Instagram story viewer> @rememberingaltadena> Posts

Remembering Altadena

@rememberingaltadena

403

posts

4.4K

followers

774

following

Altadena and Pasadena’s past in pictures.
Accepting all submissions.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

Friday Night Live -Tone by @rememberingaltadena

78

2

9 months ago

Mariposa and OliveThis is one of the last if not the very last surviving wood A-Frame house in Altadena that looks exactly how it did when it was built in 1924 by famous author, Kyle Onstott. Kyle was also a competition dog trainer. Prior to the construction of these houses the lot was used as his dog kennel. Outside of the four house houses subdivided on his lot, nearly every other house in the area was destroyed. This house is significant because it sits dead center in the historically Black area of Altadena and represents what many of the houses looked like at its peak.#altadenastrong #altadena #eatonfire #palisadesfire by @rememberingaltadena

330

16

2 years ago

This intersection used to look completely different.For decades, the road we now call Altadena Drive was Foothill Boulevard. The name changed in 1955, but the biggest change came later.As Foothill approached Lake Avenue, it made a sharp swing south instead of running straight through the intersection. The road curved around large houses that stood where the present roadway now cuts across.In 1969, the intersection was realigned. The old bend was abandoned, Altadena Drive was pushed into a straighter path, and the houses blocking that route disappeared. What looks like an ordinary wide intersection today is actually the result of the county cutting a new road through the existing neighborhood.The leftover section of the old Foothill Boulevard roadbed became Triangle Park in 1971.That means Triangle Park is not simply an oddly shaped piece of landscaping. Its shape preserves the route the road once followed. When you stand there, you are essentially standing in the former path of Foothill Boulevard.The park was later rebuilt with native landscaping, stormwater features, seating and markers recognizing pieces of Altadena’s history. But the triangle itself was created by the road realignment.How many people knew Altadena Drive once curved directly through what is now Triangle Park? by @rememberingaltadena

750

15

11 days ago

Pasadena replaced thunder with technology, and not everybody is happy about it.For generations, the Fourth of July meant fireworks over the Rose Bowl. You could watch from the stadium, the Arroyo, the Colorado Street Bridge, the hills, the golf course, or anywhere you could catch the sky lighting up.It was loud. It was smoky. It backed up traffic. Dogs hated it. Some neighbors hated it.But it felt like Pasadena.Now the Rose Bowl has moved away from traditional Fourth of July fireworks and into the drone show era. The reasons make sense. Fire risk, air quality, public safety, pets, wildlife, and less smoke hanging over the city.But here is the question people are arguing about.At what point does “safer and cleaner” start turning every tradition into a quieter, more controlled, less memorable version of itself?Some people say good riddance. Fireworks are dangerous, outdated, and unnecessary in a city sitting beneath dry foothills.Others say Pasadena lost something. Not because fireworks were perfect, but because shared traditions are disappearing one by one.What do you think? Did Pasadena make the right decision, or does the Fourth of July just not feel the same anymore?#Pasadena #RoseBowl #RememberingAltadena #FourthOfJuly #sgvhistory by @rememberingaltadena

717

124

22 days ago

Throwback Thursday to when movie night meant heading to the United Artists Theatre in Old Pasadena.Long before Old Pasadena became the shopping and dining destination it is today, this Art Deco landmark lit up Colorado Boulevard with blockbuster premieres, packed sidewalks, and glowing marquees. For a generation of locals, this wasn’t just a theater. It was where first dates happened, families gathered, and downtown Pasadena came alive after dark.Do you remember seeing a movie here? Tell us your first film or favorite memory.#ThrowbackThursday #OldPasadena #PasadenaHistory #UnitedArtists #RememberingAltadena by @rememberingaltadena

2k

113

23 days ago

Most people know Rodney King.Few know he was raised in Altadena.Before his name became known around the world, Rodney King was a kid growing up in Altadena. He attended John Muir High School and spent time exploring the foothills above the community with his brothers. Long before he became a symbol of police brutality, he was one of us.Then came March 3, 1991.The videotaped beating of Rodney King changed America forever. The acquittal of the officers the following year sparked the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and forced millions of Americans to confront police violence in a way they never had before.But behind one of the most recognizable names in American history was an Altadena man whose life was forever changed.Rodney King didn’t choose to become a historical figure. History chose him.His story is part of Altadena’s story, and it deserves to be remembered.Did you know Rodney King was from Altadena? If you or your family remember him before the world knew his name, share your memories below. Those stories are part of our history too.#RememberingAltadena #AltadenaHistory #RodneyKing #Altadena #PasadenaHistory by @rememberingaltadena

