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]

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...

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.

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?

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?

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]

Better Bike Routes

The bike cooperative over at Caltech is petitioning the city of Pasadena to dedicate bike lanes to a couple of east/west routes, namely Cordova Ave, Union St. and Green St., all west of Lake.  They seem to especially fear the current conditions on Cordova.  I have to disagree as I've seen many more speeders and reckless drivers on Union, despite the fact that it has significantly less traffic than Colorado.

All in all, I think what they are proposing benefits all of Pasadena.  Los Angeles has taken great strides the last couple of years in promoting biking and street-sharing.  With the success of Ciclavia and the creation of bike lanes in downtown, among many other initiatives, they are promoting alternative forms of transportation and cross-promoting that with the existing mass transit system.  It's time for Pasadena to also get serious with this issue as well.  Let's get the ball rolling on calling Pasadena a "bike-friendly city"

• City of Pasadena, CA: Improve East-West Bike Routes [change.org]

Culver City or Bust

The Culver City terminus for the Expo Line officially opened today.  Who would have thought until recently that we could get from Pasadena to the Westside without use of car or even bus.  Next stop, Santa Monica!

Imagining the Old Days...

Another charming feature of Old Town Pasadena.

Hollywood Development Fracas - We Can Learn From This

There's a fight brewing between developers and residents in Hollywood over the community plan that would allow for new buildings and increased density, creating a framework to house thousands of future residents.  Sure, Hollywood is not Pasadena.  District to city, apples to oranges, right?  But take a closer look at the two and you can see that we might learn a lot from what Hollywood is going through right now and what happens in the next couple of years.  It's only a matter of time when a standoff between developers and residents here in Pasadena could reach a boiling point if this city maintains its status quo course with regards to city planning.

I'm not a fan of high-rises.  I'm also not a fan of urban density.  But we can be smart about how we plan potential growth.  I look around at condo and apartment developments for the last five or so years in the Old Pasadena and South Lake areas and I actually like what I see.  And I think there are many houses in areas north of the 210 that are ripe for remodels.  What Highland Park is going through right now I can see happening in the northern part of Pasadena.  But let's hear what residents of Pasadena has to say about the subject of development now, or if not right now then soon.  Don't wait until it's too late.

We have a lot of problems that need attention right now before we can go through the motions to justify future large-scale development.  That goes without saying.  But it's not something that can be put on the back-burner indefinitely.  One wild card: the recent sale of the huge Parsons campus at the northwest corner of Old Pasadena and the potential for more housing (apartments or condos) and thousands of square feet of additional retail (it looks like Parsons will still be a tenant so it will still provide significant commercial space).  This future development could change everything.  Factor in the possible extension of the 710 freeway right next to it and now you're opening up a whole different set of positive and negative implications for not just Pasadena but also the surrounding area and the San Gabriel Valley as a whole.

So, let's see how the Hollywood situation plays out.  I believe we can learn from it.

• Hollywood at Odds Over Development Plan [LA Times]

Make Music Pasadena

Whoever came up with Make Music Pasadena several years I just wanna kiss.  An event like this only adds to the artistic and cultural offerings Pasadena has and it puts the city on the map as a music-scene destination despite our lack of decent live-act venues.  The sheer scale of this event - over 100 acts, a multitude of stages spread out over the downtown area from Old Town to South Lake, and FREE admission - is really something Pasadena can be proud of and based on what I saw last year, it's very well-organized.  And I truly believe that in a couple of years Make Music Pasadena will be one of the elite musical events in Southern California, like the Sunset Junction Street Fair in Silver Lake...oh, yeah, they cancelled that last year and their organization is in bankruptcy...HA!

• Make Music Pasadena [website]

Cleaning the Parkway

The 110 Freeway, aka Arroyo Seco Parkway, from Pasadena to downtown has all the makings of being a beautiful freeway.  Besides it's historical significance, it's topography and geography makes it unique among the Southern California freeways with its twists and turns (a nightmare when it rains because Angelenos don't know how to drive in wet conditions!), the greenery for most of the distance on both sides and the way it hugs the arroyo.  But so much more can be done to pretty it up.  I won't start with the graffiti in certain sections (I'll save that for later), but let's do start with the trash.  My God, let's finally get rid of all that crap especially on the southbound side.  Plastic bags caught on branches, roadway debris that's accumulated for years, and what about that straightaway in the Highland Park section?  You know, where that chain link fence runs down the side and the homeless have called home on the other side of the fence.  Tires, containers, litter, traffic cones, downed signs and even a downed streetlamp that's been resting by the side for over a year.  It pretty much stays shitty all the way to the downtown four-level interchange.  I drive from Pasadena to downtown almost everyday, and I'm disgusted almost everyday with all that trash.  Caltrans, can you hear me?