Mystery History

Where are we? And what's happening?

The first person who comes closest will win a fabulous prize!

I'll have the full scoop on Thursday.

Looking for Something to Do?

Events are free unless otherwise noted.


Saturday, Dec. 12, at 11 a.m. -- Deanna Clark (left) and Deb Swartz of Old Town Cooking School will present a class on holiday entertaining at San Rafael Branch Library, featuring festive desserts and dishes. Enjoy sample treats and recipes to take home!


Monday, Dec. 14, at 3:30 p.m. – Enjoy Chanukah fun and festivities with musician/singer Shulamit Rosner at Lamanda Park Branch Library.


Tuesday, Dec. 15, starting at 8 a.m. – Ticketmaster will sell tickets to the Bowl Championship Series final game! This will be a sell-out so you'll have to act quickly. The final game will be played Thursday, Jan. 7, at 5 p.m. at the Rose Bowl Stadium between #2 BCS-ranked Texas Longhorns and #1 BCS-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.


Tuesday, Dec. 15, starting at 8 a.m. -- You can also purchase tickets from Ticketmaster for the giant BCS Tailgate Party featuring the Goo Goo Dolls and Switchfoot, interactive games and attractions, children's activities and much more.


Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 6 p.m. – If you work for a local non-profit organization and are interested in applying for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and other funding, learn more about the RFP process and evaluation criteria during a meeting at Jackie Robinson Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave. (626) 744-8318.


Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m. -- Flights of Fantasy Story Theatre presents Family Night at Santa Catalina Branch Library with a holiday variety show guaranteed to delight event the crankiest Scrooge!


Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m. -- This week's film in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Pasadena Central Library is "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993) with the voices of Chris Sarandon, Catherine Harris and Paul Reubens in the animated tale of Jack Skellington, the king of Halloweentown, who discovers Christmas Town but doesn't quite understand the concept.


Old Town Cooking School photo courtesy of Pasadena Weekly.

Mystery History -- Solved

UPDATE -- He lives! Chris contacted me today (Friday) with his email address and blog address, so he indeed wins a fabulous prize. Thanks for proving me wrong, Chris!

* * *

Chris had the right answer, but the new rule is that if there's no way for me to contact the winner, there is no winner. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks "Chris" is a mole with an inside track. Please prove me wrong, Chris!

The caption for this photo in the June 15, 1936, edition of the Los Angeles Times reads:

Pasadena Junior College co-eds are shown forming living candles in this huge anniversary cake commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of Pasadena to be celebrated June 19. The girls are Evelyn Hansen, Ruth Nickerson, Barbara Lombard, Betty Wilcox, Peggy Munn, Ellen Jones, Marjorie Loomis, Helen Sperry, Mariam Purdon, Virginia Larsen, Joy De Long, Beverly Millar, Carol Crum, Patty McCune and Josephine Tryon. The cake is twelve feet in diameter.

On June 18 at the Rose Bowl Stadium about 50,000 spectators witnessed the major feature of the City of Pasadena's 50th anniversary observance: A combined commencement pageant for 2,487 new graduates of Pasadena Junior College, local high schools and junior high schools with the theme "The New Atlantis."

At this same event 100 city, county and school officials, accompanied by surviving pioneers, marched into the stadium and formed a human city seal featuring a rose crown. I've never found a photo of this but would love to come across it someday!

Here's a passage from the seemingly elitist Los Angeles Times on June 19, 1936:

It was on June 14, 1886, that the few thousand ranchers living in this area were notified that they no longer were "hicks," but resided in an incorporated city, or glorified dude ranch.

Here's something more dignified, written by J.W. Wood in his book "Pasadena: Historical and Personal" (one of my favorites in the Centennial Room at Pasadena Central Library).

Men and women may live for a long time in amicable social partnership and not feel the need of laws or miss the absence of edicts. But a time comes when a civic ambition stirs them, and necessity forces them to organize into a formal and legal partnership.

It was thus with Pasadena. Although there were some who declared against any necessity of it, events arose that compelled it. Pasadena was within the township of San Gabriel and the jurisdiction of its police court. I believe Otheman Stevens, known as the popular and able dramatic critic and special writer on a Los Angeles newspaper, for a time, administered Justice in the little court of San Gabriel. Little was there for him to do in a Judicial capacity which gave him the more time to practice with his pen.

He also was "regular correspondent" for the Pasadena Union and was thus exalted in the ranks of literary endeavor! But, as I said, San Gabriel administered our court of Justice. Pasadena wanted its own. Pasadena had no official existence yet, and no officials, excepting its School Trustees and a Deputy Constable.

Coincidentally, the Pasadena Star-News celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1936.




Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library and Los Angeles Public Library.

Tree-lighting at City Hall

Here's what I love most about our Christmas tree-lighting event every year at Pasadena City Hall: Ours is not an uber fancy-schmancy department store type of tree. Instead, ours is traditional and folksy. The entire ceremony warms everyone's hearts.

Last night dozens of people gathered in the grand entrance for the occasion.


Expectant faces were everywhere we looked.


Robin Turrentine led the McKinley After-school Performing Choir. These children -- and their director -- are magnificent.

Mayor Bill Bogaard and I shared the MC responsibilities.


Some of our wonderful volunteers served up refreshments.


And then Mayor Bogaard flicked the switch that lit the tree.

Thanks to Manuel Galloway of our Public Works Department, a crew cleaned and polished the tile floor of City Hall's grand entrance for the event, and the lights are reflected beautifully as a result. (Another Public Works Department crew delivers the tree to City Hall every year, and still another decorates it.)


Happy holidays, everyone!

All photos were shot by the mighty Zack Stromberg of my Public Affairs Office staff.

Mystery History

Who are these young women? And what's happening?

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

In the interest of full disclosure, I erased something that will be back in full view for the big reveal on Thursday.

Comments are accepted from anyone with a valid URL or who send me an email identifying themselves.

Mystery History -- Solved

Elijah wins with his 7 a.m. Tuesday guess "Is Myron Hunt posing by the fountain in the Central Library courtyard at the library's dedication in 1927?"

In the photo above, architect Myron Hunt stands next to the courtyard fountain during dedication ceremonies for the new Pasadena Public Library on Feb. 12, 1927.

During the festivities Hunt gave the $586,000 building's keys to City Librarian Jeanette Drake (left in photo below) and received the Arthur Noble Civic Award from Franklin B. Cole, chairman of the Pasadena Board of City Directors (center).


Here's the award he received.


All of the Arthur Noble Civic Award recipients are listed on a wall plaque in the council chamber at Pasadena City Hall.



Learn more about the library's architecture here.

Myron Hunt designed many iconic buildings and other structures, including this little gem.

To answer Barbara Ellis's question, when the fountain was renovated in 2002, it was dedicated to long-time Pasadena Public Library Foundation volunteers Ann Jarvis Longyear and her husband Douglas McKay Longyear. The $15,000 cost of the renovation was donated by individuals specifically to honor the Longyears for their dedication. The renovation carefully preserved the flavor of the fountain, designed 1927 to replicate one at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.


Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library and Los Angeles Public Library.

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.