Nick Offerman & Woodworking

A good friend of mine shared with me a video of Nick Offerman, the actor in the television comedy Parks & Recreation, during an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  He talks at length about his love of woodworking and shows one example of his work, a beautiful Redwood bench.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook

Great Furnishings and a Friendly Designer

There's always something on display that grabs your attention at Bonita Interiors

On Saturday, I did my regular routine of afternoon coffee and cookie at The Market on Holly, but instead of heading straight back to my place I decided to do a little walking in Old Pasadena.  Since Bonita Interiors had set up shop on Holly I had always admired the beautiful furnishings on display whenever I passed by, and that day I finally walked in.  What a revelation--not only do they have a beautiful mix of furnishings but Angela, the proprietor, was just a joy to talk to and discuss all things furniture and design.  From the get-go you can sense her passion for design and to share tidbits of our respective backgrounds was refreshing and inspiring.  If you get a chance and want to check out some gorgeous furnishings then stop by Bonita Interiors.

• Bonita Interiors [website]

Pasadenaville's Live Edge Tables Profiled on Apartment Therapy!

A little shameless self-promotion: yesterday, I found out that a couple of my tables were profiled on the influential design website, Apartment Therapy.  I was wondering why this blog and my Etsy site traffic shot up in addition to my email box being flooded with inquiries on my live-edge tables.  I'm really honored to have my products featured on a wonderful site such as Apartment Therapy and I've often thought that my products really fit with the AT demographics.  If you're in the market for live-edge tables or other furniture, hit me up! 

• Neon Hairpin Legs: When Industrial Gets Happy [Apartment Therapy]
• Live Edge Furniture: Pasadenaville {Etsy}

Innovative Design

I came across this video while browsing Dwell, and although I'm mixed on this particular home design (circular), I will say that it's daring, creative and innovative. 

Happy Birthday, Gold Line!

photo: Curbed LA

The Gold Line celebrated its 10th birthday yesterday, and Pasadena should feel very lucky that we have the best line out of all the Metro lines.  When I bought my condo a few years ago one of my priority items when house-hunting was that it be located within walking distance of a Gold Line stop.  I've made countless trips between Pasadena and downtown and have on a few occasions ventured out further, connecting with the Red Line to Hollywood and North Hollywood.  And with extension further east into Arcadia and Azusa, the Gold Line will only get better (have you seen the beautiful "basket" bridge, part of the Gold Line extension?)

Light rail is already an important issue within LA's mass transit planning and an integral part of how the city/county and surrounding metro area defines itself in the next few decades.  Not everyone is on the same page (look at the problems plaguing the Expo Line's extension through the Westside and into Santa Monica).  But looking closer to home Pasadena has indeed benefited in spades from the Gold Line and will continue as this mode of transportation takes on a greater presence in the LA area.

Sidenote: everyone talks about how once the Expo Line is done how it will allow many Angelenos to hit the beach without jumping into their cars.  Well, it goes both ways and it will allow many Westsiders an alternative and easier access into the Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley area?  I've talked to many UCLA fans who have taken the Gold Line during game day at the Rose Bowl and all have wonderful things to say about the convenience the Gold Line offers.

Sidenote 2: Curbed mentioned how once the Regional Connector is finished in the downtown area, the Gold Line will become part of the Blue Line.  I cringed when I read that.  I'm just going to say it: the Blue Line is awful.  Dirty, trashy cars, unreliable service, lots of very rude riders...the list goes on.  I just hope there won't be any spillover effect.

• Metro Gold Line Celebrates 10 Years of Progress  [The Source]
• The Gold Line, LA's Most Lovable Light Rail, Turns 10 Today [Curbed LA]

Old Pasadena Farmers Market: Coming Very Soon!

From our friends at Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Association:

RESIDENTS LOOKING FORWARD TO NEW FARMERS MARKET IN OLD PASADENA AFTER LONG DELAYS

The much anticipated Old Pasadena Farmer’s Market is on the horizon and is expected to open on August 4, 2013 on Holly Street between Fair Oaks and Raymond Avenue. Southland Farms operates eleven markets in the Southern California area, including the widely attended Santa Monica market. Through the tenacious efforts of Steve Mulheim and the business owners of the Old Pasadena Management District the market is a much-anticipated addition to the Old Pasadena Area. All three of the business districts (Old Pasadena, Playhouse District and South Lake) will now have their own markets. If you happen to miss this market the other markets are:

• Villa Parke Farmer’s Market, Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Villa Street and Garfield
• South Lake Pasadena Farmer’s Market  Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. at the Corporate Center on South Lake
• Playhouse District Farmer’s Market, Wednesday, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Union Street and Madison

We can't wait!!

