people meditate for clarity, but I prefer to stare at something like this to sort out the big questions of life. And like meditation, staring at artwork often brings surprising revelations.

I've always been partial to Francis, and not just because of his expansive visual style. He belonged to the same era as my father. They were both born in California, both joined the Army Air Corps during World War 2. My father was fortunate enough to serve his time in the Pacific without any physical injuries, but Francis was badly hurt during training maneuvers and spent three years recuperating in bed.

During his recovery, Francis learned to paint. He used his new hobby as an escape as well as an expression. I remember once showing my father a print of a Francis painting. I don't recall if it was the one in today's post, but it was similar in its wild explosions of noisy color. I saw infinite optimism and potential when I looked at it.

"Interesting that he was in the Air Corps," Dad said. "This painting kind of reminds me of what the ground looks like after a bombing mission."

Ever since that conversation I can't look at anything by Sam Francis without thinking of my dad.

In Francis' last years, as he was suffering from cancer and clinging to life, a bad fall took away the use of his right hand. Like so many of his generation, he didn't let the setback stop him from achieving his goals. He simply used his left hand to create a series of brilliant small works.

That also reminded me of Dad. No matter how badly my father's body fell apart during the last years of his life, he was undaunted and without complaint. He might not have painted canvases, but he filled our family's world with great beauty all the same.

When my family and I visited the Norton Simon recently, I stopped for a while to look at this familiar painting. I'm about 15 years older than the last time I saw it. I still find the optimism there that spoke to me in my youth, but I can now better imagine the world it brought back to my father.

"What do you think of this one?" I asked my daughter.

"It looks like a map of a sad place," she said. "But it's hopeful too. I'm not sure why."

And right then, I realized how weirdly connected families are ... how my little girl not only saw what I saw in that painting, but also the impressions of her grandfather who died before she was born.

"Or," she said walking away, "Maybe he just liked paint splatters."

Art. It transforms, connects and heals. (And sometimes even makes us laugh.)

Home Alley

If the South Pasadena Downtown Revitalization Project had not gotten hung up in litigation and a bad economy, our little town might have had a bowling alley to ride out summer's hottest days. Oh well, East Pasadena is an easy drive and that's where you can find 300 Pasadena. It's cool not only in terms of air conditioning but also because of the high-styling decor and dance-y tunes.

The sense of accomplishment I felt after bowling a strike was a good indication I should probably aim higher with my goals. Then again... nah. Set up another frame!

Magic Hour in Pasadena

(The drive back home from Old Town last night was beautiful...)

Olympic Dreams

You could feel the hope and determination at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center yesterday as dozens of San Gabriel Valley kids practiced their strokes and imagined their own gold medals.

Here's to all the future champions.

Steampunk Border

People throw around the term steampunk, but just below Raymond Hill's north side is a great example of the real deal. Pasadena's Department of Water and Power Glenarm Steam Plant was built 104 years ago when our region was just finding its industrial groove. You've probably admired the elegant Depression-era fountain and iconic building at the very border of South Pasadena.

Now under the umbrella of Pasadena's Integrated Resource Plan, the Glenarm Power Plant is slotted for updates and renovations, while supposedly preserving the historic integrity of the buildings and fountain. (That fountain was designed to function as the cooling tower for the generating equipment. How's that for an example of bygone ingenuity?)

Field Trip: Pasadena City Hall

Nearby Pasadena has a City Hall worthy of inclusion in a list of great buildings of North America. Designers John Bakewell and Arthur Brown were greatly influenced by the early Renaissance style of 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio. It's obvious in the gorgeous Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial details. Construction was completed on December 27, 1927 at a total cost of $1.3 million which probably equates to 800 bazillion gillion upteenbobillion of today's dollars.

(South Pasadena really got the fuzzy end of the lollipop when it comes to City Hall buildings. Ours looks like this.)

The Castle Next Door

South Pasadena's historical Raymond Hotel is only a memory, but Pasadena's Castle Green reminds us of our region's whimsical and opulent past. Built in 1898 as annex to the world famous Hotel Green, the Castle Green is a 7-story Moorish delight.

At the turn of the last century, San Gabriel Valley residents and tourists could ride bikes on the Great California Cycleway -- Horace Dobbins' elevated wooden bike path leading from Hotel Green to just past South Pasadena's Raymond Hotel. Original plans called for the bike path to meander along the Arroyo, tunneling through the hills of Elysian Park all the way to Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles. There were even plans for a Swiss dairy in Highland Park, and a grand casino called Merlemount to be built in South Pasadena's Lower Arroyo Park. (Learn more about the cycleway here and here with history of the freeway that eclipsed bike paths in my previous post here.) Although the cycleway was never completed (and South Pas never became a gambling mecca) the elevated bike path from Pasadena to South Pas was the place to see and be seen.

