Pasadena, California
From Free net encyclopedia
| Image:Pasadena seal.jpg | |
| City seal | |
| Image:Pasadena in LA County map.png Location in the Los Angeles County and the State of California | |
| County | Los Angeles County, California |
| Area - Total - Land - Water | 60.0 km² (23.2 mi²) 59.8 km² (23.1 mi²) 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) |
| Population - Total (2000) - Metropolitan - Density | 133,936 17,545,623 904.8/km² |
| Time zone - Summer (DST) | PST (UTC–8) PDT (UTC–7) |
| Location | Template:Coor dms |
| Mayor | Bill Bogaard |
| City Attorney | Michele Beal Bagneri |
| City Clerk | Jane Rodriguez |
| City Manager | Cynthia J. Kurtz |
| City website | |
Pasadena is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 133,936. Pasadena is the main population and cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. It is the 8th largest city in Los Angeles County and famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade.
Contents |
Geography
Pasadena is located at 34°9'22" North, 118°7'55" West (34.156098, -118.131808)Template:GR. The elevation is 864 feet (263 meters) above sea level. The greater Pasadena area is bounded by the Raymond Fault line, the San Rafael Hills, and the San Gabriel Mountains.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 60.0 km² (23.2 mi²). 59.8 km² (23.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.30% water.
Pasadena is located 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city is bordered by seven communities—Los Angeles, South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, La Cañada Flintridge and unincorporated Altadena. Despite its location well within the Greater Los Angeles metropolis, Pasadena is a largely self-contained city with a broad economic base, noted cultural, scientific, and educational institutions, and shopping and dining establishments that attract customers from the regional area.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 133,936 people, 51,844 households, and 29,862 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,238.7/km² (5,798.7/mi²). There were 54,132 housing units at an average density of 904.8/km² (2,343.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 53.36% White, 14.42% African American, 0.71% Native American, 10.00% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 16.01% from other races, and 5.39% from two or more races. 33.40% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 51,844 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.4% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,012, and the median income for a family was $53,639. Males had a median income of $41,120 versus $36,435 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,186. 15.9% of the population and 11.6% of families were below the poverty line. 21.3% of those under the age of 18 and 10.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
History
The original inhabitants of Pasadena and surrounding areas was the Native American Hahamog-na tribe, a branch of the Tongva (part of the Shoshone language group). Pasadena is a part of the original Spanish land grant named Rancho del Rincon de San Pascual, so named because it was deeded on Easter Sunday to Eulalia Perez de Guillén Mariné of the San Gabriel Mission. The Rancho comprised the lands of today's communities of Pasadena, Altadena and South Pasadena.
Prior to the annexation of California in 1848, the last of the Spanish owners was Manuel Garfias who was allowed to retain title to the property after statehood in 1850. Garfias sold sections of the property to the first white settlers to come into the area, Dr. Benjamin Eaton, and Dr. S. Griffen. Much of the property was purchased by the honorable Benjamin Wilson who established his Lake Vineyard property near the vicinity. Wilson, known as Don Benito to the local Indians, was also owner of the Rancho Jurupa (Riverside, California) and went on to become the first Anglo mayor of Los Angeles. He is the grandfather of the famous WWII General George S. Patton and would have Mount Wilson, the metro-media transmission center of the greater Los Angeles area, named for him.
In 1873 Wilson was visited by one Dr. Daniel M. Berry of Indiana who was looking for a place in the country that could offer better climate to his patient base, most of whom suffered from severe respiratory ailments. Berry was an asthmatic himself and claimed that he had his best three nights sleep at Rancho San Pascual. To keep the find a secret, Berry code-named the area "Muscat" after the grape that Wilson so popularly grew on the property. In order to raise funds to bring the company of people to San Pascual, Berry formed the Southern California Orange and Citrus Growers Association for which he sold stock. The newcomers were able to purchase a large portion of the property along the Arroyo Seco and on January 31, 1874 they incorporated the Indiana Colony. As a gesture of good will, Wilson threw in the 2,000 aces of thought-to-be-useless highland property part of which would become Altadena.
Naming Pasadena
The mail came to the Indiana Colony via Los Angeles so ear-marked. In an attempt to obtain their own Post Office, the Colony needed to change the name to something that the Postmaster General would consider more fitting. The town fathers put up three names to a vote. The first was Indianola. The second was Granada, to be in keeping with the areas Spanish heritage.
