Get Ready for the Fourth of July, South Pas Style!

Buckle up, vintage car afficionados, and take a sweet ride in the South Pas 4th of July Parade

Popping back in with info on one of my favorite South Pasadena traditions!

From the 7:00AM Kiwanis Club Pancake Breakfast to the 9:00PM South Pasadena High School Fireworks Show, July 4th in South Pasadena is jam-packed with all-American, small town goodness. There are many great things about the day's events, but I'm partial to the parade.  (It starts at 11:00AM downtown on Mission Street.)  Take a look at my video above for a vintage car lover's dream array of sweet rides, all gussied-up-for-the-4th.

Click here for a complete schedule of all the activities.

The only thing better than watching the parade is marching in it!

Want to leave a comment?  (I know you do.  I see you lurking.)  Head over to the Glimpses of South Pasadena Community Forum and start a conversation!

People Watching in South Pasadena

by Laurie Allee

There are a lot of friendly faces in South Pasadena.  Here are a few of my favorite ones...

Join me this week as I continue to highlight favorite images from Glimpses of South Pasadena's (first) 10 years!

Want to leave a comment?  Click on the Community tab at the top of the blog.

Favorite South Pasadena Shots (3)...by the Details

It's the little things!

Want to leave a comment? Click the Community tab at the top of the blog anytime you want to start a conversation.  

South Pasadena: Movie Backlot

I remember watching movies set in neighborhoods with Craftsman houses nestled into tree-lined streets and wondering where IS that?

Turns out, a lot of those films were shot in South Pas.  While some people might be annoyed living among so many film and TV productions, I think it's fun to be a small part of the dream factory.  (Plus, it's kind of exciting to see your street in a Steve Carrell movie...)

I've only gotten a few checks from a studio in the almost ten years I've lived here.  One was merely for using my driveway to stage equipment for a CSI shoot down the street.  Thanks, Hollywood!

I put together the above video a few years ago, so it is missing quite a few productions.  (In fact, I've barely scratched the surface of South Pas film and television history.)   I think I might need to make a Part 2.  

Want to leave a comment?   You can always click on the Community tab at the top of this blog to start a conversation.  

South Pasadena Retro

Music:  Days by Bears

No matter how I shoot South Pasadena, my photos always look nostalgic.  So why fight it?

Here are a few of my favorite views from over the past (almost) ten years -- all dressed up in a digital photo album.  

Want to leave a comment?  You can always click on the Community tab at the top of the blog to say hi or start a conversation.  

Self Portrait... Noir

I'm back on the prowl for night shots.  Stay tuned.

(For more of my dark prowling, check out the video below...)

Horse Watching at San Pascual Stables

I'll admit it: sometimes I pull into the San Pascual Stables parking lot just to look at the horses.  Can you blame me? 

I've taken a lot of photographs at the stables over the last ten years.  Take a look at the video compilation below...

South Pasadena: Classic Car Heaven

You guys know I can never resist an old car.  Don't believe me?  Just look at how many I've found:

A Treehugger's Paradise in South Pasadena

Trees, trees and more South Pasadena trees!

We all know that South Pasadena has a lot of gorgeous old-growth and heritage trees.  But did you know that our city is part of Tree City USA?  South Pas meets the program's four requirements:

1. A tree board or department 

2. A tree care ordinance

3. An annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita

and...

4. An Arbor Day observance and proclamation.  (I'll admit, I've never officially observed Arbor Day.)

Tree cities not only look better than their more sparse cousins, they enjoy things like better storm water management, energy savings and increased property values.  As an unabashed treehugger, I agree that these are all good things.  But I think I'd love trees even if they offered nothing of tangible value.  Come on... they're beautiful, lush trees! What more do you want?

Before you click on the above video compilation of South Pas trees, I am reminded of my very favorite South Pasadena tree story.  I've told this one before, but it's worth a repeat:

Enchanted City... South Pasadena Halloween Views

I hope my South Pasadena friends and neighbors have stocked up for the Halloween trick or treat onslaught!  This is one of my favorite video compilations from several years ago.  

I get nostalgic around Halloween.  

More than any other holiday, Halloween reminds me of life's brevity.  How quickly kids grow up: last year's fairy costume doesn't fit, someone's too old to dress up like a pirate, this year the neighbor's giant blow-up monster no longer seems menacing...