527

24

23 days ago

Some of Altadena’s cutest cottages started as a real estate hustle.E.P. Janes showed up in the 1920s selling “Homes of Distinction in Scenic Altadena.” The pitch was simple: stop renting, put $500 down, and move into a storybook cottage with furniture, landscaping, sprinklers, arched doors, steep roofs, and the whole dream already packaged.But Janes had a past.Before Altadena, he had been tied to miracle cure water, land fraud, bad tires, lawsuits, and a federal indictment. By the time he got here, he knew how to sell people a dream.Altadena made it easy. It was unincorporated, building permits were not required, and no blueprints were filed. Janes could build fast, sell fast, and promise even faster.He said he would build 1,000 homes. He never came close. At least 160 Janes homes have been documented.Then the problems hit. The streets, curbs, gutters, roads, and sewers did not come together. A 1926 bond measure failed. Heavy rains tore up the streets. Creditors came after him. Then Janes disappeared.He left behind unfinished houses, bad roads, and a neighborhood stuck with the mess.That is what makes Janes Village interesting. It was not just cute cottages. It was hype, shortcuts, and unfinished promises.Somehow, the houses still became one of Altadena’s most recognizable neighborhoods.Would you still buy one?#Altadena #Pasadena #AltadenaHistory #JanesVillage #RememberingAltadena by @rememberingaltadena

156

11

25 days ago

Happy Birthday Mr. Malouf!!!!If you went to John Muir, you probably knew Chuck Malouf.And even if you never had him as a teacher, you knew exactly who he was.The blue and gold. The buttons. The hat. The scarf. The smile. The Mustang pride.Chuck Malouf was more than a longtime Muir teacher. He was part of the school’s living memory. He attended John Muir, came back to teach there, coached, mentored, volunteered, and kept showing up for generations of Mustangs.Long after retirement, Chuck was still there. Still representing Muir. Still pouring into the school. Still reminding Pasadena what school pride looks like when it lasts a lifetime.Charles Abraham “Chuck” Malouf passed away on October 3, 2024.Pasadena lost more than a teacher.John Muir lost one of its legends.If Chuck taught you, coached you, encouraged you, made you laugh, or yelled “Muir” loud enough for you to never forget it, leave a memory below.#JohnMuirHighSchool #MuirMustangs #PasadenaCA #TurkeyTussle #RememberingAltadena by @rememberingaltadena

607

60

a month ago

Pasadena, they are talking about taking the Turkey Tussle out of the Rose Bowl.Not canceling the game.Moving it out of the place that made it legendary.During Pasadena budget talks, city leaders questioned whether the city should keep helping cover the cost of holding the Turkey Tussle at the Rose Bowl. That may sound like a budget detail, but everyone knows what it really means.If Pasadena stops supporting the Rose Bowl cost, the game does not stay the same. It gets pushed somewhere smaller. The bands lose that stage. The students lose that moment. The alumni lose the tradition they grew up with.The Turkey Tussle is Pasadena High vs. Muir inside the Rose Bowl. That is the tradition.You do not protect Pasadena history by pricing it out of its own stadium.Contact the Mayor and Pasadena City Council. Tell them the Turkey Tussle belongs at the Rose Bowl.Should Pasadena protect this tradition, or let it get pushed out?#Pasadena #TurkeyTussle #RoseBowl #JohnMuirHighSchool #PasadenaHighSchool by @rememberingaltadena

150

11

a month ago

Who can guess this location in Pasadena? by @rememberingaltadena

79

4

a month ago

You are looking at a Pasadena neighborhood disappearing in real time.These aerial views show the same section of Pasadena between 1965 and 2016. In the first image, you can still see dense city blocks. By the 1970s, freeway construction and clearance had started cutting through the area. By 2016, the corridor had been completely remade.This was not empty land.Pasadena Museum of History says the neighborhood at the heart of the city was home to mostly Foundational Black American, Mexican American, and Japanese American families before eminent domain forced them from their homes.The same source says many Black residents in Pasadena were concentrated along Vernon Street, in northwest Pasadena, and in west Altadena because restrictive covenants and r-cist housing practices limited where people of color could live.Then came urban renewal, Parsons, and freeway construction.A UCLA study adds that Pasadena tracts affected by freeway construction lost almost 1,800 housing units from 1960 to 1970, even while the city as a whole kept growing. The same study found that urban renewal around the SR 710 stub disproportionately displaced communities of color.So when people say Pasadena was “revitalized,” remember what came first.Homes came first.Churches came first.Businesses came first.Schools came first.Families came first.Some places were demolished. Some were relocated. Some were erased so completely that people now drive past them without knowing what used to be there.That is why remembering history matters.If you cannot see the old neighborhood anymore, that does not mean it was never there.Do you recognize this stretch of Pasadena?#RememberingAltadena #PasadenaHistory #LostHistory #BlackPasadena #OldPasadena by @rememberingaltadena

1k

41

a month ago

Who can name this busy intersection in Altadena?Hint: The photo is facing south. by @rememberingaltadena

185

24

2 months ago