The third was proposed by Dr. Thomas Elliott who had contacted an Indian missionary friend of his in Michigan who had worked with the Minnesota Chippewa Indians. He submitted four names for translation: "Crown of the Valley," "Key of the Valley," "Valley of the Valley," and "Hill of the Valley." The names came back starting with "Weo-quan pa-sa-de-na," "Hat of the Valley" All the names ended in the "pa-sa-de-na (of the valley)" translation. The name was put to the vote, and due to its euphonious nature, it was accepted, thus: Pasadena. Pasadena was incorporated — the second incorporated municipality of Southern California next to Los Angeles — in March 1886.
The popularity of the region drew numbers from across country and Pasadena eventually became a key stop along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which led to an explosion in its growth. From the real estate boom of the 1880's until the Great Depression, as great tourists hotels were developed in the city, Pasadena became a winter resort for wealthy easterners. The first of the great hotels to be established in Pasadena was the Raymond (1886) which sat atop Bacon Hill, renamed Raymond Hill after construction. The original Mansard Victorian 200-room facility burned down on Easter Sunday morning of 1895 and was not rebuilt until 1903. It was lost during the Great Depression and torn down to make way for residential development. The Maryland Hotel existed from the early 1900's and was also lost during the Depression in 1934.
Two hotel structures have survived to the present day. The Green Hotel and the Vista Del Arroyo.
Hotel Green
The Hotel Green started construction on South Raymond Avenue at Kansas Street in 1887 by Mr. E.C. Webster who was unable to finish it. Colonel George Gill Green, a wealthy patent medicine distributor from New Jersey, finished the six-story edifice in 1888. In 1898 he finished construction on a second grand edifice on the other side of Raymond and connected the two buildings, the first now called an annex, with a bridge and a tunnel. The magnate patrons and their families would arrive by train at the station adjacent the annex. They would proceed to the second floor where they were trammed across the newer section and go directly to their suites. The luggage was ferried across through the tunnel. In 1902 the hotel was extended to the P.G. Wooster building at the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Green Street. In 1924 the hotel became a private residence. The annex was razed to its first story and sold away as private property, today known as Stat's Floral Supply. In 1970 the two wings of the hotel were closed off to each other creating two separate buildings. The 1898 section remained the private residence now called the Castle Green. The 1902 portion was taken over by the government's HUD program for senior residents and is called the Green Hotel. In 1929 Kansas Street was widened and renamed Green Street.
The Vista Del Arroyo Hotel on Grand Avenue, which the Navy commandeered for use as a hospital during World War II, now houses the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Pasadena's role as a regional hub was cemented by numerous other events, among them the Tournament of Roses Parade which began in 1889, the construction and opening of the Colorado Street Bridge, also known as "Suicide Bridge" from the period of the Great Depression, the Arroyo Parkway, now Pasadena Freeway, opened as the first freeway in Southern California in 1941, and the completion of the Los Angeles Metro Gold Line in 2003.
Culture
Performing Arts
Image:Pasadena City Hall.jpg The Pasadena Symphony, founded in 1928, offers several concerts a year at the Pasadena Civic Center and the Pasadena Pops plays at nearby Descanso Gardens. The Civic Center also holds a few traveling Broadway shows each year. The Pasadena Playhouse puts on seven shows a season, with each show running 6 to 8 weeks. The Furious Theatre Company is one of several small theatre companies in Pasadena. They currently use the upstairs theater adjacent to the Pasadena Playhouse. Boston Court Performing Arts Complex, which opened in 2003, is located near Lake and Colorado. Its resident theatre company, the award-winning Theatre at Boston Court presents four productions a year. [1] Zebulon Projects presents numerous music concerts each year, ranging from classical to jazz. The Friends of the Levitt organization puts on a free summer concert series in Memorial Park; the 2005 summer season marked its third year.
Visual Arts
A number of artists of national repute, such as Alson S. Clark, Marion Wachtel and Ernest A. Batchelder, made Pasadena their home in the early twentieth century. The formation of the Pasadena Arts Institute and the Pasadena Society of Artists heralded the city's emergence as a regional center for the visual arts.
