Playhouse District Projects

Rendering of Union Village, courtesy of Mack Urban

Oh no! The Playhouse District is stealing Old Pasadena's thunder!  Actually, for the last two years for anyone who's traveled the stretch of Colorado Bl. from Lake on west can't help but notice the changes going on in the PD.  New restaurants started springing up and lots of people started coming in.  The cherry on top is Urth Cafe's opening last year and the crowds just keep on coming.

But the bigger picture is the way Pasadena is moving in the right direction with regards to density planning and design.  That's not to say that there were no hurdles when proposals were first submitted to raze the old furniture store on the corner of Colorado and El Molino, because there were many (the first proposals were nothing like what is currently being erected on the site).  It was good to see the Playhouse District association and Pasadena Heritage play a role in making sure the new building was in keeping with the area's charm and feel.

I was fortunate enough to attend a Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Association several months ago where representatives of Mack Urban spoke to our group on the plans for the site that will become Union Village.  To say that my jaw dropped-in a good way-is an understatement: good, sensible planning with a gorgeous design was presented and I could not wait for this project to start.  Not only will this blend nicely to the existing condo complex, Granada Court, but the architects made sure that a connection to Vroman's and thus Colorado Bl would be integral to the design of the new complex.  And the design: wow!  It'll be in the Mission Revival style: so Pasadena!

• 2 Pasadena Projects Give Nod to 1920's [LA Times]

Trees

image: Flickr-Dave Amos

Pasadena takes pride in its trees.  I'm proud to live in a city where trees are not just cherished but part of a city's identity.  But when it comes to maintenance I can only give Pasadena a C+.  I live in the Old Pasadena area and since the devastating windstorm two years ago you would think that the city would have learned a lesson and outline some kind of plan to inspect, trim, thin and maintain most, if not all, the trees in the city to prepare for the next devastating windstorm and prevent massive losses.

Take a look at the area around the parking garage near the AT&T building within the Union, Arroyo Parkway, Holly St., Marengo block.  Two years ago crews thinned and trimmed the Pine trees within the private property boundary (within the sidewalk).  The Pines on the city side have grown so thick that they risk being felled during the next 80+ mph winds because windflow is restricted.  And don't get me started on the other trees in the area.  Crews used to come (at least) every other year to work on the trees in this area.  Where are they?

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]

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]

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.

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]

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?

The Future of Neighborhood Markets

The recent news about the Fresh and Easy market chain's withdrawal from the U.S. came as hardly a surprise.  Since the British supermarket giant, Tesco, established a presence here five years ago, their Fresh and Easy concept has struggled with attracting and maintaining shoppers and turning a profit.

I've shopped at the Fresh and Easy located at the corner of South Lake and California a couple of times and have found it to be both convenient and a decent alternative to Trader Joe's (still my favorite) and Whole Foods.  Concentrating on this store alone, I feel it would be a loss to both the South Lake neighborhood and Pasadena in general if it was to close (if you remember, this location used to be a Wild Oats store, which itself struggled because of competition to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market).  The future of this location will eventually be determined from the sale of the company and new owner.  Yes, there's a Pavilions across the street, but comparing Fresh & Easy to them is not really fair.  If I wanted to need to fill an empty kitchen, yes, I would go to the larger format grocery store.  But if I need to buy just a few things or make a quick trip to fill a missing ingredient then Fresh & Easy did the trick.  And judging from some some of my trips here there are many others who do the same thing.  Also, the fact that Peet's is right next door also helps me knock two birds with one stone. 

Whether this particular location is profitable or not, I don't know.  But I think it fills a niche here in Pasadena and hope it will survive.

Holly Street Christmas Lights Proposal

4th Street, downtown LA

For the last couple of years these amazing lights have been installed above 4th Street between Spring and Main in the Old Bank District in downtown during the Christmas season.  This area of downtown just gets prettier every year during the holidays as it becomes more gentrified.  The pictures do no justice--you really have to take a stroll (maybe during the next art walk) to really appreciate how beautiful these lights are.  Imagine if this was set up along Holly Street from Fair Oaks towards City Hall here in Pasadena!  Pasadena Public Works and Street Maintenance should really look into this.  What do you think?

Urban Farming...In Pasadena??

photo: Los Angeles Times

There was an interview article in last week's LA Times in which Patt Morrison talked to Tara Kolla who's pioneering the concept of urban farming in Los Angeles.  As I was reading the article I kept thinking of how we can apply the basic tenets of urban farming to Pasadena.  We are a city in which many houses sit on large lots and a growing farmer's market presence in several Pasadena spots.  I'll have to check on the local laws, both county and city regarding small, localized farming.  In addition to residential properties there are many empty plots north of the 210 freeway (Altaden and Sierra Madre, I'm also talking to you) that can be utilized towards urban farming, and many of those abut major streets such as Fair Oaks.  Imagine a small colorful or green oasis instead of empty or even blighted parcels.

• Down to Earth [Los Angeles Times]

Pasadena Museum Architect, John Kelsey, 1925-2012

photo: Hometown Pasadena

Earlier this month, John Kelsey, one of the designers of what is now the Norton Simon Museum, died at age 86.  I still remember the first time I came across the museum not long after I moved to California.  Here was a 60's modernist building whose design was far from dated and despite it's not-so-functional location, blended nicely along Colorado Blvd. and juxtaposed against the soft dip along the road.  The dark brown exterior and low-slung height made the building one with the grounds without a hint of pretension or grandeur.  Looking at the building, you can't help but sense a hint of mysteriousness as to what the museum holds.  This goes counter to many of the newer museums built in the last two decades where size, design and sometimes outlandishness trumps functionality.  And once you enter this museum you're pleasantly surprised by the scale of the interior, wondering how you were deceived before you walked through the front doors.

• Architect John Kelsey, dies at 86, designer of Pasadena Museum [LA Times]

Pink Benches

photo: Curbed

So, downtown LA's Grand Park opens...they call the color of the benches magenta...I call them pink...a few people like them...I cant stand them.  Please, Pasadena, let's not ever do this.

The Pasadena Bicycle Craze...in 1900

The California Cycleway passes over the Los Angeles Terminal Railroad near Glenarm Street in Pasadena. Circa 1900. (Photo via Pasadena Museum of History, and many thanks to 90042)

Author and blogger, Taras Grescoe, reminded me of a wonderful article from a couple of years ago in the blog 90042 on The Great California Cycleway.  Hard to imagine that at one time we had a dedicated bicycle pathway (and an elevated one!!) that ran through our fair city.  It was an ambitious project back then, and with today's rise of bicycle advocacy, CicLAvia, and the incorporation of cycling as part of the overall sustainable transportation strategy I can't help but think what could have been if things were built around this.  This is a fun read and be sure to click on the accompanying interactive map.

• Remembering the The Great California Cycleway [90042]
• Taras Grescoe [website]
• CicLAvia [website]

San Pedro's Crafted

This past weekend marks the opening of San Pedro's highly anticipated arts and crafts marketplace, Crafted.  The city of Los Angeles and San Pedro in particular have a lot riding on this and could pave the way for future rehab and development in the area, including Ports O'Call.  I'm hoping to make a trip down there in the next few weeks and pick up on some ideas Pasadena might be able to use to enhance its existing visitor and shopping experience.

• Crafted at the Post of Los Angeles [website]