The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) recently launched a new campaign aimed at informing the public of burglary and theft from motor vehicles (BTFV and BFMV), and providing a few simple steps to keep from becoming victims of these crimes.  OPMD recommends that everyone heeds these actions to keep their valuables safe.

“The irony is that if folks would take a few extra seconds to properly store their belongings, this crime could be eliminated. There is no good reason to be the victim of a BTFV or BFMV,” LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said. The average cost of a BTFV to each victim is roughly $1885.00.

The message is simple:

·   Lock It: Lock your vehicle every time you leave it unattended and take your valuables with you.

·   Hide It: Hide your valuables in your trunk, under the seats, in the glove box, or other compartments within the vehicle. Ideally, take your property with you.

·   Keep It: Personal responsibility is the best prevention to safeguard personal property and to prevent becoming a victim.

The long-awaited opening of Intelligentsia has finally come upon us.  We are so pleased that they opened on the East side of Colorado close to Raymond (near our offices), that they cherished the 1885 building’s architectural details, and finally, that they have great coffee!  The blog-o-sphere has been a-twitter with news and reviews of the new concept Intelligentsia Pasadena “Cafe”, which includes collaborations with various well-known foodie chefs, caterers, micro-breweries, etc.  Be sure to give them a try and stay tuned as they roll-out their dinner offerings, select beer and wine bar, etc.

More great information  from Amy Scattergood’s LA Weekly blog:

Photo: Amy Scattergood

The baristas have been trained by Michael Phillips, Intelligentsia’s director of education and the 2010 World Barista Champion. The pastries are from Bottega Louis and Cake Monkey. But as soon as Intelligentsia gets its liquor license, hopefully in a few weeks, it will be adding small plates, a dinner menu and charcuterie from caterer Matthew Poley (Heirloom-LA); a wine list from Matthew Kaner (Bar Covell); and beer, both in bottles and on tap. This is the first Intelligentsia coffeehouse — there are three locations in Chicago and, now, three in Los Angeles — that will go beyond coffee, tea and pastries, and the downstairs has been converted into a small kitchen. There is also space for a second coffee bar downstairs, should the upstairs becomes too crowded.

On a personal note, I love a good Cappuccino… one good bracing caffeine indulgence a day for me.  I had read about the infamous Black Cat Espresso, to quote the Intelligentsia website:  This syrupy and sweet espresso blend has been the staple of our lineup since the very beginning. It is a product of intensive lot selection and close, direct work with the farmers who produce its components. The Black Cat Classic Espresso’s hallmark is its supreme balance and wonderful sweetness. And, yes, I can confirm that all of this is true… and more.  It was absolutely divine!  In fact, as I write about it, I am overcome with the urge to run out and buy one this very moment.  Seriously, it was unparalleled.

From their Mission statement, yes, they have a Black Cat Project mission statement:

The Black Cat Project™ is by design a pursuit of something we’ll never catch: the perfect espresso in all of its manifestations. But that doesn’t mean we’ll ever stop chasing it. This project is rooted in our belief that espresso brewing is still coffee brewing and that only the best coffees can make the best espressos. We want to push the boundaries on flavor. We want you to experience amazing single origin, Micro-Lot, and seasonal espressos with truly distinct flavor profiles that reach far beyond “chocolate” or “caramel.”

They even have a great Espresso Video on Vimeo, which has been viewed 112,000 times since it was posted in January! These guys are serious about their coffee.

Check out a great review of the lunch bags at the L.A. and O.C. Foodventures blog as well as a listing of many other write-ups:

What Do Others Say?
- FoodGPS’s Joshua Lurie provided a “what to expect” report for Feast LA.
- Mattatouille attended the media preview (and snapped a photo of me!) and simply called it “one of my favorite places in the city” and looking forward to more from their menu, beer & wine selections and of course, the coffee.
- Gourmet Pigs gave it a first look from the media preview, found it “a definite upgrade in the space that used to be Wok ‘n Roll . . . [and] easily the best restaurant in Old Town”
- LA Weekly’s Squid Ink filed a more objective outlook but said it’s “a beautiful space”
- LA Times’ Daily Dish also provided a brief report and some photos from the media preview
- Eater LA checked it out in soft opening phase, deemed it “appropriately hipster-marvelous”
- Gmangoman also went during its soft opening, called it it a “much needed addition to the Old Town Pasadena restaurant mix”

Intelligentsia Pasadena Cafe
55 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91105
626.578.1270

Construction is complete on the new pathway connecting the elevator lobby to the sidewalk on the north side of the De Lacey Garage. This new improvement provides a safe path of travel for pedestrians and parents with strollers without having to walk into the vehicular drive aisle, as was previously the case.

Before - narrow path of travel

Before - ground level handicapped parking

The new walkway along the north wall of the garage has a gentle slope and includes a hand rail between the walkway and the parking spaces. Safe paths of travel have become a new area of safety concern for cities and governmental agencies in California and OPMD was proactive in its approach to this issue in the De Lacey Garage. OPMD will continue to make improvements of this nature to the Park & Walk garages to maintain safety standards per new ADA requirements.