The Norton Simon Museum contains over 2000 years of art from the Western world and Asia. The Pacific Asia Museum, with its tranquil garden in the center, features art from the many countries of Asia. The nearby Pasadena Museum of California Art hosts many temporary exhibits from Californian artists. The Gamble House, a National Historic Landmark, is a masterpiece of the Arts and Crafts Movement open for tours. The Huntington Library and its botanical garden are adjacent to Pasadena in the city of San Marino.
Education
The world-famous California Institute of Technology is located in the southern-central area of Pasadena, with Pasadena City College located just to the northeast. Fuller Theological Seminary is located just east of downtown Pasadena. Pacific Oaks College is located right next to the Pasadena's National Historic Landmark - The Gamble House. The famous Art Center College of Design is on the hills overlooking the Rose Bowl, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (operated by Caltech) is located in nearby La Canada Flintridge.
The Pasadena Unified School District is in charge of the city's 5 high-schools, 3 middle schools, and 24 elementary schools.[2] The school district has been plagued by declining enrollment in recent years, resulting in decreased funding. However, promise for the district has been shown because the AP, Honors, and GATE programs have been met with great success. More and more students have been enrolling at prestigious and acredited colleges over the years, including Caltech, Occidental, USC, The Claremont Colleges, the UC and Cal State systems of universities, as well as many out-of-state private and public institutions.
Several private college preparatory schools are located in Pasadena, including:
- Polytechnic School, first private non-profit elementary school in California, founded 1907
- Westridge School for Girls
- Maranatha High School
- La Salle High School
- The Waverly School
Shopping
Old Pasadena is a popular shopping and dining area for locals and tourists. Paseo Colorado is a more upscale mall designed to be a modern urban village, with apartments above the mall. An exclusive shopping district is located in the South Lake Avenue neighborhood.
Sports
The Rose Bowl stadium, a National Historic Landmark, is host of the oldest and most famous college football postseason bowl game every New Year's Day. It is the home field for the University of California, Los Angeles football team and has hosted five Super Bowls. Important soccer matches include the 1984 Summer Olympics, the men's final in the Football World Cup 1994, and the final in FIFA Women's World Cup 1999.
For some time, Los Angeles has been seeking another National Football League team to replace the Raiders, which played in Los Angeles from 1982-1994. There is currently a petition underway to have this team play in the Rose Bowl and call Pasadena its home. However, there are also several other cities and stadiums vying for this enviable opportunity.
Miscellaneous
Tournament of Roses Parade
Image:PreRoseParade-010104.jpg
Pasadena is also home to the Tournament of Roses Parade, held each year on January 1 (unless that day is a Sunday, in which case the event is held on January 2). The first parade was held in 1890 and was originally sponsored by the Valley Hunt Club, a Pasadena social club. The impetus for holding the parade was, as stated by one of the members, Professor Charles F. Holder, "In New York, people are buried in snow. Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise."
By 1895, the festivities had become larger than the Valley Hunt Club could manage, and the Tournament of Roses Association was then formed to take charge of the festival. In 1902, it was decided that a football game would be added to the day's events. The game, now known as the Rose Bowl, would become the first post-season college football game ever. The first game was between Stanford University and the University of Michigan. After suffering a tremendous financial loss, the Tournament of Roses Association decided to hold Roman chariot races in lieu of football games. However, in 1916, football returned. When it became clear that the stands in Tournament Park were too small to facilitate the crowd, the Tournament's President, William Leishman, proposed that a stadium be built to house the game. The Rose Bowl was completed in 1923. The Rose Bowl has since been selling out to crowds since 1947. In 1998, the Rose Bowl celebrated its 52nd anniversary and became the longest running tradition of its kind.
The Rose Parade, as it is familiarly known, still features elaborate floats. According to the organizers, "Every inch of every float must be covered with flowers or other natural materials, such as leaves, seeds or bark. Volunteer workers swarm over the floats in the days after Christmas, their hands and clothes covered with glue and petals. The most delicate flowers are placed in individual vials of water, which are set into the float one by one."
The Rose Parade is satirized by the popular Doo Dah Parade, an annual November event in Pasadena.
