Old Pasadena Blog

This weekend marks the final weekend of free screenings for the third annual Old Pasadena Film Festival, but we aren’t going out with a bang… more like a shuffle and moan.  Saturday night, July 31st, we are inviting all zombies and their respective families to Central Park (click here for map) for an outdoor screening of the quintessential “zombie movie” George Romero’s 1968 Night of the Living Dead.  A $100 gift certificate for spending anywhere in Old Pasadena will be awarded to the most creative zombie attire!

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
(Central Park, 120 S. Raymond Avenue) 8:30pm
Bring your own chairs and blankets.
The first of six “Dead” films directed by George Romero, this 1968 black-and-white zombie movie is considered groundbreaking. It tells the story of Ben and Barbara’s efforts, along with five other people, to survive the night trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse avoiding the mysterious reanimation of the recently dead. Arguably the classic horror film, Night of the Living Dead is on American Film Institute’s list of 100 Most Thrilling Movies.

I was curious about the popularity of zombies in light of the recent record-breaking annual Zombie Walk in Seattle (final count of the undead was 4,233), the great enthusiasm with which the announcement of our movie screening was received, and the fact that there are 11 million results on Google for “Night of the Living Dead”  and 43 million for “zombie”.  Even communications students in the Elon in Los Angeles program will be attending the Old Pasadena Film Festival on Saturday with a choice of viewing NOLD (that’s Night of the Living Dead for the un-initiated) or All About Eve at One Colorado Courtyard (click here for map), arguably another must-see classic.

I checked the Google Trends for “zombie” and was intrigued to find that the Philippines beat the United States in search volume.  More importantly, even with all of the Twilight hype, I compared trends and people search on “zombie” one third more than “vampire”!  So now you know.

The Zombie Research Society informs us that May is official Zombie Awareness Month, and that many zombie films are set in May, including Night of the Living Dead.  As a point of reference, the Society’s mission is three-fold:  Science; Survival (and I quote, “surviving the coming zombie pandemic“); and Art.  I will end this post with their catchy slogan: “What You Don’t Know Can Eat You!”

Google image results for NOLD

Google image results for Zombie

Last Wednesday afternoon people started lining up and preparing to camp out the night in front of the Apple Store in Old Pasadena in anticipation of the Thursday, June 24, 7:00am sale of the new iPhone 4.  “This changes everything. Again,” to quote Apple’s ad campaign.  Well, from the 1,000 plus souls awaiting their new phone, they agreed and couldn’t wait for the change to begin.

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The City Council approved the final Outreach Summary Report at their May 17, 2010 meeting.  The report summarizes over 6,000 comments collected during nine months of community outreach.  The report can be downloaded here or go to the City of Pasadena’s website for more information: www.cityofpasadena.net/generalplan.  The report will provide a framework for the update of the Land Use, Mobility, Open Space and Conservation elements.

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In a letter from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, we learned that our plea for votes may not have gone unheard… well, maybe our plea and a few others. The National Trust for Historic Preservation won $200,000 in the Members Project from American Express and TakePart! And it gets even better… Because the intense competition in the Arts & Culture category ended in a tie between the two organizations, the generous people at American Express have awarded $200,000 to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, too.

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So, May is Preservation Month, an effort spearheaded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation that began in 1971 as Preservation Week and was expanded to a month-long celebration in 2005. According to the City of Pasadena:

The 2010 Preservation Month theme is Old is the New Green. In Pasadena, preservation month has been celebrated since 2004 with an annual awards program that recognizes positive contributions to historic preservation in the city. Awards are given to property owners and designers/architects and contractors for exceptional historic resource restoration or rehabilitation projects. Awards have also been given to recognize individuals that have contributed to multiple projects and for positive infill projects in historic neighborhoods.

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This Sunday the Rose Bowl Stadium is an “open house”. As the Rose Bowl Operating Company embarks on an extraordinary renovation and upgrade, they are inviting the public in to see the stadium like never before under the banner of the “Rose Bowl Stadium Games.” Tour the stadium, the locker rooms, and actually play on the field itself!

…I have to say, I’m no sports fan. But recently I was lucky enough to attend the retirement festivities for one Lt. George Wiley of the Pasadena Police Department, and ‘party-central’ was on the field of the Rose Bowl Stadium.

It was totally cool.

Walking across the field, looking into the expanse of stadium seats… unexpectedly cool. Anyway, this Sunday you have the chance to experience some of the same, along with lots of activities detailed on their website .

Check out 154 Historic Facts about the Rose Bowl Stadium, too.

On the topic of  quite cool…

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Vertical Wine Bistro on Raymond Avenue

Old Pasadena is home to two varieties of the Tabebuia, or Trumpet Tree as it is more commonly known.  There are approximately 100 different species of the Tabebuia, mostly from South America and other tropical locales.  Tabebuia chrysotricha , one of the many species with yellow blooms, is the national flower of Brazil, and Tabebuia rosea, with a pink bloom, is the national tree of El Salvador.  The wood from the Tabebuia tree, known as Ipê, is in high demand for furniture, particularly in the United States, and conservationists have expressed concern that Ipê wood from the Amazon rainforest continues to be harvested illegally.

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General Plan – Draft Outreach Summary Report and Public Hearing
City staff and the General Plan Update Advisory Committee (GPUAC) sorted through thousands of comments received from the community in 2009, which have now been organized into a draft Outreach Summary Report. The draft report is now available for public review and comment.  Download the report [PDF | 2.78 MB] by clicking here. The draft report will provide direction and framework for the General Plan update for the land use, mobility, open space and conservation elements. The draft report and technical appendix are now being circulated among city commissions and the community will have a 45-day period to provide comments ending on April 19, 2010. You can read and post your comments on the whole document, or review and comment on the report section by section on the City’s website here.

The GPUAC will also be holding a special Public Hearing to receive comments on the draft report on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 6:30pm in the City Hall Council Chambers, 100 N. Garfield Avenue.

To learn more about the General Plan Update, click here.

Dog walk bag dispenser on Green Street

Picking up after our four legged friends is part of being a responsible pet owner. In addition, the Pasadena Municipal Code requires that you clean up after your dog within five minutes, whether your pooch leaves their “business” on public or private property. So as a service to our residents and visitors, Old Pasadena Management District has installed dispensers, throughout the District, which provide pet owners with (biodegradable) bags to retrieve and dispose of pet droppings. These dispensers can be found at the following locations:

• 50 East Green Street (Castle Green Hotel)
• 33 West Green Street (Aaardvark’s Odd Ark)
• 67 West Dayton Avenue
• North Side of Dayton Avenue (Condo Complex)
• South Side of Green Street (Westgate – Sares-Regis Project)
• 54 South Pasadena Avenue (Harmony Nails)
• 84 S. Fair Oaks Avenue
• 112 S. DeLacey Avenue

Please be a good neighbor, obey the law and pick up after your pets. Thank you.

Posted by: Anna Addis, Vice President of Operations

Holly Street Clock and the Shops on Holly signage

A stately vintage-style corner clock has taken its proud perch at the corner of Holly Street and Fair Oaks Avenue to anchor what property owner, Jim Plotkin, has christened “The Shops on Holly”. Jim conceived of this project about a year ago and has been working diligently with historians, design experts, and city officials to design, manufacture and install an authentically styled clock to crown the unique independent mix of stores and restaurants that line Holly Street.

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