Posted by: Anna Addis, VP of Operations

After - Expanded walkway

After - wheelchair/stroller ramp

After - happy mother using the ramp

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.

Old Pasadena Management, at the urging of our Marketing Committee (and Apple enthusiasts), decided to take advantage of this opportunity to welcome the many visitors to the district and provide them with our special brand of Old Pasadena hospitality.  Several businesses took advantage of the crowds outside their doors and opened early, like Equator and mixi-bang!, to welcome the early morning visitors.

More than 25 Old Pasadena businesses agreed to provide a special discount to anyone presenting their iPhone 4 receipt.  A banner featured this promotion on our website, an email blast was sent out, and printed fliers were handed out to the thousands of the Apple customers in line.  From a 20% discount on “I Love NY” concert tickets to savings on delicious Mignon Chocolates and free dance classes offered by the new Lineage Performing Arts Center, Old Pasadena rolled out the welcome mat.

Tiffany & Co. promoted the launch of their free new iPhone App “Tiffany & Co. Engagement Ring Finder.”  This application, which can be downloaded from iTunes, offers users the tools for selecting the perfect Tiffany diamond engagement ring.

Due to the pre-sale reservations, Apple created two distinct lines: one to the east on Colorado Boulevard and down De Lacey; and the other to the west and wrapping down Mills Place toward Green Street.  Apple served water and coffee to their patient customers, while special treats were handed out by generous Old Pasadena merchants,  including delicious Pinkberry yogurt samples, Dots Cupcakes famous mini red velvet cupcakes, Vertical Wine Bistro’s refreshing Iced Green Tea, and canine treats from Three Dog Bakery.

Pasadena-based Idealab’s newest company, Feedback.com, was on hand to promote a newly launched effort to help the gulf cleanup. Feedback.com, an online platform to allow businesses to gain feedback from their customers, and help protect their reputation on the Internet, will donate 10 cents to the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s new Oil Spill Fund every time a user provides feedback on any business, person, event, product or topic on the site until July 23rd, up to a maximum donation of $50,000. In addition, Feedback.com said that any user adding feedback to the site will get a chance to win an Apple iPhone 4.

Later in the day, Apple provided umbrellas to people as the sun began to beat down on the line.

Bob from Bob’s Big Boy stopped by to add to the atmosphere, while many people circulated through the line offering to buy your old iPhone on the spot.  The lines dwindled off through late afternoon and at Apple’s 9:00pm close, it seemed that everyone had a new iPhone in hand.

Articles about the iPhone sales featuring Old Pasadena:

San Gabriel Tribune: Hundreds flock to Pasadena for Apple’s new iPhone

Contra Costa Times: Apple works to keep up with crush of iPhone demand

Videos from ABC7 featuring Old Pasadena:

Thousands line up around world for new iPhone

iPhone 4 in hot demand around the world

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.

As the City of Pasadena moves forward with the revision of its General Plan it is imperative that commercial and economic development interests be heard. You can assure your vice is heard by attending meetings, making sure your concerns are voiced and addressed appropriately throughout the process. Your comments can be emailed to city_council@cityofpasadena.net.

Community feedback has been clear: Pasadena’s strong community character – its diversity, neighborhoods and small-town feel – should be maintained; its history and heritage preserved; new development projects well-designed; traffic reduced; alternative modes of transportation encouraged; and economic vitality in commercial areas supported.

Moving forward, the summary report will provide input, direction and a framework for updating the General Plan. The next step of the update process will begin by comparing the current General Plan elements with this outreach report to identify topics out of alignment, in conflict or not addressed. The community will then re-engage to consider land use and mobility alternatives that attempt to reflect community comments, recent environmental mandates, and other government requirements.

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.

For more information, read MEMBERS PROJECT ANNOUNCES FIRST ROUND WINNERS TO SHARE $1.2 MILLION IN FUNDING FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS.

From the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s message:

Dear Friends,

After twelve long weeks and a photo finish, the winners have finally been announced in American Express’ Members Project. And we’re thrilled to announce that we won!

Voting ended on May 23rd with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy each showing 43% of the vote. After a week-long auditing of the thousands of votes cast, the official announcement came yesterday that there was indeed a tie in the “Arts and Culture” category and that both organizations would be awarded the $200,000 prize. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

It’s been tough battling with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy these last three months, since we are usually close collaborators. RTC sees unused rail corridors as literal pathways to our cultural past. By reopening these unused and often abandoned lines as public rail-trails, they’re not only re-stitching the transportation fabric of our country, they are preserving a tangible connection to our nation’s railroad heritage and improving our quality of life today. So we’re proud of our ally, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. But we’re proudest of a few other allies – our members and friends who took time out of their week to vote for us to win this generous grant from American Express. The picture in this email says it all to those who voted (as well as the many of you who attempted to vote and were thwarted): THANK YOU! We simply could not have won without the support of the folks who voted for us so faithfully. And since the voting ended in a statistical dead heat, we know that each and every vote mattered!

