I'll get to pictures of the Pasadena Professional Building itself, but first I'd like to show you a few more shots I took from the roof. And I ought to tell you how I got up there.The building in today's picture is Bank of the West, at the corner of Madison Ave. and Colorado Blvd. I've long admired the belvedere atop this building, which the PlayhouseDistrict tour says is on the National Register of Historic Places. See the bottom of page 2 of this .pdf for info, then print out the .pdf and keep it! No, no, no, don't thank me, thank Pasadena Heritage. The tour doesn't say what the building was originally called or who the architect was, but it does say it's a 1927-28 Italian Renaissance Revival, and there's lots of other great info in there.
I intend to get up to that belvedere some day, but in the meantime I was photographing it from the roof of the Professional Building. It started when the dashing Dr. Ferrante was examining my petite peds. (Well, okay, my pedestrian peds.) I mentioned I like the Professional Building and its 1920's style, but I'd been unable to learn much about it on the web. He said, "Go see Amelia. She knows everything."
Amelia turns out to be the building manager. I don't suppose she knows everything, but she knows everything about the Professional Building, and she's happy to tell it. While she sent for her archive file she recruited security man Ernie to guide me to the roof for a Pasadena photographer's dream. Ernie was patient, and I snapped away.
Do you recognize what's in the lower right corner of the shot? More on that, and Amelia's stories, tomorrow.
16 comments:
Interesting views you have there Petrea.
What a gorgeous building. I need to sweet tak my way to the top of a few buildings around here. Good idea Petrea1
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Satellite view of Pasadena next Petrea? :) I enjoy these shots a lot :)
Lower right corner: Is that part of Pasadena Presyterian Church?
Another classic shot from above Petrea! You've captured the "great glass elevator" perfectly.
great shot, the vista feels more like you were floating free instead of standing on a roof. that would've made an interesting story - "let me tell you how I got up there: I floated up on a thermal current"
Ooh, ooh, I know! It's the Pasadena Presbyterian Church!
...and now I see that pasadenapio beat me to it. :-)
It's curvy and modern because the original 1908 building was quite damaged in the 1971 Sylmar quake, so they tore it down and built the new curvy structure on the same site. The original bells were preserved, though; they are in the new tower out front by Colorado.
What a fun opportunity that must have been. Looking forward to those stories.
It was fun to get up there, Lynn.
Virg, I didn't sweet-talk. I had assumed I'd never get it so I didn't ask and voila! They offered.
Merci, Stef & Ben.
Yes, it's the Pasadena Presbyterian. We'll have an overhead view of that tomorrow. It looks pretty cool from above.
KG, when I figure out how to float on thermal current, photo-blogging will take on a new dimension!
Elizabeth, thanks for the info. It'll be helpful in putting together tomorrow's post!
Margaret, it's the kind of thing that comes up and you take it. Forget other appointments. Oh- and this weekend: Bacon. I'm just sayin'.
and this is why people move to pasadena.....look at that sky!
How wonderful when you "know" somebody!
If I had a butler, I think that I'd call him "Belvedere", whether that was his name or not!
You and Ben are giving me vertigo! (In a good way...)
So cool, Ms. P.
Very interesting, and good story, too! How cool that your doc connected you to Amelia, and you got this opportunity and great pics.
A rare view! I love seeing the vista today and yesterday, with that "Pasadena" look.
"belly"
Ben's shot is excellent today. If you like Pasadena skylines, click on Ben Wideman here in the comments and go check it out. We've been having some altitudinal fun.
Kris, could you be referring to the old American sitcom Mr. Belvedere?
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