page_title: Old Pasadena
section_title: Old Pasadena today
hierarchical_section_title: Old Pasadena / Old Pasadena today
caption_attribution_description: English: en:Old Town Pasadena
context_page_description: Old Pasadena, often referred to as Old Town Pasadena or just Old Town, is the original commercial center of Pasadena, a city in California, United States that arose from one of the most prosperous areas of the state, and had a latter day revitalization after a period of decay.
  Old Pasadena began as the center of a research hub that gave rise to Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Beckman Instruments, Aerojet and numerous other important institutions and companies. The large concentration of such companies in the area gave it the nickname "Athens of the West".
  The area was also an artistic center, the home to Andy Warhol's west coast museum debut and the first Marcel Duchamp retrospective, both at the Pasadena Art Museum. Before that Pasadena was a center of suffragist and pacifist movements, and other liberal causes. By the late 1940s, the downtown area was blighted by flophouses, dive bars and pawn shops. It later became a hippie destination, with head shops, adult bookstores and massage parlors. By the late 1980s, Old Pasadena was undergoing a period of urban renewal and regeneration.
context_section_description: Pasadena's downtown declined between 1930 and 1980, but has since been revived as “Old Pasadena”, one of Southern California's most popular shopping and entertainment destinations. Dedicating parking meter revenue to finance public improvements in the area since 1993 has played a major part in this revival.
  Old Pasadena today is mostly a business district with some mixed use. It contains a shopping mall, up-market restaurants, a movie theater, nightclubs, shops, outdoor cafés, pubs, and comedy clubs, and has an active nightlife. Most of the buildings also have offices and apartments on the upper floors.
  Old Pasadena is connected to Downtown Los Angeles via the Metro L Line light rail. Del Mar station is two blocks south of Colorado Boulevard, while Memorial Park station enters from Holly Street and Arroyo Parkway. The Norton Simon Museum is located at Orange Grove Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard. Pacific Oaks College Eureka campus is located at Fair Oaks Avenue and Eureka Street, the very north end of Old Pasadena. On New Year's Day, the Tournament of Roses Parade travels through Old Pasadena on Colorado Boulevard. The spectacle draws an average of 1.5 million spectators each year, thousands of whom camp overnight on the route to have a prime view of the parade.
  ArtPerformance is an annual outdoor music event featuring free concerts on multiple stages throughout Old Pasadena, in conjunction with PasadenART Weekend, a three-day citywide event.
  Two street intersections in Old Pasadena, Colorado/DeLacey and Colorado/Raymond, use the pedestrian scramble system, as used in Tokyo, Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, or on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
caption: One Colorado Market Place, one of the largest development projects in Old Pasadena.
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