South Orange Grove Boulevard
One of two primary, exclusive residential districts in Pasadena, South Orange Grove Boulevard has been a home for the rich and famous since the early 20th century. Because of a number of landmark mansions, the street earned the name "Millionaire's Row." However, by the early 21st Century many of these homes had been replaced by spacious, pricey condominiums.
Of the residence dating back to the turn of the Century are:
- Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, who built a 24,000 square foot home on South Orange Grove. The house rose to a sixth story solarium which became an observatory since Lowe was such a patron of the astronomical sciences. Lowe came to Pasadena as a Civil War hero, inventor, entrepreneur, and scientist while holding several patents on gas operated equipment and artificial ice-making machines. He went on to establish the Mount Lowe Railway in Altadena into which he sank all his fortunes.
- Adolphus Busch, who established the first of a series of Busch Gardens adjacent to Lowe's property. Busch was cofounder of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Co., of fame. Busch passed away at his Pasadena home and his wife offered the property to the City of Pasadena as a park, which offer the City refused.
- Henry Markham who lived adjacent to Busch and became the 18th Governor of the State of California (1891 - 1895).
- Prominent among the later historic residences is the Wrigley Mansion, former home of chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr., which now serves as headquarters for the world-renowned Tournament of Roses Parade.
- On the north end of the street lies the Gamble House, built by renowned Arts & Crafts movement architects Greene & Greene, but once home to David and Mary Gamble of Procter & Gamble fame. The annual Rose Parade on New Year's Day uses South Orange Grove Boulevard as a staging area for flower-covered floats, and it is where the parade begins.
- The Norton Simon Museum sits at the intersection of Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevard. The intersection of Fair Oaks Avenue and Colorado Boulevard is the center of Old Town Pasadena.
Parrots
Pasadena has a population of wild parrots. The city's website identifies them as yellowhead amazon parrots, but according to the Parrot Project of Los Angeles, the parrots fall into as many as five different groups. There is a cycle of regular public outcry about the noise and the sheer oddity of the birds' presence, but most Pasadena's seem to have come to accept the birds as part of the city's life. They can be seen year-round, but are especially noticeable in the winter. The birds are definitely gregarious, and the amount of disturbance their chatter creates is definitely related to the time of day they may choose to chatter.
Theories and myths abound on how these parrots came to claim Pasadena and surrounding towns as their home. A heavily accepted story by long-time residents of the area is that they were part of the stock at Simpson's Nursery on East Colorado Blvd. in the Lamanda Park area. The nursery was burned down in 1969 and the parrots were thereby released to forage in the lush Pasadena area. It is also possible that some parrots moved northward from their normal in range in central and North Mexico as human habitation in the Pasadena area created artificial habitat in which the parrots could survive. Among their favorite foods are the berry kernels of the cedar trees which grow in great abundance around Pasadena.
Parking
Pasadena is notorious for parking ticket citations and has a very strict parking code. It does not allow overnight parking between 2am-6am on city streets, unless you pay for an overnight permit, or you must check-in your vehicle each night with the local Police department for an exemption. The city only allows for 20 exemptions per vehicle, per year.
Famous Natives
- Steve Albini, audio engineer and musician
- Sophia Bush, actress
- Octavia Butler, science fiction writer
- Julia Child, television chef and personality
- Jeff Cirillo, baseball player
- Arthur Duncan, dancer
- Drew Pinsky, medical doctor and radio talk show host
- Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico
- Jackie Robinson, baseball player
- David Lee Roth, rocker
- Jaleel White, actor, producer, and writer
External links
- Pasadena city website
- Pasadena Public Library
- Pasadena Unified School District
- The Pasadena Star News
- The Gamble House
- Old Town Pasadena
- Pasadena Doo Dah Parade
- Rose Bowl Stadium
- Pasadena Society of Artists
- Pasadena and the Arroyo Culture
- Tournament of Roses Parade, official site
- Polytechnic School
- Maranatha High School
- Pacific Oaks College
- La Salle High School
- Art Center College Of Design
- Pasadena Playhouse
- Furious Theatre Company
- Boston Court Theater
- Levitt Pavilion
Template:Cities of Los Angeles County, California
de:Pasadena (Kalifornien)
es:Pasadena (California) fr:Pasadena ko:패서디너 it:Pasadena nl:Pasadena (Californië) ja:パサデナ (カリフォルニア州) pl:Pasadena (Kalifornia) sv:Pasadena