Old Pasadena

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Tournament of Roses

April 22, 1875:
Pasadena, "Crown of the Valley", is Born

There were no plans for a business district when the members of the San Gabriel Orange Grove Association apportioned their land on January 27, 1874. Their vision was an agricultural community in the warm sunshine of Southern California. In January 1875, the first schoolhouse was built near the intersection of California Street and Orange Grove Avenue. They envisioned a village center would be developed. To establish a postal service the U.S. Government required a name to match the new settlement. "Pasadena" derived from the Chippewa Indian words for "Crown of the Valley" and was chosen on April 22, 1875.

 

In 1874, Fair Oaks Avenue was the eastern boundary of the settlement that would later become Pasadena. Below, South Fair Oaks Avenue in 1886, looking southwest.