Ode to Altadena

As some of you have heard, the small newspaper publication, Pasadena Sun, printed its last edition this past Sunday.  A community newspaper distributed by the Los Angeles Times, it was a welcome addition to my periodical enjoyment (I consider myself a tech-savvy individual who still likes to rustle newspapers).  In this last issue, reporter Timothy Rutt wrote a nice article on the joy of reporting the going-ons of our sister city to our north.

I've make dozens upon dozens of visits to different parts of Altadena on behalf of the film business (sorry, residents of Rubio St.--I know you're sick and tired of all the filming that goes on in your neighborhood), and I'm always taken aback of how un-L.A. this community is...and in a good way!  I never fail to come across friendly people and a creative spirit that permeates across this town.  Timothy used the word culture, and I think he hits on a term that identifies a uniqueness that is all Altadena.  One would never mistaken Altadena for San Francisco but there's a certain liberalness and vibe that makes it a place I want to learn more about and keep visiting.

South Marengo Ave: Turning 'Meh' to 'Nice'

South Marengo Ave and E. Glenarm St.

Something bothers me everytime I drive down (or up) Marengo Ave. between Glenarm and California (and maybe even beyond California, say up to Del Mar).  I mean, it's a nice street: tree-lined, wide, view of the mountains on a clear day, well-kept apartments and townhouses all along and a nice alternative to Arroyo without it being too busy.  Then it hit me.  The center median/turn lanes is making this stretch pretty ho-hum.  Let's imagine a pretty esplanade with green shrubery and maybe some jacarandas (There are already palms on Arroyo, so no need to duplicate it here).  We could make it where the esplanade would stagger and enough spacing still maintained to allow ample room for left turns even with two or three cars in a row.  Hmm, I'm liking the idea already...

Food Waste = Green Energy

Kroger Co.'s clean-energy production facility in Compton converts food that can't be sold or donated into energy.
Photo: LA Times

Food waste...while I won't dwell on how we tend to waste food within individual households, let's talk about what happens to all the perishable food that doesn't sell in grocery stores.  A subject that has always hit a sore spot with many was profiled with many positives today in an article in the Los Angeles Times, which reported on a large system that turns food that's unable to be sold or donated into organic sludge which in turn converts the methane that's produced into energy.

The facility profiled in the article is located in Kroger's distribution facility in Compton and handles their subsidiaries' food waste (includes Ralph's and Food 4 Less).  What would happen if you had a municipality like Pasadena adopt a facility like this?  Would it be more feasible if you had one large "anaerobic digester system", which is shared among all the grocery stores in Pasadena?  Would there be large opposition, or a NIMBY attitude, to a facility like this even though it emits no odors or pollution?  Can stores and even the city both profit from an operation like this (lower energy costs, transportation cost elimination, etc.) in order to make it truly sustainable?  Can the citizens of Pasadena and others like restaurants, farmers markets and others participate in order to increase capacity and power output and share in the benefits?   I've mentioned before that Pasadena is unique in which we generate our own power and not reliant on inefficient and bureaucratic providers such as Edison and DWP.  Why wouldn't this be an ideal extension of PWP's facilities?

• Brown Food, Green Energy [LA Times]

Home of the Week - 810 N. Michigan Ave.

photo: MLS

This beauty is located in Bungalow Heaven, and everyone know that fine craftsman bungalows like this rarely come up for sale in this area.  Well-maintained, wonderful details and lots of upgrades along with being in an area where neighborhood pride runs strong.

• 810 North Michigan Ave. [Redfin]
• Price: $945,000
• 3 Beds/1 Bath
• 1635 sq. ft.
• Pasadena area: Bungalow Heaven

Pasadena's Oldest House for Sale

photo: Michael Dilsaver, Partners Trust

 The James Craig Adobe, the oldest building in Pasadena, is up for sale.  A Cultural Heritage Landmark and also listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the house was built around the 1840's, before California became part of the union.  It was recently featured on a tour sponsored by the Pasadena Heritage Society highlighting the city's oldest homes.  170 years old and looking pretty damn good.

