| As Pasadena grew rapidly, the newly paved Colorado Street proved too narrow for increasing traffic and a “bottleneck” from DeLacey to Arroyo soon developed. On May 22, 1900 a petition for widening West Colorado was sent to the City Council. It was not until 1929 that work was started on what the Pasadena Star News described as “one of the biggest undertakings ever attempted by any city which involved not only a great amount of legal red tape to be overcome, but also many engineering feats that seemed nothing short of amazing." From Arroyo to Orange Grove, buildings were set back 14 feet on each side of Colorado, and most of the Victorian façades were replaced by Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco façades. |
Colorado Street looking East from Fair Oaks ca.1890...
And the same spot, ca. 1930s |
