South Pasadena, California
City of South Pasadena | |
|---|---|
| Location of South Pasadena in California Location of South Pasadena in California | |
| Country | United States of America |
| State | California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| Incorporated (city) | March 2, 1888 [1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Philip Putnam [2] |
| Population (2000)[3] | |
| • Total | 24,292 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| Zip Code | 91030, 91031 [4] |
| Area code | 626 [5] |
| Website | http://www.ci.south-pasadena.ca.us/ |
South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 24,292.
History
South Pasadena was established on March 2, 1888. The city was originally notable for its ostrich farm, a popular local tourist attraction.
South Pasadena's streets are lined with numerous species of native California trees. Because there are very few stucco-clad Spanish Colonial houses and virtually no palm trees in some parts of the city, South Pasadena is a popular stand-in for Midwestern and Northeastern towns in motion picture and television productions. Few cities in the nation are better recognized for their determination to preserve their neighborhoods and small-town atmosphere. (South Pasadena residents' frequent use of the term "Mayberry" to describe their city has drawn scorn from opinion/editorial staff at most of Los Angeles' newspapers, both old-line and "alternative." Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez has noted that South Pasadena sits less than 10 miles from Downtown Los Angeles and that substantial numbers of residents work either in Bunker Hill or as professors and staff at the University of Southern California.) Moral and financial support for a fight against a major highway project through the city has come from all across the country; however, the bulk of it comes from the residents themselves, who pay legal bills incurred by the city in the freeway fight from their general fund (no special taxes are used), making the fight an ongoing local election issue. South Pasadena has been cited five times on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of "Most Endangered Places."
"Mom and Pop" merchants populate the business district, and the Mission West area is a part of the original Route 66. Of note is the historic Rialto Theater in downtown South Pasadena; the theater is a unique blend of Spanish Baroque and Egyptian stylings and was built in 1925. It is one of the last remaining single screen cinemas in the country. The Rialto was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, having narrowly missed the wrecking ball that year. It has been featured in many films and commercials, most notably Robert Altman's The Player and more recently in Scream 2.
South Pasadena is now home to mass transit with the Metro Gold Line stopping at Mission Station.
On the first Saturday of December every year, South Pasadena hosts an annual 5K/10K run around South Pasadena known as Tiger Run. The 5K has no elevation changes and the 10K has elevation changes on the half.
South Pasadena can often be seen in motion picture productions with its beautiful tree-lined streets and "anywhere in America" feel. Such movies as Gone with the Wind, Halloween, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, American Pie, Legally Blonde, 13 Going on 30, Back to the Future, Mr. Deeds, Bruce Almighty, and License to Wed are just a few of the notable films shot on location in South Pasadena. Notable television series that have been filmed there include Boston Public, Nip/Tuck, and Desperate Housewives.
South Pasadena is also the home of the record $110 million winning lotto ticket for the July 5, 2006 drawing.
South Pasadena is the oldest self-builder of floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
Transportation
Fair Oaks Avenue, Huntington Drive, and Mission Street are the main thoroughfares through South Pasadena.
The Pasadena Freeway has two exits in South Pasadena--Orange Grove Avenue and Fair Oaks Avenue.
LACMTA operates five bus lines (79, 176, 260, 361, 485) through South Pasadena. The Metro Gold Line has a station that stops in South Pasadena.
South Pasadena operates their own public transportation system. Since 2003, South Pasadena has been operating the City of South Pasadena Community Transit to connect with the Mission Gold Line Station. The system was originally called "South Pasadena Gold Link."
As of 2007, many old and outdated traffic signals are in the process of being replaced throughout South Pasadena.
Interstate 710 controversy
South Pasadena is well-known throughout the greater Los Angeles area for its opposition to the extension of the Long Beach Freeway (I-710) from Alhambra's Valley Blvd. to the Foothill Freeway (I-210) in Pasadena at California Blvd. If built, the freeway would destroy and cleave the small city into quarters, as the Pasadena Freeway (I-110) already bisects the north side of town.
Litigation over the 710 extension has run for at least three decades. After several defeats in court, as well as the stripping of construction funding by both federal and state authorities, Caltrans is now exploring a compromise route of boring a tunnel beneath the city. Having purchased hundreds of properties along the proposed right-of-way in the 1960s, Caltrans has proposed selling these in order to partially finance the tunnel, as the Southern California real estate boom of the early 2000s has caused those in South Pasadena alone to appreciate to a combined value of over $300 million.
Proponents believe that because the extension was never built, and because there are no four-lane arterials that run straight from Pasadena to East Los Angeles and no north-south freeways between the Golden State Freeway (I-5) 10 miles west and the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) 10 miles east, the entire western end of the San Gabriel Valley suffers from severe traffic congestion. (To this end, every single city government in the San Gabriel Valley except that of South Pasadena has signed a long-standing petition to the United States Department of Transportation begging for the 710 extension's completion.) However opponents say that neglects to consider the fact that the entire region is already well overrun with cars, trucks and buses, and that the addition of the 710 extension will do little, if any, to correct that. Caltrans admits that the extension would be just as congested as, or even more congested than, any other freeway in the region from its opening day forward, and that the 710 would destroy the city.
Schools
South Pasadena is within the South Pasadena Unified School District.
South Pasadena currently has 5 schools, all with considerably high rankings, placing them in the top percentiles in the state of California, as well as a premier school district in the Greater Los Angeles area. 3 elementary schools including Monterey Hills, Marengo, Arroyo Vista; South Pasadena Middle School, and South Pasadena High School. South Pasadena's ranking is currently in the top 90th percentile nationwide.
South Pasadena and the neighboring city of San Marino have had a rivalry that goes many years back. In the early 1900s, these two prestigious cities shared the same high school currently located behind the South Pasadena Public Library. Every year, the schools meet during football season to represent their cities in battle and to struggle for a victor's plaque that has been passed back and forth for many years. On October 22, 2004, the South Pasadena Tigers turned back the San Marino Titans in the epic "Fight for Fifty" game. It would be the fiftieth game these two schools had played and both schools coincidently had equal numbers of wins at that time. As of 2006, the scores stand at South Pasadena:26, San Marino:23, Ties:3.
South Pasadena Middle/High school has attracted the attention of TV producers over the years. The Middle School obtains a historic and "old-school" atmosphere. The high school has an unorthodox setting being one of the few schools with an outdoor setting.
Geography
South Pasadena is located at 34°6′47″N 118°9′21″W / 34.11306°N 118.15583°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (34.112958, -118.155778)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 km² (3.4 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 24,292 people, 10,477 households, and 6,003 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,726.5/km² (7,064.4/mi²). There were 10,850 housing units at an average density of 1,217.8/km² (3,155.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.32% White, 3.04% African American, 0.34% Native American, 26.58% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 5.17% from other races, and 4.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.07% of the population.
There were 10,477 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,728, and the median income for a family was $72,039. Males had a median income of $55,336 versus $40,304 for females. The per capita income for the city was $32,620. About 3.6% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over
References
- ^ "Incorporation Dates of California Cities". Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ "City of South Pasadena: City Council". Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ "South Pasadena city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder". Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ "USPS - ZIP Code Lookup - Find a ZIP+ 4 Code By City Results". Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ "Number Administration System - NPA and City/Town Search Results". Retrieved 2007-01-18.
External links
- South Pasadena official website
- South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce official website
- "South Pasadena Review", a local newspaper
- South Pas Wiki
- South Pasadena Online
- South Pasadena Blog Directory
- South Pasadena Forum
- Official site of South Pasadena Rose Parade Float
- South Pasadena Rose Parade Float history
