Calling All Children and Teens

Don't cry to me that there's nothing to do in Pasadena this summer. That just means you haven't looked!

The City of Pasadena offers plenty of free events and activities for children and teens.

Here's what's coming up:


KIDS SAFETY ACADEMY
This annual five-Saturday course from 9 a.m. to noon for children ages 6 to 12 and their parents is taught by Pasadena police officers and firefighters and includes stranger danger, fire safety, disaster preparedness, environmental stewardship, community leadership, water skills, outdoor safety, bike rules and more. It begins this Saturday, July 11, and space is limited, so call (626) 744-7659 TODAY to see if there's still some room for you!

ANIME AFTERNOON
Saturday, July 11, noon to 2 p.m. -- Teens who like reading manga will love this program at Pasadena Central Library, 285 E. Walnut St. You'll see new anime releases and critique them. Your reviews will go directly to the companies that produce the anime. While you're at it, join our official anime club!


WEEK-LONG SEMINARS FOR TEENS
Monday, July 13, to Friday, July 17
* 2 to 4 p.m. – Make beautiful baskets and more from recycled milk cartons based on a traditional style from Japan during the five-day Oriental Fusion camp at Pasadena Central Library. Class size is limited, so call (626) 744-4766 to reserve your spot!
* 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. – Professional photographer Janell Mithani will help you learn how to take their best shots and then enter their best work in a photography contest during the Digital Photography camp at Allendale Branch Library, 1130 W. Marengo Ave. Class size is limited, so call (626) 744-7260 to reserve your spot!
* 3 to 5:30 p.m. – Discover fun, quick and healthy recipes during the five-day Fast Food Fixings camp at San Rafael Branch Library, 1240 Nithsdale Rd. Class size is limited, so call (626) 744-7270 to reserve your spot!
* 3:30 to 6 p.m. – Learn a choreographed jazz piece during a five-day dance camp at Hastings Branch Library, 3325 E. Orange Grove Blvd. Class size is limited, so call (626) 744-7262 to reserve your spot in the dance line! The teens will perform the piece for friends and family on Saturday, July 18.

TAKE A HIKE!
Tuesday, July 14, 7 p.m. -- Teens will see a presentation by City of Pasadena naturalist Elise Jackson at Hastings Branch Library, 3325 E. Orange Grove Blvd., then head out for a hike to explore our local wilderness.

MOVIES FOR CHILDREN, TEENS, THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILIES (WE'LL SUPPLY THE POPCORN!)
* Wednesday, July 15, 4 p.m. – “Tale of Despereaux” with the voices of Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, William H. Macy and Christopher Lloyd in the story of a misfit mouse, an unhappy rat and a bumbling servant girl whose fates are intertwined with that of the castle’s princess. Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Pasadena Central Library, 285 E. Walnut St.
* Tuesday, July 21, 4 p.m. -- "Bolt" with the voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Malcolm McDowell and James Lipton in the story of a dog who is the star of a sci-fi/action show who believes his powers are real as he embarks on a cross-country trek to save his co-star from perceived danger. Allendale Branch Library, 1130 S. Marengo Ave.
* Thursday, July 23, 3 p.m. -- "Horton Hears a Who" with the voices of Jim Carey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Amy Poehler and Jamie Pressley in the beloved tale by Dr. Seuss of an imaginative elephant who teaches his young friends about the amazing world around them. Hill Avenue Branch Library, 55 S. Hill Ave.
* Wednesday, July 29, 4 p.m. -- "Bolt" comes to the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Pasadena Central Library.


SUMMER RECREATION
There are plenty of free (and low-cost) activities at parks and pools throughout Pasadena. Explore the opportunities here. Please note that for all summer recreation programs, enrollment is limited and spaces are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

JUNIOR PUBLIC SAFETY ACADEMY
Monday, Aug. 3, through Friday, Aug. 8, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. -- Forty teens ages 13 to 18 will be chosen for a five-day seminar to learn about police and fire careers. They'll discover everything they need to know about the duties of police detectives, forensics teams, traffic officers, jail staff and more at Pasadena Police Department headquarters, then move on to Pasadena Fire Department HQ to learn about fire safety, survival skills and more. Interested? Contact Officer Vito Gaxiola at vgaxiola@cityofpasadena.net or (626) 744-7651.

AUGUST IS YOUTH MONTH!
Day One, the City of Pasadena and many other organizations sponsor daily activities and field trips for children and teens throughout the month of August. Click here for the calendar and more information.

AND MUCH MORE!
Click here for more on children's programs.
Or here for more on teen programs.

Mystery History -- Solved

Paul Little wins this week's fabulous prize with his guess "workers building the flood control channel south of Devil's Gate Dam."

In the photo above, State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) workers dig a channel through the Central Arroyo Seco in 1934.

