The Seven Wonders of Pasadena

By Todd on July 10, 2007 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (45) |

The New 7 Wonders experiment has ended. Great Wall, Colosseum and The Taj? Sure. Petra, Machu Picchu and Chichen Itza? Amazing sites, but meh, there are greater "Wonders."

Christ Redeemer? Now is it just me -- a mere minion of the Godless press -- or is one statue a hella lame Wonder?

photo courtesy me
Of course Cambodia doesn't have the tourism nor did it orchestrate a campaign as did other countries in the running -- votes were apparently subsidized in Brazil -- but not including the ancient and expansive Khmer temple complexes collectively known as Angkor Wat is absurd.

I've visited a number of the sites that were under consideration. Getting up close to a place like the Taj Mahal cuts through all cliche and oversaturation to evoke true awe and wonder.

But I've actually toured and retoured the complexes around Siem Reap/Angkor Wat on two separate Cambodian incursions, because their wonder occupies an entirely different scale.

Here's a link to the Cambodia section of articles and pictures on my now defunct travel site.

So I've been, er, wondering what people vote as the Seven Wonders of Pasadena? Or should we say the San Gabriel Valley? (Does imagination and wonder exist east of the 605?)

courtesy me too
What do you think? Any suggestions? (Let's pretend to be serious for a moment.)

To qualify it has to be something humans have inflicted upon the environment (aka "man made") such as City Hall, the Rose Bowl or the Colorado Street Bridge.

If leaving a comment is too "public" feel free to e-mail me at todd.ruiz@sgvn.com.

Oh, and remember, Friday is the deadline
for submissions to the Peppermint Gardens contest.

45 Comments

AP said:

Pooh Bah's Records on Colorado. Memorial Park. The Gold Line. That Courthouse Thingee Over By The Colorado St. Bridge. The Worldwide Church Of God.

July 11, 2007 6:34 AM

jane said:

1. Pasadena City Hall 2. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (or Courthouse Thingee) 3. Pasadena Playhouse 4. Colorado Bridge 5. Norton Simon Museum 6. Gamble House 7. Rose Bowl

July 11, 2007 7:58 AM

Aaron Proctor said:

1559 N Hill Ave. #6 91104. Stats Castle Green

July 11, 2007 8:24 AM

AAA said:

In no particular order: Colorado Street Bridge Millard House (Wright) Gamble House Castle Green Art Center (Ellwood) City Hall Perkins House (Neutra) bonus: Peppermint Gardens

July 11, 2007 11:41 AM

Paul (that talker guy) said:

Too much time on my hands: 1.) Gamble House 2.)Library, City Hall and Civic Auditorium (could all count as one since they were a planned cluster) 3.) Rose Bowl (with events including the swap meet) 4.) The Packard dealership on Colorado (former Acura building) 5.) Holliston U.M. Church (reputed to have been moved stone by stone to the present location by loyal parishoners) 6.) Cal Tech (again, as one, since it exists as a single unit) as much for what comes out as what's built there, too. 7.) Art Center complex (with the proposed Frank Gehry building included)as much for what comes out as what's built there, too. The seven "lost" wonders 1.) Mt. Lowe Railroad and Hotel 2.) "My people are the people of the dessert" mural at Green and Fair Oaks 3.) The John Bull pub (in the building under the mural) 4.) The Red Line 5.) The "old" Old town Pasadena where you could find beer for a quarter, odd trinkets in the thrift shops and craftsman furniture for under $200. 6.) The Star-News building with the Star-news in it. (No comment on newspaper quality intended.) 7.) Tie: The original Beadles Cafeteria or Brotherton's' Farmhouse Restaurant (with wabbit on the menu... ) Seven Lost Intellectual / Esoteric / Amorphous Wonders 1.) Daring to build things that are "out there" (as the Gamble House and Green Hotel and so many others were in their time) 2.) Consideration for those who are different and a real desire to do something meaningful for them. 3.) Real vision for a Pasadena of the future and non-reactive city planning 4.) A Doo Dah Parade without all the animal activist/dog breed appreciators/pop causes represented. 5.) A civic sense of humor (everything's too damn serious, don't you think?) 6.) Trust in creative people that allows them to be creative. 7.) Understanding that Pasadena is a unique place that works best when problems are faced from that perspective. Unique solutions, not the "Why aren't we Glendale, Santa Barbara or (even sillier) Ojai.

July 11, 2007 4:18 PM

Aaron Proctor said:

"2.) Consideration for those who are different and a real desire to do something meaningful for them. " Here here, Mr. Little.

July 11, 2007 4:21 PM

Jeremiah said:

Hi Todd, Can you or someone turn off commenting on your old site http://www.frontlinedispatch.com/ ? It's a nice site, worth leaving up, but it's getting trashed by spam bots.

July 12, 2007 1:13 AM

Anonymous said:

Wonders 1. The at grade Gold Line crossings. I wonder about them every time I am stuck there. 2. The Allen Street Gold Line station. I wonder why it is not at Hill where it could serve two colleges and be near a lot of parking.

July 12, 2007 6:38 AM

AP said:

http://www.proctorformayor.com/2007/07/12/duck-the-police/

July 12, 2007 10:17 AM

Todd said:

Great stuff, great list, much appreciated. Jeremiah, I had to give up maintaining the backend cms running the site, a heavily tweaked out version of post-nuke, and the foul comments have become a bit overwhelming. If I get a moment I'll at least try to purge the database.

July 12, 2007 5:30 PM

Todd said:

Speaking of colorful comments I try to delete the ones that make it past the weak filtration built into this blog, but it's an inconsistent and lower-priority undertaking.

July 12, 2007 5:31 PM

Reumer said:

Most "Wonders" have been nicely listed by others (ie;AAA). A few others to consider: 1. JPL cut out of the Arroyo Seco hillside and home to the birth and life of the unmanned Space Program. Largest employer in the Pasadena area since the early 50's. 2. Huntington Hospital - Longest lasting hospital structure in Pasadena and birthplace of key city occupants. 3. The homes in Pasadena Glen which always seem to be rebuilt no matter how many times they burn down. 4. The Metro because it was truly a wonder that it ever got built.

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The Holmes Body Shoppe was the Packard dealership. The former Acura of Pasadena was something else (but was indeed a neat old car dealership).

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