Pasadena Adjacent

Lacy Park in San Marino was once the site of a lake named after Don Bonito Wilson. The Pattons (of military fame) who lived nearby decided to wage war against the onslaught of mosquitos who took residence at the lake when it reverted to a swamp during the warmer months. To that end, the fill dirt that was excavated in the construction of Cal Tech was transported over and dumped into the sometimes lake, sometimes swamp in an effort to rid the tender skinned Pattons of their greatest nemesis. Eventually Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez would discover Lacy Park’s even darker secret: Government Funding! Seems you can’t take money from California tax payers if you charge an entrance fee to non residents. Oops. San Marino has been forced to repay the state. How you ask? Not by me, not by you, but through the life blood of innocent trout. On February 21 San Marino managed to bring the mountain to Mohammad and I was witness to it. They recreated a lake near the rose arbor. Waving weekend entrance fees, visitors were instead charged a fee to enter the fenced-in lake along with additional fees charged per fish. I entered “said site” illegally (dragging Ramona with me) and in an act of investigative voluntary journalism I bring you THIS PHOTOGRAPH as further proof of the needless suffering endured by our finned friends.

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Jack was forced to think outside the box on this one. Back in the mid 90′s the J & B corporation was negotiating with both South Pasadena and Highland park on placing one of their boxes in each of our communities. With South Pasadena the corporation was all ears and sensitivity. With us it was a different matter. Thanks to the Highland Park Overlay Zone, J & B was forced into recognizing that “we the people” were not interested in plopping another one of their sterile restaurants in our community.

Not surprisingly, South Pasadena ducked and the box landed here (at the corner of Figuroa and Ave 43 up the street from the Lummis house). This award winning design based on our shared craftsmen legacy, is credited to Larry Web. Joan Smid was responsible for the interior.  It has traditional craftsmen copper lamps that encase fluorescent lights and it has custom made burgundy, mustard, persimmon and grape-colored tiles for wainscoting.

Laurie at Glimpses of South Pasadena

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