Earlier that year, the Los Angeles County Flood Control District had been reorganized with a semi-independent commission, and a flood bond issue was passed by voters shortly thereafter.

Here's the photo before I cropped it and erased some key identifying information:


This trapezoidal channel with a soft bottom was constructed from Devil's Gate Dam to Holly Street.

The English translation of Arroyo Seco -- Dry Stream -- is deceiving. Many floods have come crashing through the Arroyo Seco, including the worst in L.A. County history in 1884, and continuing over the next 50 years.

The 1930s was an era of large-scale construction projects all over the U.S. by otherwise out-of-work Americans who were employed by SERA as well as the federal Civil Works Administration and Works Progress Administration.

Here's the same 1934 project, but this time we're looking south. Note the Vista del Arroyo Hotel.


The SERA workers weren't responsible for the ugly concrete channel -- that came later, in the 1940s, as the Army Corps of Engineers' response to a devastating 1938 flood.

Since the early 1990s the removal of the concrete has been a high priority in Pasadena.

I don't want to get too far afield from this week's Mystery History photo, so we'll talk about the restoration of the natural stream bed another time.

Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library and the Arroyo Seco Foundation.

Mystery History

Where are we? And what's happening?

The first person to guess correctly will win a fabulous prize!

I'll have the full scoop on Thursday.

Happy Fourth of July!

Today is Independence Day, and tonight there will be a fireworks spectacular at the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Please remember it's illegal for you to purchase, sell or use fireworks in Pasadena. Don't take my word for it -- read all about it here.

Let the professionals do what they do best!

Green Balloon for Iran

It's Friday, so here's this week's green balloon in solidarity with the oppressed people of Iran.

Mystery History -- Solved

Jean Spitzer wins this week's fabulous prize with her answer "Raymond? And the Red Car line is being removed?"

In the photo above, taken Oct. 28, 1940, Pacific Electric Railway tracks have been removed on Raymond Avenue just north of Walnut Street (looking north) and the road is being prepared for all-new paving -- without rail tracks -- to accommodate automobiles.

I cropped the photo for Tuesday's post. Here's the full image:


The Pacific Electric Railway was also known as the Red Car System. In their heyday, two lines to and from Pasadena and Santa Monica -- the Short Line and the Oak Knoll Line -- boosted tourism tremendously with the promise of taking passengers "from the mountains to the sea" in one relatively quick trip (with stops along the way, including downtown Los Angeles).

Here's an undated, color-tinted photo of a Red Car on the Oak Knoll line:


It all began with the all-electric Pasadena & Pacific Railroad -- the P&P as it was more commonly known -- in 1885. The P&P connected Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles.

Here's a P&P electric trolley at Colorado Street and Raymond Avenue in the late 1800s:



Henry Huntington, who had recently incorporated his new Pacific Electric Railway, purchased the P&P in 1901. As the nephew of tycoon Collis P. Huntington, railroading was in Henry's blood.

He was the subject of this drawing illustrating his impact on the area's growth.


He maintained control of Pacific Electric Railway (PE) until 1911, when he sold it to Southern Pacific.

Many people thought the horseless carriage was a passing fad -- why spend a then-whopping $850 for such a thing? -- and few dreamed of actually owning one. Besides, there were no highways yet and few paved roads on which to drive automobiles.

So the PE's Red Cars served as the primary mode of transportation for getting to work, shopping, going to social engagements and other necessary excursions.

Here's a gathering of conductors in Pacific Electric's street car barn in Pasadena:


The street car barn was also featured in a photo on this post:

PE's most popular line for tourists was the Mount Lowe Railway, which Henry Huntington purchased in 1902. It closed in 1938 after a fire destroyed the Alpine Tavern and a bad rainstorm seriously damaged the tracks.


When Henry Ford began mass-producing automobiles in Detroit at an affordable price -- $270 by the 1920s -- the popularity of the Red Cars began to wane.

PE found it increasingly difficult to earn profits from passenger service for a number of reasons, including the cost of electricity, the Great Depression and the growing popularity of automobiles, so they greatly reduced the number of Red Cars, introduced more profitable bus lines and began using their rails for hauling freight.


Here's a photo of rails being removed on Raymond Avenue at Dayton Street, also in October 1940.


And here's an example of road-paving in Pasadena to make way for autos: city Street Department workers grading Hill Avenue between Washington Boulevard and the northern city limits in 1938.


History's a funny thing, isn't it? Passenger rail has returned to Pasadena.

So on we go.

Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena Museum of History, the Volkmer Collection and Jim Walker for use of the photos.

July/August "Pasadena In Focus" is Online

Our community newsletter will be delivered to residential mailboxes after the July Fourth holiday. In the meantime, it's posted online.


Enjoy!