Thanks for the comments!
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Originally Posted by Quixote
This is where I grew up and went to school K-12. You really captured the essence of the place, from the main commercial thoroughfares to the tree-canopied residential streets. You also got the farmers’ market, which is a clear indication that you’re a true South Pasadenan!
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Thanks! Yes, after living here 21 years, I consider South Pasadena to be my adopted hometown.
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Originally Posted by The North One
How is all this plant life supported with LA's Mediterranean climate? I guess they have the money to irrigate it all considering it's a wealthy area.
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Well, like LosAngelesSportsFan said, South Pasadena actually has a wetter micro-climate. There are also a lot of natural underground streams in the area, in fact, reading up on the history of South Pasadena, there were many streams and arroyos that went through the community, but over time they were built upon and some were undergrounded. And it does indeed rain more and stronger here during the rainy season in comparison with the LA coastal areas and the LA basin, because we are closer to the San Gabriel Mountains. Also, notably, South Pasadena is on a slope, so, we don't really get flooded streets during heavy rains, unlike even neighboring cities like Alhambra or other cities in the very flats of the San Gabriel Valley. I work in Rosemead, and there's a street there that floods regularly when it rains. South Pasadena's altitude is also higher than even neighboring Alhambra, which sometimes gets flooded streets during heavy rain.
Like many areas of SoCal, people do water their lawns in South Pasadena, but like I mentioned in my OP, a lot of homeowners (and apartment owners too) have been switching over to drought-tolerant/native landscaping, which requires a lot less water and looks great and more natural to the area. Looking at my photos again, I actually like the Craftsman houses that DON'T have the lawns in front of them. Natural landscaping attracts the natural insect and bird species too, so it creates a natural ecosystem. And I haven't done the research, but I wanna say that native California oaks also don't need a lot of water---but I could be wrong. It could also be that the roots have hit an underground water source, like the natural underground streams.
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Originally Posted by citywatch
it wasn't all that long ago when a person based in pasadena, such as sopas, had to go all the way to santa monica or westwood to find something less burban & more fulfilling in an urban sort of way. that was when dtla wasn't pulling its share of the weight for LA. but regrettably, in 2019, the homelessness & litter problems in area like dt are now the worst of times.
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Actually, I beg to differ a bit; Old Town Pasadena has always offered something sort of on the "urban" side in the San Gabriel Valley, so after moving to South Pas, I didn't really need to go to Santa Monica or Westwood to experience the same sort of thing; I could just go into Old Town. Although now, Old Town Pasadena is a lot more "sanitized" than it was, and there are too many chain stores. Though even back in the late 90s, people were already mourning what Old Town was becoming, but even back then, it still had somewhat of an edge and was still a little funky. They used to have a coffeehouse and bookstore where they would have poetry readings; they used to have a huge antique store in that old big building that the Scientologists now occupy (I was so angry when they moved into that building... and they seem to have a tendency to suck the street life out of any building they go into), and in the basement of that building, they used to have a small community playhouse that I saw a few plays at.
I used to go to the westside when I was a teen and in my early 20s, but when I moved to South Pas back in 1998, that's when I started exploring the eastside more and more, and going to the westside less and less. The proximity to South Pas helps, of course... and in exploring the eastside more, I've come to the conclusion that the eastside is far more interesting with nicer old architecture, and more of a history, unlike the westside, which can be quite bland. I rarely go into the westside anymore, unless it's to go to the Hammer Museum or the Getty, or the Fowler at UCLA. And that's another thing; ever since the Festival of Books moved from UCLA to USC, that's yet even one less reason for me to go to the westside. And of course Pasadena has its own cultural things to do like the Norton Simon Museum and Pacific Asia Museum, as well as the Pasadena Playhouse and the Civic Auditorium (though for a while now I feel the Civic has had less and less things on offer).
And when I moved to South Pas, there also wasn't really a reason for me to go to the westside to see indie/foreign/arthouse movies, because Pasadena also had movie theaters that showed those kinds of movies. I used to go to the westside to see those kinds of movies, but when I moved to South Pas, I started going to the arthouse theaters in Pasadena. Before the Laemmle's Playouse 7 on Colorado next to Vroman's opened in 2001 or 2002, Laemmle had a number of old single-screen movie theaters throughout Pasadena. Then when they opened Laemmle's Playhouse, they closed those other older theaters. And several years ago now, they opened an Arclight in Pasadena, so there are even more options for arthouse films.
My experience is subjective of course, but I've always loved downtown LA, even back in the 80s when I was a teen. I remember one day my senior year in high school, my best friend and I ditched school (and our parents even knew about it hehe) and went shopping at the Cooper Building in the garment district. We had a lot of fun, even though it was in a gritty area. And then we learned about Santee Alley and explored that area. Broadway was always lively, just the demographics and businesses were different back then. But back then, most businesses did definitely close up shop after 6pm or whatever. I've been going to Little Tokyo since the 80s. That Japanese diner, Kouraku, has been there since at least the 80s, and they've been offering late-night dining since then. So if anything, my moving to South Pas made it even more convenient for me to go to downtown LA, and then of course since the Metro Gold Line opening, I've had yet another option to go downtown. And ever since moving to South Pas, it made it that much closer and convenient for me to go to the downtown Central Library, which I go to regularly.
So yeah, for the last 21 years, living in South Pas, I actually don't go all that often to the westside.