Downtown Pasadena, California
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Downtown Pasadena California is the central business district of Pasadena, California. It is centered on Fair Oaks Avenue and Colorado Boulevard and is divided into three distinct neighborhoods: Old Pasadena, the Civic Center, and Monk Hill. Downtown Pasadena is known for its historical buildings that have been preserved throughout the years.


History


Early years

In 1874, Pasadena was founded as an agricultural cooperative for orange growers and was incorporated in 1886 with its commercial center on the intersection of Fair Oaks Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. This intersection has been the center of Downtown Pasadena since then to the present. As Pasadena's population grew in the 1900s, grand hotels were built which established Pasadena's national reputation as a winter tourist destination for the wealthy. As tourism began to grow, there was an increase in money and population that allowed the city to continue its growth.


Downtown's Golden Age

During the 1900s to the 1940s, Downtown Pasadena went through rapid change as the city's population was continuously growing. Despite The Depression that occurred in the 1930s, Downtown Pasadena continued developing. Its hotels were converted into industrial, manufacturing and research offices. The transition of Downtown Pasadena from a tourist destination to an industrial site allowed for the area to continue its expansion and growth.


Decline and redevelopment

As business started to move out of Downtown Pasadena in the 1950s, the area started to go through a period of decline. This area began to be known as Skid Row as buildings were left abandoned. Redevelopment of the downtown area started as there was an infusion of about more than $400 million in public and private money. With the infusion in money, it allowed for private property developments, street improvements, and construction of new buildings such as more parking garages and a retail shopping center. However, not all of this money was focused on new buildings as existing structures were rehabilitated. The existing buildings were redeveloped in order to recreate old Downtown Pasadena. As the redevelopment plans were completed, Downtown Pasadena went through a period of continuous growth. According to Shigley, Pasadena became a model of smart growth for California. This was because of the mixed-use buildings with housing units, retail shops, and professional services which allowed for the growth of Downtown Pasadena commercially and residentially.


Landmarks


Old Pasadena

Old Pasadena is the historic core of Downtown, and has a multitude of fine shops and restaurants (Italian and Japanese restaurants are especially numerous here). The attractions that are present around this area that involves shopping, dining, and entertainment. There are two parks, the historic
Del Mar Station Del Mar station is an at-grade light rail station on the L Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It is located between Arroyo Parkway and Raymond Avenue at Del Mar Boulevard, after which the station is named, in Pasadena, California. The ...
and Castle Green, and the headquarters of
Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...
.


Civic Center

The Civic Center lies to the east of Old Pasadena and was built in the 1920s. It is home to Pasadena's City Hall,
Paseo Colorado The Paseo is an upscale outdoor mall in Pasadena, California, covering three city blocks with office space, shops, restaurants, a movie theater, and 400 loft-style condominiums (called Terrace Apartment Homes) above. It is located in downtown P ...
, the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California. It consists of three buildings. Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was built in 1931 ...
. These buildings are known as historical landmarks. It also houses several municipal government offices, though notably not the Department of Public Works, which is in Banbury Oaks.


Monk Hill

Monk Hill is the westernmost part of Downtown and is home to the
Norton Simon Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Si ...
and
Ambassador Auditorium Ambassador Auditorium is located on the historic Ambassador College campus in Pasadena, California, United States. Its architectural design has been noted to be somewhat similar to that of the Temple in ancient Israel. The auditorium's main hall ...
.


Preservation efforts

As Downtown Pasadena was going through a time of decline during the 1970s, the city had established a Central District Improvement Plan which to improve the conditions of the area. The plan involved the demolition of old historical buildings in order to make way for more modern buildings. However, there was a preservationist group called Pasadena Heritage that fought to save and redevelop the existing historic structures. Pasadena Heritage was founded in 1977 to save Civic Center buildings that were facing demolition. Throughout the years, Pasadena Heritage has worked to save numerous historical structures around Downtown Pasadena. Some structures that have been saved from demolition by the members of Pasadena Heritage is the Colorado Street Bridge and
Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...
.


Education

Downtown Pasadena is served by Roosevelt, San Rafael, and McKinley Elementary Schools; Blair, and McKinley Middle Schools;, and Blair International Baccalaureate School;
Maranatha High School Maranatha High School is a private, college preparatory Christian school in Pasadena, California. This co-ed high school opened in 1965. The athletic teams are known as the Minutemen. The school colors are Red, White, and Navy Blue. The sch ...
is a Christian school in the area.


Transportation


Mass transit

The Metro Gold Line has two stations Downtown, at Memorial Park and Del Mar Station. Downtown is also served by
Metro Rapid Metro Rapid is a local express bus service with bus rapid transit (BRT) characteristics in Los Angeles County, California. At its peak, Metro had dozens of Rapid routes, but , the system has been largely discontinued. Just three Metro operated Rap ...
lines 762 and 780; and
Metro Local Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . , there ar ...
lines 177, 180, 181, 256, 260, 267, 686, and 687; as well as
Pasadena ARTS Pasadena Transit, formerly known as Pasadena Area Rapid Transit System (Pasadena ARTS), is the transit bus service in the city of Pasadena, California. The system was launched as a single shuttle route ahead of the 1994 World Cup, at the Rose Bo ...
routes 10, 20, 31, 32, 40, 51, 52, and 70; and
Foothill Transit Foothill Transit is a public transit agency that is government funded by 22 member cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys. It operates a fixed-route bus public transit service in the San Gabriel Valley region of eastern Los Angeles Cou ...
line 187.


Major streets

* Arroyo Parkway * Colorado Boulevard * Fair Oaks Avenue *Holly Street *
Orange Grove Boulevard Orange Grove Boulevard is a main thoroughfare in Pasadena and South Pasadena, California. Each New Year's Day, the Rose Parade participants and floats line up before dawn on Orange Grove Boulevard, facing north, for the beginning of the parade. S ...
* Pasadena Avenue


Highways

*
U.S. Highway 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
* Interstate 210 *
California State Route 110 110 may refer to: *110 (number), natural number *AD 110, a year *110 BC, a year *110 film, a cartridge-based film format used in still photography *110 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *110 (song), 2019 song by Capi ...
*
California State Route 134 California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
* California State Route 710


References

{{coord, 34.14575, -118.15046, type:adm3rd_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Neighborhoods in Pasadena, California 1886 establishments in California