Thanks for the Request! Links to All Glimpses of South Pasadena Videos

South Pasadena Neighborhood Views

I received a great email from long-time reader Sally wanting to know how to directly access all of my Glimpses of South Pasadena photo slideshows and videos.  Thank you for your interest, my good pal Sally!  In case there are others who would also like access to all of the videos:

Here's a link to a list of all posts that include video.  

Here's a link directly to my YouTube Channel.

In the meanwhile, click above for a video of some of my favorite South Pasadena neighborhood views.  

Stay tuned for more! (I know, I know, I've been promising extended video interviews and documentary-style pieces for almost a year now.  Don't rush me.) 

Want to leave a message or start a conversation?  Perhaps link to one of YOUR videos?  Head over to the Glimpses of South Pasadena Community Forum and do just that.

South Pasadena Historical 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.

Happy Holidays in South Pasadena

by Laurie Allee

Next week will mark 9 years since Jon, Raine and I moved to South Pasadena.  I will always remember our first Christmas in our new house.  We managed to decorate a tree and wrap presents, but 2-year-old Raine was more interested in all the new sinks she could use to "wash the decorations."  Needless to say, there were a lot of soggy bows.  (In fact, we never did turn the faucet back on in the living room wet bar.)

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! 

Along the Arroyo Seco

Along the Arroyo Seco

The Arroyo Seco is much more than a weird concrete channel used by local skateboarders. Although the Spanish name roughly translates to “dry stream bed,” it usually flows with several cubic feet of water per second, and occasionally swells to near capacity with the runoff of an erosion-prone 46.7 square mile watershed. It starts near Mount Wilson in the Angeles National Forest of the San Gabriel Mountains and winds its way between La Canada Flintridge and Altadena through Pasadena, alongside the western boundary of South Pas and onward into the bigger concrete confines of the Los Angeles River north of Downtown LA. The Arroyo Seco stream assists in replenishing the Raymond Basin aquifer underlying Pasadena.

Exploring Oaklawn in South Pasadena

Explore Oaklawn with me!

In 1904, a brand new residential development was taking shape in a peaceful orange grove at the northern end of South Pas.  Although it contained only one large oak tree, it was called Oaklawn.  "The good life," South Pasadena Realty and Investment Company promised, "is in South Pasadena."

South Pasadena: City with a View

A little city with big views...

If you looked in the skies above South Pasadena in the fall of 1913, you might have seen aerialist Roy Knabenshue's amazing dirigible.  Sailing over 800 feet in the air, the flying machine thrilled locals.  For a whopping cost of $25 a ride, a brave traveler could experience what the press reported as "a daring adventure with spectacular views!"

Knabeshue, the first person to fly a dirigible in the United States, certainly knew he had picked a crowd-pleasing location.  The majestic San Gabriel Mountains were nestled in a lush, green valley.  It was an ideal setting to conduct pleasure flights for "brave gentlemen."

But ladies insisted that they be included, too...

Musings for a New School Year

My, how they've grown...

It's back to school time. Most of South Pasadena's kids are putting their noses to the grindstone in SPUSD's public schools. Others are attending private progressive schools like Waverly, Waldorf and Sequoyah or the highly academic Polytechnic. Some are in charter schools. A few are homeschooling. A few are even unschooling. But each child is preparing for a future we all hope is bright, happy and prosperous...

A Post for Fellow Treehuggers...

Trees, trees and more South Pasadena trees!

I want to thank readers Johnny and Greenman for emailing me after yesterday's post on the library tree.  You guys asked if I had any video slideshows of my many (many!) tree pictures?  I aim to please...

But before you click on the above video, I am reminded of my very favorite South Pasadena tree story:

South of Huntington

Check out the neighborhoods south of Huntington

When I first moved to South Pasadena, I thought the city's southernmost border was Huntington Drive.  It's a logical assumption: Huntington is a major thoroughfare.  It seems like some kind of line of demarcation.

As it turns out, the corner of Huntington and Fair Oaks was once the junction of the Pasadena Short Line and the Monrovia Line -- two important Big Red Car trolley routes.  After Henry E. Huntington incorporated the Pacific Electric Railway Company in 1901, he began work on what would eventually develop into the largest interurban electric rail system in the world...