Old Pasadena History
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Tournament of Roses
1883: A Town Emerges...
The first issue of the Pasadena Chronicle on August 16, 1883 noted that improvements in recent months had given Pasadena “the appearance of a town”. There were two general stores, two hardware stores, the Pasadena Restaurant, two harness shops, a cigar and newsstand, two blacksmiths, a meat market, a laundry, a shoemaker, and a drug store. Two hotels, The Los Angeles House and The Pasadena House (each constructed at a cost of $15,000), opened in 1883. The intersection of Fair Oaks and Colorado was now completely occupied, and in years to come the business district would expand from there.
September 16, 1885: Community and Commerce Celebrate - Railroad lines arrive to Old Pasadena
The arrival of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad on September 16, 1885 was cause for celebration on Colorado Street. The opening of Pasadena's first street car line was another milestone one year later.
Amidst the orange groves and orchards a cluster of frame buildings emerged at the corner of Fair Oaks and Colorado. This view, reveals the what would later develop into Pasadena’s original business center
