Patch

East courtyard at Baranger Studios

You may have heard about these new, hyperlocal news websites going up called Patch.com. There's SouthPasadena.Patch.com and Altadena.Patch.com and who knows what else. Patch, owned by AOL/Time Warner, is going into small-ish communities around the country. We won't be getting one in Pasadena because Pasadena's population is too large.

Some of our best local bloggers are taking part. Karin Bugge, the Altadena Hiker, will write two weekly columns for Altadena Patch. (Let's hope it doesn't keep her from blogging because her blog is nothing but brilliant.) Margaret Finnegan, who makes me laugh and think at the same time (ouch) with her weekly goddesses at Finnegan Begin Again, is a contributor at South Pasadena Patch. So is Susan Carrier, LA Times contributor and superblogger at Open Mouth, Insert Fork and Cancer Banter. Greg Middleton, Altadena Town Council member and blogger at Real Men Seminars, contributes to Altadena Patch. And so on.

Who am I missing? Hmm. Ah, Laurie. Laurie Allee. Ms. Glimpses of South Pasadena herself. Laurie writes a weekly column for South Pasadena Patch and her first one's a beauty. I want to single Laurie out because she introduced me to her editor, the way-too-talented Sonia Narang, and now I'm a Patch contributor, too. Thank you, Laurie. Thank you, Sonia.

My first article for South Pas Patch is about Baranger Studios, the pretty building at the corner of Mission and Orange Grove. It's got a wonderful history. I hope you'll get a chance to read and comment on the article.

I once said I wasn't going to blog about South Pasadena because it's Laurie's territory. Now, thanks to Laurie, I get to snoop around her territory, take photos and write history articles. That's right up my cobble-stoned alley.

I hope Patch will serve to improve all our area news outlets. It wasn't long ago that towns had more than one news outlet and it was considered a good thing. Healthy competition in journalism is healthy for our society.

Baranger Studios

Baranger Studios in South Pasadena reminds me of an old church in an English village, put to reuse in modern times. There's nice detailing around the doors and windows, and a pretty courtyard you can begin to see on the right.

My impression isn't far from wrong. Baranger Studios is an old building by California standards. The plaque to the left of the front door says "Architect - G. A. Howard, Jr. Built in 1925 to serve the Jewelry Display Industry. Dedicated historical landmark No. 27 by the City of South Pasadena Cultural Heritage Commission June 6, 1982." Currently, the Baranger Studios building houses a law office, an accountant and an optometrist.

But what exactly is (or was) the "jewelry display industry"? All I know about are the velvet-covered pedestals in the windows at Tiffany.

From 1925 to 1959, Baranger Studios created colorful, mechanical displays that they rented to jewelry dealers for their shop windows. Before today I never knew such things existed, but that's not surprising. They were unusual in their own time, and even had a book written about them.

You just never know what you're going to find out there.