Only a a few remains of the cycleway can be found in South Pas -- a dirt path near the railroad tracks under the Oaklawn bridge and a canopied stretch adjacent to the freeway near Arroyo. The only traces left of the Raymond Hotel are remnants of the original river rock garden walls, the caretaker cottage (now the Raymond Restaurant) and a few of Walter Raymond's palm trees.

But the Castle Green still stands. It's a beautiful reminder of our region's history.

Two for One

Think the owner will notice if I take one out for a spin?

Caution: Here Be Dragons

Did you know that Pasadena has a park made especially for little pirates? Last April, the city opened Reese's Retreat at Brookside Park. (Walk east from the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center and you'll find it tucked behind the pools.) Reese's Retreat is the region's first universally accessible playground for kids of all ages and abilities -- and it's so cool that the even the most exhausted parent will be tempted to get off the park bench and join in the fun.

The entire setting resembles a pirate ship, complete with bells that clang and wheels that turn and even a plank for the most scurrilous little scallywags to walk. There are multiple levels to explore either by climbing or by using ramps. The setting offers kids of all physical abilities a safe place to scramble around. Even the soft, rubberized ocean floor is wheelchair-friendly.

The design is beautiful, blending into the landscape both playfully and artfully with lots of natural elements and neutral colors. The playground equipment offers the standard variety of things to climb up and slide down, but it also encourages exercise of the imagination with enough high seas props to inspire your inner Jack Sparrow. (Honestly, try not to bust out a hardy "Arrrrrr!" while pretending to hoist one of the ship's sails.) In a word: wonderful.

It all makes me wonder why South Pasadena can't create something similar in Lower Arroyo Seco Park? We certainly have the right setting. For four years I've driven by our city's forgotten park and wished that the gorgeous space could be put to better use. Garfield Park and Orange Grove Park have lovely play areas with safe, charming equipment while Arroyo Seco Park looks like a forgotten leftover from The Wonder Years.

I know there is a certain hipster fascination with rusting jungle gyms from the 1960s, but wouldn't it be more fun to have a safe playscape that local kids (and their parents) could actually enjoy? Not to mention the fact that our large, isolated park area attracts a certain element that really should walk the plank...

I guess it would take a bit of pirate treasure to make it happen, huh?

Field Trip: Pasadena's Macys on South Lake

Wait a minute. This picture isn't from South Pasadena!

You're right, I crossed the border into Pasadena for this one. I was so charmed by the multi-textured planes of this walkway, I just couldn't resist snapping and sharing. Besides, generations of South Pasadena shoppers have ventured over to this department store on South Lake Street. It's part of our shared history.

Originally a Bullocks and now a Macys, it was designed in 1947 by the divine Welton Becket. Becket's design house created several other iconic Los Angeles structures. Here's one of my favorites. And here's another one.

Back in 2008 the South Lake store was closed for renovations. I was afraid it was going to be stripped of all charm, but instead it was thoughtfully restored and revitalized with beautiful attention to the store's historic period details. (I'm particularly fond of the Men's Department mural and the etched brass elevators.)

For more on Welton Becket, click here.

Reprieve

I figured we could all use a break from power outage updates and pictures of destruction. How's this for a beautiful bird's eye view from Pasadena looking toward South Pas? (And just look at those hundreds upon hundreds of beautiful trees still standing tall and strong!)

All together now: ahhhhhhhhhh...

Next Door

If you drive on Arroyo just over the border into Pasadena, you'll pass by the gorgeous San Rafael Avenue bridge. It isn't as famous as the Colorado Street bridge a little farther up the road, or as meaningful to preservationists as our own Oaklawn bridge, but it is lovely in its own right. (It's even prettier at night.)

It's also a perfect subject when you pull over to check a text message on your iPhone and realize your Retro Camera app would be a nice way to capture the scene...

Here Comes Another One

Okay, I confess. I barely crept over the border into Pasadena again to take this picture. It's the exact same spot where another amazing automobile was parked earlier in the month. Is this a secret portal to vintage car heaven?

Neighboring Rival

Okay, full disclosure: I snuck just across the border into Pasadena to take this photo. (I couldn't resist.)

Storm View from Pasadena

I saw the storm brewing from a parking structure in Pasadena yesterday. I couldn't resist trying to capture those intense clouds. (By the time I got back to South Pas, it was pouring.)

Threatened Wilderness

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.

--John Muir

When the Arcadia Woodlands were razed last month, most of us were stunned. It was a reckless decision carried out with little discussion and an almost gleeful disregard for public outcry. The echoes of all those chainsaws and bulldozers still reverberate, making it hard not to imagine warnings from the spirit guides that surely must haunt our Arroyo corridor. We have paved so much of paradise. For decades we have slashed and buried because it was easy or handy or politically connected. But we simply can't destroy all of our wild places in the name of convenience. We have so few green spaces left, we must use our best minds to find ways to manage the needs of civilization without decimating our natural wonders.

