Interesting Headline

From the Pasadena Star-News: Jennifer Jones Simon, Academy Award-winning actress who transformed the Norton Simon Museum, dies.

Until my boss Steve Mulheim pointed this out, I was unaware (as some of you may be) that Jennifer Jones was married to Norton Simon.  She is credited with bringing Frank Gehry on for the completion of the $3 million renovation of the Norton Simon Museum and with instituting a lending program to local arts institutions, including the Armory Center.  You can read her entire obituary here.

The Shops on Holly

Old Pasadena’s Holly Street, known for its unique independent boutiques and restaurants has been officially donned “The Shops on Holly.”  Signage has been installed on the brick building above where the delightful Lula Mae store is located.  I am told by property owner Jim Plotkin that soon to follow is a retro-styled clock installed at the corner of Holly Street and Fair Oaks Avenue.  We will follow up with a picture and more details when it is installed sometime within the next few weeks. To quote Pasadena Now: The street is perfect for shoppers seeking something different, a great foil to the chain stores on Colorado Blvd.

Holiday Spirit

I took a few photos of some holiday décor that caught my eye recently.  While checking on the new signage on Holly Street, I took a picture of the vintage Santa Claus and decorations in the always charming windows of Lula Mae at 100 N. Fair Oaks Avenue.  Along Colorado Blvd., I also found the ubiquitous blue boxes in front of Tiffany’s gorgeous art deco doors to be very stylish decked out with matching live Christmas trees (posted above).  Of course, these are only two examples of the wonderful holiday spirit that abounds in Old Pasadena.

Our wonderful Old Pasadena Holiday Celebration kicks off this Friday, November 27 with Santa’s Arrival and Tree Lighting in One Colorado Courtyard.  Saturday and Sunday, more than 50 merchants and restaurants are participating in our Holiday Open House by offering special in-store promotions, treats and events. Every $50 you spend in Old Pasadena on Saturday and Sunday qualifies you to enter our drawing for a $1,000 Old Pasadena shopping spree.  More details here.

To prepare for the festivities, we have been working hard to “set the stage” in Old Pasadena.  Last week Anna Addis, our VP of Operations, stayed up all night long to oversee the annual installation of the Reindeer Decorations, which are placed on four rooftops in Old Pasadena via cranes and careful maneuvering.  This is done in the wee hours of the morning so as not to disturb the regular traffic flow.

Then Barton Designs installs the spotlights to highlight our reindeer friends in their perches above the hustle and bustle of Colorado Boulevard.  They also install projected lighting (“gobos”) of snowflakes and other holiday themes to cascade along the sides of Old Pasadena buildings and alley walkways.  This year we’ve added more locations around the intersection of Fair Oaks Avenue and Colorado Blvd.  Locations include Pottery Barn, Louise’s Trattoria, Crate and Barrel, Distant Lands, Schoolhouse Parking Garage, and several alley walkways.  So, look for them when you visit us.

Dekra-lite, another team of specialists, installs the  lit snowflake falls on the streetlights to round out the holiday decor.  Last year they installed the lighting on the glorious Ficus trees of Green Street.  It was such a success with residents, merchants, and visitors alike, that we decided to leave the lighting up year round.  Don’t miss this great evening photo op.

To top things off, this year we added almost 150 poinsettias to our landscaping around the parking garages and alley walkways.  We’ve even switched out the music on the alleys to light holiday fare… so don’t miss the celebration this upcoming weekend.  We are ready for the holidays to begin.