In a statement released yesterday, National Trust Acting President David J. Brown announced that we will use our winnings to expand our online education programs and reach new, younger and broader audiences with preservation’s message of sustainability and economic vitality. A very fitting use of winnings from an online campaign, since that medium will be critical to our efforts to introduce a new generation to historic preservation and the satisfaction that comes with working together to save places that matter. Again, thanks for your efforts on our behalf.

Gratefully, The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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.

Awards will be presented on May 27, 2010 at 6:00pm at Dabney Hall, CalTech. Click here for directions and on flyer for additional information.

Among the projects that will receive a 2010 Historic Preservation Award for outstanding “rehabilitation,” as decided by the Historic Preservation Commission, we are pleased to congratulate two honorees from Old Pasadena:

55-61 East Colorado Boulevard – Dan Mellinkoff
From the National Register of Historic Places:

Constructed: 1889
Frost Building Altered: 1919, D.C. McCallum, builder
This two-story building was the original Pasadena store of Wetherby and Kayser, an old Los Angeles shoe business owned by Eva Fenyes, a prominent local citizen. The simple façade of white glazed brick is ornamented by a boxed cornice at the roof line and simple pilasters framing the street level entrance to the second story. Six single-pane windows are arranged asymmetrically on the second story. The alley façade has arched windows and entrance, and a distinctive metal sliding door. Architectural details include leaded glass transoms, pressed metal cornices, and a decorative metal gate. The building was damaged in a fire, but underwent a certified rehabilitation in 2004.

The new tenant, Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, will be the Los Angeles area’s third Intelligentsia, following the Silver Lake and Venice locations.  They are slated to open this Summer and will be a welcome addition to East Colorado.

100 West Green Street
Friend Paper Company Building
Constructed: 1964 by architects Whitney Smith + Wayne Williams
Now the home of The Sofa Company, PappaRich, Onesipkim, and the De Lacey at Green lofts and town houses, the remodeled mid-century building looks better than ever.

From The Sofa Company website:

The Historic “Friend Paper” Building
The Friend family, long associated with the paper industry and graphic arts in America, contracted the construction of the Friend Paper building in 1965. Designed by one of Pasadena’s native sons, leading architect Whitney R. Smith, its architectural style is a union of Classicism and Modernism, termed New Formalism. Native river rock within the pre-cast concrete is an example of this type of architecture’s use of traditional, rich materials.

Renovation
In 2007, the new condos opened directly behind the historic building, but the  Friend Paper building was still neglected and empty. TSC found the retro architecture inspiring and imagined transforming the old shell into a new presence at the foot of these modern condos. About 12 months later, TSC launched the new opening of 100 W. Green Street with an expanded building of 8,000 sq. ft. including a hot new loft that overlooks Old Pasadena.

Help the National Trust for Historic Preservation win $200,000 from the Members Project of American Express It’s super easy. Just click here and vote by Sunday, May 23!  You don’t even have to register if you have a Facebook account.

From their web page:

Take Part: We Need Your Vote. We’re down to the wire and looking to you to help us in a very important online voting campaign – American Express TakePart. Voting ends on May 23 – this Sunday – and we are in a dead heat with our main competitor. We’re at the point where every vote counts, and the $200,000 we are so close to winning is money that will go a long way in helping us save places that matter. Voting is particularly easy for Facebook users, because you’re able to login using Facebook Connect, so signing on is a one-click process. Visit http://www.takepart.com/membersproject/vote now to vote, and then tell your Facebook friends by using the share button on the voting page. Thank you so much for your help!

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…

Also this Sunday, you want to make time to take in a stunning display of about 150 luxury autos, when the Concorso Ferrari rolls onto Colorado Boulevard. Vintage and contemporary cars will line the boulevard for your viewing pleasure when we welcome the Ferrari Club of America back to Old Pasadena for high-stakes show and tell! Beautiful cars, owners who are very happy to talk to you about their cars, a gorgeous day, and 300 shops and restaurants.

You’re gonna be busy on Sunday!

Posted by: Steve Mulheim, President & CEO

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.

De Lacey Avenue

Currently the Golden Trumpet Trees along Raymond Avenue and the Pink Trumpet Trees along Holly, Union and De Lacey Avenue are in full bloom. Although the slow arrival of Spring seems to have impacted the timing and perhaps the amount of blooms this year, the vibrant color and quantity of blossoms are still glorious and well worth a visit to see.

Here are some photographs from our archives and some recent shots of our colorful flowering trees.

POP Champagne & Dessert Bar on Union Street

Lulu Brandt in the Van der Vort Building on Raymond Avenue

Bird Pick Tea on De Lacey Avenue