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Contact: Kathy Perez
Oralia Michel Marketing & Public Relations
(626) 568-0902 ext.13
Arroyo Seco Communities Celebrate the Past With Vision for Future
Cultural, Environmental and Historical Renaissance Gaining Momentum
The historic Arroyo Seco, Los Angeles’ first suburb, is enjoying a renaissance. The communities of La Cañada Flintridge, Altadena, Pasadena and South Pasadena are re-connecting with some of the oldest neighborhoods of northeast Los Angeles: Garvanza, Highland Park, Hermon, Montecito Heights, Monterey Hills, Lincoln Heights, Mount Washington and Cypress Park.
Through the efforts of hundreds of residents and organizations such as the Pasadena-based Arroyo Seco Foundation and North East Trees in Cypress Park, these communities, which have existed side by side, are embracing their common history and have joined together on a series of projects and initiatives to improve the quality of life in the region. Soon to be connected to downtown Los Angeles by the Gold Line, they are generating renewed interest in the Arroyo’s historical significance as well as their vision for the future.
Recent accomplishments such as official recognition of the Pasadena Freeway, the first freeway in the American West, as the Historic Arroyo Parkway was a community driven effort, won with the support of former State Senator Richard Polanco. Declared a National Scenic Byway in 2002, the Arroyo now qualifies for federal highway funds to improve and beautify the areas visible from the Parkway.
Teachers from the area’s school districts are working with the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College and the Southwest Museum to hold special workshops on how to integrate study of the Arroyo into school curriculums. Occidental College, Caltech and UCLA are all offering courses on the past, present and potential future of the Arroyo Seco.
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Arroyo Seco Communities - Page 2
The center of the Arts and Crafts movement in California, the Arroyo is home to many important institutions and landmarks, such as the Rose Bowl, the Southwest Museum and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Today the area continues to represent the cultural diversity of Southern California.
Each spring, the Heritage Square Museum, the Lummis Home and Garden, the Southwest Museum, the Gamble House and the Pasadena Museum of History collaborate for Museums of the Arroyo, a special joint open house. In Montecito Heights, construction has begun on an Audubon Society’s Debs Park Nature Center, while South Pasadena has plans for a new nature park.
These partnerships, forged at the grass roots level across the Arroyo demonstrate a successful collaboration of communities addressing the environment, transportation, community development and historical preservation. Working together, the communities of the Arroyo Seco are planning a series of events to celebrate this scenic and historic region in June 2003.
More information about Connecting Communities and the ArroyoFest can be found at
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Oralia Michel Marketing & Public Relations
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Pasadena, CA 91105
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