Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-24
FINE ROAD
NEGLECTED
PASADENA AVENUE is FALLING
INTO DISREPUTE
COUNTY AND CITY REFUSE TO
REPAIR 1T
Movement on Foot to Punish Those
Responsible for Condition and
Efforts viii Be Made to
Clean 1t Up

AliSduSIeb avenue, Otle VI lie iIiOSI
beautiful and picturesque driveways
in Southern California and noted as the
connecting link between Los Angeles
and Pasadena, presents an impressive
vista, but If any one journeys to its
end expecting the magnificent thor
oughfare to open into a wonderland of
beauty appropriate to the vista he is
sadly disappointed.
The fact is Pasadena avenue is fall
ing into disrepute. There is a deplor-
able condition at its terminus, creating
no end of criticism, but just who is re-
sponsibe seems yet to be a mystery.
Among motorists, especially If they
be tourists unfamiliar with the thor
oughfare, there has arisen a series OF
protests, stimulated by denizens of the
Arroyo Seco who happen to live any
where within half a mile of the ter
minus.
Pasadena avenue, except for one dis
graceful deformity, would undoubtedly
be the finest driveway in Southern
California. About three years ago it
was improved, at a. great expense and
fanleaf palms and live oaks were plant
ed alternately on both sides at inter-
walls of about twenty feet.
Trees of Impressive Size
These trees, especially the palms,
are now attaining impressive size. The
long avenue has been macadamized
from Sycamore grove to it's terminus at
Avenue Sixty-six and San Pasqual
avenue, and as one ascends the grade
from Avenue Forty-seven and gazes
toward Garvanza through the wide
vista Of Highland Park homes, many
of which are among the finest in the
west, the thoroughfare appears a veri-
table "avenue of magnificent perspect-
i've" the pride of both Highland Park
and Garvanza and the joy of automo-
bilists.
But for reasons intangible there has
been a steady opposition to all efforts
to extend the avenue into Pasadena.
There is a distance of an insignif1-
cant quarter of mile across the pic
turesque Arroyo Seco, and this shoe
string strip, which divides the two
cities, is bugbear to all who are in
terested in the extension of the beau
tiful avenue.
Not infrequently the county board of
supervisors has been appealed to so to
arrange the terminus at Avenue Sixty
six that motorists can use the county
road at the foot of the hill to reach
Pasadena by the short route but for
the same intangible reasons the board
has stubbornly refused to do so, and
for the last five years the avenue has
been allowed to end on what might be
rightly termed a brink, for it is cer-
tainly not a grade and the rains have
so washed out the hill at which Pasa-
dena avenue termintes that only light
teams can use the roadway.
Road Much Neglected
The city will not handle the hill
grade because half of it is in the coun-
ty, and by virtue of the same fact the
county refuses to attend to it. Hence
for five years the beautiful avenue has
been allowed to end abruptly at the
edge of the picturesque Arroyo Seco
with only the space of quarter of a
mile separating it from another equally
beautiful avenue in South Pasadena,
which space embraces one of the most
beautiful sections of the sylvan ar
royo, but at present is inaccessible.
Because of inaction in this matter
the avenue has become a sort of blind
street and motorists are forced to go
a very round about way to cross the
arroyo.
But that is not the worst part of the
trouble AS if utterly Indifferent to the
development or future of this impress
sive highway it's terminus at Avenue
Sixty-seven, within two hundred feet
of two magnificent homes and within
five feet of the washed-out county road,
over which all residents of the arroyo
must pass, has been turned into a
dumping ground. So, when an auto
mobile party of sightseers comes to
the jumping off place" expecting to
behold what otherwise would be a
beautiful woodland landscape, they see
instead huge piles of rags, cans, paper
and tons of rubbish.
Such is the terminus of the beautiful
-fringed avenue over which tour
lists have so long been enthused with
ecstasy.
New Movement on Foot
Just what is to be done remains to
be seen, but there is a movement on
foot to bring the matter to an issue,
and it is probable the health officers
will be called to investigate. 1t was
reported last night that arrests may
be made if those responsible for the
big rubbish pile can be located. Incl
dentally a plan is on foot to see by
what method the city or county can
be made to grade the terminus and
keep it in repair.