• 2121 Monte Vista St. [website]
• The James Craig Adobe [Pasadena Daily Photo]

Home of The Week: Home By Frank Lloyd Wright...Junior

photo: MLS

Okay, so it's not by THE Frank Lloyd Wright (known in most circles as just Lloyd Wright), and it's not technically in Pasadena.  But this Altadena home sure is pretty.  If you're a fan of mid-century modern then the Dorland Home is sure to raise your hair.  Check out the living room ceiling. As Curbed pointed out, there's some inspiration derived not just from his father's Usonian design but also John Lautner's Shaffer House especially with the semi-cantilever.

• 1370 Morada Place [Redfin]
• Price: $945,000
• 2 Beds/1 Bath
• 1465 sq. ft.
• Pasadena area: Altadena

Stucco: Ugly and Here to Stay?

You either like it or you don't.  Stucco.  It's everywhere here in Southern California.  Look around and chances are that the house or apartment building next to yours is clad in beige stucco.  The office building down the street?  Stucco.  That wanna-be French McMansion being built in your neighborhood that the neighbors are protesting?  Yep, stucco.  Fellow blogger Steven Corwin wrote a pretty scathing rant on what is an unfortunate symptom of rapid development and shortsightedness among yesterday's and today's prolific developers.  Kind of hard not to disagree, eh?

• Dear property developers: your stucco buildings are ruining my city [Steven Corwin]

Development Watch: Urth Cafe

Urth Cafe construction, Colorado Blvd. & Madison Ave.

The construction of the Urth Cafe building on Colorado Blvd. is coming along nicely.  It's Spanish Mission influences already evident with tiles and beams throughout and that curvilinear gable over the main entranceway.  This is going to be one beautiful building, blending in nicely with the Playhouse District buildings.  A wonderful example of infill done right (remember the shoe repair place before it?)  Bring on the (organic) coffee!

Better, But It's Still a Chained-Linked Fence

New side of freeway and fence, Southbound 110 Arroyo Seco Parkway

Anyone who travels southbound down the 110-Arroyo Seco Parkway is probably as disgusted as I am with the trash, broken fences, graffiti, downed signs (and sometimes lightpoles) etc. that line the freeway from South Pasadena all the way downtown.  Ugly.  There are plastic bags that have been stuck on the same ugly stump branches by the freeway for YEARS.

Well, at least there's one semi-beautification effort going on.  It looks like Caltrans is currently fixing the side of the freeway from Orange Grove to York Bl., laying stones/river rock (it was previously just broken asphalt) and putting up new fences.  Ugh, we just can't seem to move away from fences.  In any case, according to Caltrans' planned lane closures this work is to extend to Marmion Way.  Let's hope it goes beyond that.  The rock bed looks nice and it's laid out and angled in a way where litter and debris would have a tougher time accumulating and just sitting there.  But again, those damn fences.  We're still a couple years away from implementing any of the proposals laid out in Caltrans' recent Arroyo Seco Corridor Partnership Plan.  In the meantime, any work is better than leaving it as it is.

• Historic Arroyo Seco Corridor Partnership Plan [Caltrans]

It Can Be Done

We were all fixated with moving the Space Shuttle from LAX to it's final destination at the Science Center, but how does it compare with moving a very large 3-story, 260 foot, 6200 ton brick building built in 1889?  Well, they did it in Zurich, Switzerland.  Ok, so it was moved only 200 feet and not across the city, but they moved it!  And intact!  I guess if there was ever a need to move one of Pasadena's old buildings we now know: it can be done. I will never again doubt man's engineering prowess.

Moving of the MFO building in Zurich 2012, time lapse from Patrick Gautschy on Vimeo.

Development Watch: Pasadena Humane Society

Construction on Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA campus

The new addition to the Pasadena Humane Society campus is coming along nicely, albeit slowly.  The new facility's architecture will blend with the existing structures and become a beautiful landmark on the corner of E. Del Mar Blvd. and Raymond Ave.

Home of the Week - 1695 Poppy Peak Dr.

photo: MLS

Folks, check out this stunner!  Designed by the famed Buff, Straub and Hensman architecture firm (their masterpieces are Case Study House #20 in Altadena and #28 in Thousand Oaks), this mid-century jewel has been lovingly restored by historic home renovation specialists, Lander Design.  This is an early example of the architects' Post-and-Beam work and, man, is it a beauty or what?  Located in the Poppy Peak historic district this house fits right in among other notable house, but this one definitely stands out.  The house is covered under the Mills Act, so whoever ends up buying it will also save a bunch on property taxes.  What high-tax bracket individual wouldn't like that?