Which brings me to nearby Hahamongna Watershed Park. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is leaning toward turning much of it into yet another dumping ground. (CORRECTION: they are leaning toward destroying much of the habitat in order to remove debris. The end result is the same: it means turning much of this beautiful wilderness into a wasteland.) Our good friend Petrea over at Pasadena Daily Photo has studied this developing story with great interest. Please take a look at her post from yesterday and follow the links for more information, as well as ways to help.

I will include more information here in the coming weeks.

Hot Pursuit

I have challenges in my daily quest to bring you interesting glimpses of our fair city. Like here, for example. When I saw this charming pair on a Sunday joyride I just knew I had to grab a shot of them. Look at that scrumptious buggy wagon! But don't let the quaint image fool you -- these two could have outrun prohibition-era feds through Raymond Chandler's version of Los Angeles. Then there was the problem of other cars getting in the way. And a peloton of weekend roadies pedaling toward the Rose Bowl. And my dilemma of having to actually drive my car -- following Bonnie and Clyde up there -- leaving me unable to take a photograph. I had the bright idea of setting my camera on auto, waving it out of the window and snapping continuously. That yielded choppy images of the camphor trees, the asphalt, my windblown camera strap and a particularly scary view of the side of my head. Finally, I was saved by a stop sign. I stopped further back, aimed, and grabbed the image I wanted. Gotcha, you two!

I'm not sure if I'm a dedicated artist or a stalker.

Oh, and in the spirit of full disclosure this shot was taken on Arroyo just barely over the border into Pasadena. (But to be fair, I chased that car all the way from Trader Joes.)

South Pasadena's Neighbors, Part 1: The Rose Bowl

If you take a ten minute drive from South Pas down Arroyo, you'll reach neighboring Pasadena's famous Rose Bowl. Tonight, many South Pas residents will join more than 96,000 other people gathering here to see U2 in concert -- possibly the biggest concert in Rose Bowl history. (I'll bet Pasadena daily photoblogger Ben Wideman will be in attendance. It's just a hunch...) See that big, futuristic spire jutting out of the arena? It's part of the band's enormous, 13-stories-high set.

This is one local concert where the entire world is invited: it's streaming in a live, global webcast on YouTube for free tonight at 8:30 PM, Pacific Time.

Smoldering Sunset

The Station Fire rages on, but it appears to be moving more toward Acton and Sunland. (And right toward the telecommunications towers and historic observatory on Mount Wilson.) While I am glad not to see as many mountainside bonfires from South Pasadena's vantage point, I know the 42,000+ acre inferno is very much out of control, en route to ravage more chaparral and forest, and poised to terrorize more towns. Two firefighters lost their lives yesterday in a vehicle crash. Tonight, 6600 homes in the region are under mandatory evacuation. The slightest increase in wind could churn this disaster into a real catastrophe.

But there is far less smoke in South Pasadena tonight, and our beautiful neighboring cities of Pasadena and Altadena seem -- at least for now -- to be out of the direct line of (literal) fire that threatened for the past few days. I'm grateful ... but not quite relaxed yet.

Check out my overflow blog for a few more images from yesterday.

UPDATE: 8:45AM Fire doubled in size overnight to 85,000 acres. Hard to believe it is growing this fast and out of control with no Santa Ana winds pushing it. It is still only 5% contained, but at least superscooper planes have arrived to assist in the fight.

Our friend Altadena Hiker is doing a great job of posting information about this fire. For more excellent coverage of the growing/changing situation,check out:
Altadenablog
LA Observed
Firefighter Blog
Inciweb
The Mount Wilson webcam
LA Times dynamic map of current fire zone

UPDATE: 10:15AM While South Pasadena and Pasadena may not be in the direct line of fire, we are suffering from "very unhealthy" air quality due to the smoke/particulate matter generated by the Station Fire. Here is the latest map from AQMD. Stay indoors, folks.

UPDATE: 1:30PM Just got back from running errands around the area. There is a dreadful amount of smoke in the air. The mountains have virtually disappeared. A thick haze hangs over everything -- kind of like the air in a Holiday Inn bar at a 1955 Tobacco Council convention. I was over near Hastings Ranch and the smoke seemed even thicker there but it's pervasive and noxious everywhere you go in the San Gabriel Valley. Here's the latest about Mount Wilson. Don't know if fire has actually hit but the webcam is down. (That could be to increased traffic.) Altadenablog has the latest on evacuations.

UPDATE: 3:00PM This fire is the biggest in county history since 1897. KNX reports it at 100,000+ acres.

UPDATE: 9:24 Mount Wilson still stands for now, fire still grows bigger -- latest from LA Times. The air in South Pasadena and Pasadena is better tonight than it was during the day. Winds must have shifted.