Fascinating Homes and Neighborhoods in Pasadena, California

I moved to California in 1985 but I still don't consider myself a Californian. Maybe that's why I often step back and observe the lifestyle and many ways of living in Pasadena and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley. I feel I can do it as an "outsider."

Pasadena and Altadena

This city of 147,000 and home to the world famous Rose Bowl offers a wide range of housing and living environments. I would say Pasadena has a unique mix of:

• inner city
• upscale urban
• suburban
• rural environments

The inner city of Pasadena is found in a concentrated area west of Lake Avenue stretching just about two miles west to Lincoln Avenue. This is considered northwest Pasadena and my wife is a nurse practitioner in this neighborhood. We've made many wonderful friends with some of the families in northwest Pasadena.

Next is what I call "upscale urban" with trendy condos and apartments for purchase and rent at the Paseo Colorado, Trio and other complexes near Old Town Pasadena and the Pasadena Playhouse District.

However, through the company Barbera Properties, I've also discovered some wonderfully comfortable and unique apartment buildings available for rent including one-story bungalows close to Old Town Pasadena. I think of them as more "relaxed" than the newer, chic developments. They're close to the well-known Vroman's bookstore and the retail stores and coffee shops on South Lake Avenue.

Suburban Pasadena and neighboring Altadena has 1950s and 1960s style homes typically about 2 miles to 3 miles north of the 210 freeway. There are ranch-style homes, split level and large estates and many homes have typical backyard pools (but not ours!).

A rural environment is part of the landscape thanks to the foothills towering north of the city, leading up to Mt. Wilson. There are towering pine trees along Altadena Drive, giving shade and a sense of "woods" near trailheads for Eaton Canyon and Henniger Flats.

You can actually hear chickens, skunks and coyotes are frequently seen on our street in the nighttime and early morning hours. Mule deer are also frequent visitors along with bears . . . and an occasional mountain lion.

When I moved here I was surprised to see the number of animals and the hiking trails going into a type of "backcountry" only 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

Pasadena's homes provide a remarkable look at the city's history and show different styles built in certain years.

There are many early 1900 homes that have their own style and grace.

In the 1920s and 1930s, a building boom took place in Pasadena. The first home my wife and I lived in was a 1,000 square foot home on a narrow street off of Lake Avenue and in the northern part of Pasadena.

Our neighbor who lived across the street, Margie and her husband, had lived in that one house their entire lives when we moved in. It was her father who had developed the area. The homes had wonderful woodwork inside and built-in cabinets with rope pulleys for the windows. I became an expert at fixing the ropes in the few years we lived there.

It even had a small basement which was quite a treat for someone from Pennsylvania.

There's another section of Altadena which is fascinating. It's Janz Village. The homes were built in the 1930s and are usually not much more than 1,000 square feet. But the roofs have the steepest peaks in the area. The style was certainly influenced by back east.

Pasadena, California and neighboring Altadena are fortunate to have homes and comfortable apartments which add to the charm and character which help create a strong sense of community in an otherwise booming metropolis.