The last time I visited Pasadena was in 1992. I was invited to the Rose Bowl game where I was among more than 103,000 folks who watched Washington beat Michigan. I stayed in one of the cottages at the then Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel (built in 1907). In the summer of 2011 I was invited to spend three days in Pasadena and stay at the now renamed Langham Huntington Pasadena Hotel and Spa. The 1960s song "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena" parodies a popular Southern California image of Pasadena as home to a large population of aged eccentrics. In the song, Jan and Dean sing of an elderly lady who drives a powerful "Super Stock Dodge" muscle car and is "the terror of Colorado Boulevard."
Pasadena is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. It is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Fuller Theological Seminary, Art Center College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts-Pasadena, the Norton Simon Museum of Art and the Pacific Asia Museum. The population as of the 2010 census was 137,122.
Pasadena is home to the Tournament of Roses Parade, held each year on January 1 (or on January 2, if the 1st falls on a Sunday). The first parade was held in 1890 and was originally sponsored by the Valley Hunt Club, a Pasadena social club. They wanted the world to see their weather and beautiful flowers and oranges. “Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise.” By 1895, the festivities had outgrown the Valley Hunt Club, and the Tournament of Roses Association was formed to take charge of the parade, now called the Rose Parade. During the almost 3 hours of the parade, floats (over 100,000 flowers are used in the average float), and participants travel over five miles and pass by over one million viewers who often camp out over New Year's Eve to have the best view along the parade route.
The Rose Bowl Stadium, a National Historic Landmark, is host of the first, oldest, and most famous college football postseason bowl game, the Rose Bowl Game. In 1902, the Rose Bowl Association declared that a football game would be added to the day's events. The game, now known as the Rose Bowl Game, would become the first New Year's post-season college football game ever. Soon outgrowing its original facility, a new stadium was constructed in the Arroyo Seco area. The new stadium hosted its first New Year's Day football game in 1923 and was soon christened the “Rose Bowl."
In addition to the annual New Year's Day Rose Bowl game and the BCS National Championship game every four years, the stadium is the home field for the UCLA Bruins football team and has hosted five Super Bowls. Soccer matches have included the 1984 Summer Olympics, the final game of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and the final game of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Many concerts and other events have been held in the stadium, such as a U2 concert in 2009. The Rose Bowl Aquatics Center is a facility located adjacent to the Rose Bowl Stadium. The pool hosted the final practices of the 2000 US Olympic swimming and diving team. In 2008, the facility held the U.S. National Diving Championships. The Rose Bowl Tennis Center, operated by the city of Pasadena, is located just south of the Rose Bowl stadium.
Pasadena is home to a number of art museums and public galleries, including the Norton Simon Museum, widely acknowledged as one of the finest art collections in the Western United States. The museum's collections include European paintings, sculpture and tapestry; sculpture from Southern Asia as well as an extensive sculpture garden. I saw masterpieces by Degas, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Rembrandt and Cezanne. The Pasadena Museum of California Art hosts changing exhibitions of work by historical and contemporary California artists. I visited while they were setting up an exhibit that opened that night. It was a rare glimpse behind the scenes. We saw a musical at the famous Pasadena Playhouse. To protect the innocent I will not mention its name (many of us left at intermission). That does not diminish the importance of the Playhouse, which was established in 1917 and is the State Theatre of California.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, with painting and sculpture galleries, is adjacent to Pasadena in the city of San Marino. It is located on the 207-acre estate of the late Henry Huntington. The botanical gardens feature 14,000 varieties of plants on over 150 acres. There are the Chinese, Rose, Japanese, Desert and Zen Gardens. I saw an original Gutenberg Bible in the library. The innovative Kidspace Children's Museum is located in Brookside Park and features many fun, educational and interactive programs for kids to share with their families. The Gamble House (Procter & Gamble) was built in 1908 and is an example of early 20th century Craftsman architecture. The Gamble House is a California Historical Landmark and a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1966, it was deeded to the city of Pasadena in a mutual agreement with the University of Southern California School of Architecture. Every year, two fifth-year USC architecture students live in the house full-time.
Old Pasadena Melting Pot Food Tours- We took this three hour tour that covered about 1 1/4 miles of Old Pasadena, a National Register Historic District. This historic 22-block area is one of Southern California’s “hottest” shopping and entertainment areas. There are over 200 buildings dating back to the 1880’s. Conducted by proprietor Lisa Scalia we sampled 8 dishes including Indian, Mexican, baked goods, chocolate, tea and gelato.
Pasadena is a city worth visiting even when there is not a parade or football game.
For More Information-
www.nortonsimon.org
www.huntington.org
www.meltingpottours.com
www.kidspacemuseum.org
www.pasadena.langhamhotels.com
www.gamblehouse.org
www.pmcaonline.org
www.oldpasadena.org
www.pasadenaplayhouse.org
Sounds like you enjoy your visit to Pasedana :)
Posted by: Jane Nielsen | December 06, 2011 at 05:53 AM