Exploring Oaklawn in South Pasadena

Explore Oaklawn with me!

In 1904, a brand new residential development was taking shape in a peaceful orange grove at the northern end of South Pas.  Although it contained only one large oak tree, it was called Oaklawn.  "The good life," South Pasadena Realty and Investment Company promised, "is in South Pasadena."

Chugga Chugga Chugga Chugga

The Gold Line tracks sweeping underneath the Oaklawn bridge traverse the same terrain as a bygone Southern California railway. Posting this picture is a great excuse to link to a wonderful collection of photographs from an era when Los Angeles boasted the largest interurban electric passenger rail service in the entire world. Check out the Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society.

Noir Palms

"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor..."

--Raymond Chandler

Gates (#1)

South Pasadena is a far cry from a gated community. Okay, there's that one weird fortress of a neighborhood near the high school. (I confess, I've never explored it. Could I even manage to sneak in without a passcode?) But the rest of the city is beautifully accessible.

That doesn't mean there aren't some mighty fine gates to admire and, in my case, photograph for all of you.

Here is one of the two historic Oaklawn portal gates. (You can read about the portals and see a wider shot here, and find out even more about the entire Oaklawn neighborhood here.)

Join me this week I take a look at some of South Pasadena's interesting and photogenic gates.

Settings: Part 39

Did you guys think I'd forgotten about my favorite game?

Slap on those director's caps and channel your inner auteur. I've given you the perfect setting ... just tell me, if this were part of a movie, what would happen here?

Fenced In

Today is the first day of the month, and that mean's it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Fences.

It's a shame that someone swapped concrete blocks for wood in this historical Oaklawn fence, but you can still admire the handpicked river rock in the pillars. Learn more about the history of this Greene & Greene designed South Pas neighborhood at my Patch column here, or get the Cliff Notes' version from this blog post.

For more interpretations of today's Theme Day, check out my fellow photo bloggers from all over the world. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Well, a picture IS worth a 1000 words...

I was going to tell you a few little-known facts about South Pasadena's famous Oaklawn bridge, but after volunteering at Little Bit's school and then helping her with almost 2 hours of homework, I have no capacity for coherent thoughts.

Talk amongst yourselves!

Ultimate Craftsman

The Style of the house should be as far as possible determined by four conditions: First, Climate; Second, Environment; Third, Kinds of materials available; Fourth, Habits and tastes—i.e., the life of the owner.

--Charles Sumner Greene, 1906, The Western Architect

Under a Bridge

Did you know these whimsical river rock benches are part of the base of the Oaklawn bridge? Now you do. They aren't the most scenic benches in town (that honor goes to the ones here) but they are wonderful in their blend-right-in Craftsman design. I haven't been able to find out if they are part of the original Greene & Greene bridge plans, or a later addition. At any rate, they're great, aren't they?

View From (Under) a Bridge

You just can't find a bad angle of the historic Oaklawn bridge -- possibly because of all those lovely curves. When Charles and Henry Greene designed this structure back in 1904, they were proud of the fact that there were only two other concrete bridges in existence in the U.S. I don't know if those other bridges have withstood the test of time, but ours seems both modern and classic. The five arches still blend perfectly with the surrounding trees.

Maybe one of these days I'll actually get a decent picture of the curving, river rock benches attached to the bottom of one of the arches. I just noticed them recently, and it was like discovering a hidden Greene and Greene treasure.

Big Musings on Little Details

There are so many quirky little details I've come to love about South Pasadena. You know what I'm talking about -- the wonderful minutia of this place, the bits and pieces that make our particular tapestry into a comfy sort of security blanket.

There are lovely little details like the way pigeons always congregate on the street lamps at Fair Oaks and Monterey. (Start noticing it! It's like they all got a memo.) There may be a few counter-culture birds lingering in other spots, but the main perch action during the day is always at the Fair Oaks/Monterey intersection. I notice those birds every time I stop at that light, and they always make me feel better. I know they're hanging out up there, like they always do. It's as if they're saying go ahead, move along, we've got things covered here.

There are other little details like the way the library is never actually silent because the chairs -- those fantastic, old chairs -- are so creaky you can hardly shift positions without announcing your move to every other creaking patron nearby. It's wonderful, really. It never ceases to make me giggle and elicit glares from serious South Pas students who ensure that our school district scores high on standardized tests. They don't seem to notice cricket-hum of all that constant squeaking. Maybe it is as familiar to them as it is to me.

These are the little details you wouldn't know by simply passing through. But they've become dear to me as I put down roots in this place and, who knows, leave my own weird little marks here.

The lamp in this picture has been crooked since I can remember. Sometimes I drive by just to make sure it's still crooked. I think of it as my own crooked touchstone, and it always seems to set me straight when I need to feel grounded. If the homeowners ever get around to fixing it, I might just have to come by in the night and tip it back to this position.

A View from Oaklawn Bridge

(Clickety clack. Clickety clack. Clickety clack.)

Palms: Retro

What do you get when you combine a walk in the historic Oaklawn neighborhood with a hipstamatic camera app for your iPhone? This!

Don't worry, I had my good camera with me and took dozens of shots. (Check out my latest column at South Pasadena Patch to see them. It should be posted sometime before lunch today.)

Moon Between Two Palms

If you happened to be walking over the Oaklawn bridge yesterday in the late afternoon, you would have seen this.

Luxe Life

In 1904, a new residential development called Oaklawn was taking shape on the north side of South Pas. The wide, tree-lined streets and sweeping Arts and Crafts showcase homes called for a unifying design in the neighborhood's lines of demarcation. The area was within walking distance to the famous Raymond Hotel -- a stomping ground for the rich and mighty -- and potential Oaklawn residents were tempted with promises of the good life in this "Suburb de Luxe." Advertisements for the neighborhood described it as a place "for those who want the best in every particular."

Apparently, that included walls and gates.

South Pasadena Realty and Improvement Company hired the firm of Greene and Greene to create the prestigious development's entrance gates and surrounding fence. The result? Clinker-brick platforms set with handpicked stones from the Arroyo and embellished with rustic timber, tile roofs and artisan-crafted wrought iron. The gates-- and the corresponding stone pillars on the surrounding walls -- seemed to encapsulate the Greene and Greene aesthetic, right down to the tapering boulders at the base and top of each pillar. As you can see by today's photo, the portals have weathered the last century well and are largely unchanged today. (Trust me, the gate on the other side of the street looks just as wonderful.) The good life, indeed.

(You can take a look at the original Greene and Greene design plans here. For more on Oaklawn, check out this article from American Bungalow Magazine here.)

Settings: Part 23

It's that time again, would-be filmmakers and general tall tale tellers! If this were the setting for a scene in a movie, what would happen here?