• 1695 Poppy Peak Dr. 91105 [Redfin]
• Price: $1,495,000
• 4 Beds / 2 3/4 Baths
• 1,887 Sq. Ft.
• Pasadena area: Poppy Peak/San Rafael Hills
• Thomson Residence [ArchitectureforSale.com]
• Mid-Century Made Modern Again: A Classic Pasadena House Revived [LA Times]

Bicycle Boulevard: Not Just Access But Connecting Communities

photo: LA Times

Pasadena recently unveiled Bicycle Boulevard, a small stretch of Marengo Avenue, between Orange Grove Boulevard and Washington Boulevard.  According to officials, this is the first of many new bicycle-friendly additions to the community.

This is a good start, albeit one that should have happened long ago.  Planners on city, county and regional levels should prioritize improved and exclusive bicycle and pedestrian access on all projects whether they be new developments or improvements to existing infrastructure.

This is more than a safe bikeway access issue.  The flip side of the coin is that the city and, specifically, neighborhoods, benefit from this.  We all know that northwest Pasadena has it's share of problems.  Poverty, crime, neglect and a host of other issues have plagued this area of Pasadena for many years.  However, many people have also seen the potential this area holds.  There are wonderful neighborhoods with proactive individuals and associations in this section of Pasadena.  Real estate prices are still reasonable and a growing number of young professionals and families are starting to recognize the value of this area.  Take a closer look at this particular bikeway on Marengo on a map and you will see this particular bikeway serves almost as a barrier-breaker between the surrounding neighborhoods and it's more prosperous neighborhoods and businesses to the south.  Bikeways such as this is a net positive improvement.  With proximity to the Gold Line biking becomes more of an attractive transportation alternative and encourages more people to explore this part of the city and consider it as a place to live in.  When you connect neighborhoods you connect people.

• Riders Give Bicycle Boulevard a Spin [Pasadena Sun]
• Bicycle Boulevard Opens [City of Pasadena]

The Tools That Created Beauty

Photo: Larry Underhill, Los Angeles Magazine

Los Angeles Magazine is currently profiling objects that define LA for the city's 232nd anniversary.  Above is a set of drafting tools owned by Charles and Henry Green, pioneers of the Craftsman style movement.  Click the link below for a (very) brief history on the brothers and the iconic style they created.

• DispL.A. Case #35: Green and Greene Architectural Drafting Tools [LA Magazine]

Home Of The Week - 1230 Brookmere Rd.

photo: MLS

Per broker listing: "Sophisticated Resort Style living in the prestigious South Orange Grove area of Pasadena, this residence boasts an open floor plan, an abundance of natural light, and the finest quality materials."  This home has pretty much everything I'm looking for.

• 1230 Brookmere Rd. 91105 [Redfin]
• Price: $1,589,000
• 3 Beds/2.5 Baths
• 3516 Sq. Ft.
• Pasadena area: South Orange Grove

Pasadena: Foodie Mecca?

Trattoria Neapolis restaurant on Lake Ave

Pasadena is finally getting some recognition from the rest of Southern California for it's burgeoning restaurant scene.  And there's one underlying theme for this renaissance: good food.  That's it.  As some of you remember there was buzz before regarding Pasadena's restaurant scene, highlighted by Jennifer Lopez's Madres and Kevin Costner's Twin Palms.  Both have since been shuttered.  I guess diners finally realized that celebrities and a "scene" don't make a restaurant - great chefs and great food does. 

Pasadena's geography also makes the city an opportune locale.  As the gateway for the San Gabriel Valley and it's heavy Asian cuisine influence, proximity to downtown LA and it's growing residential population and hipster-yuppie-fication of neighboring Highland Park and Eagle Rock can only make Pasadena's dining scene lively and exciting for years to come.

• Pasadena Heats Up As Culinary Hub [LA Times]

How To Solve Traffic Jams (including the 210)...Maybe

Congestion Pricing: we all have heard of it, some of us have been paying it if you've recently driven down the former HOV lanes on the 110 south of downtown.  When I saw this TED video I, of course, could not help but think about the rush-hour traffic on the 210-east on a normal weekday.  If any of you have the pleasure of driving this maddening stretch you'll notice the jam tends to start around the Fair Oaks or Lake Ave.  What if Caltrans instituted something similar to the 110 onto the 210, stretching all the way to Rancho Cucamongo or Fontana?  Would you be open to the idea?  Would you pay for that?