Tear-Down

They're tearing down a building at the corner of Fair Oaks and Corson—or Fair Oaks and the 210 Freeway, same difference, since Corson parallels the freeway.

I found a gap in the fence and took a bunch of photos yesterday. For some reason this is the one that interests me most. Maybe it's the graffiti on the part of the building still standing, or the unscathed (albeit dusty) building across the street, or the dome of City Hall in the distance. But I think I like the vehicles. They remind me of farm machinery and growing up.

I stayed by the fence and watched for a while (wouldn't dare go into a hard-hat area without permission). It doesn't take a lot of humans to tear down a building. It takes a few patient drivers and some big, brute machines.

Toxic Wiz

Tell me honestly now: if you're going to Rule This Town, is "Toxic Wiz" quite the right, um, handle?

Buried Treasure Comes A C(r)opper

When I checked my email the other day, I found a message from Lieutenant Jones at the Pasadena Police Department. The subject line was "BOXES AT THE BRIDGE."

Immediately I knew why. Some commenters had hinted at it when I posted about buried treasure on Monday. At the time, the thought of real danger hadn't crossed my mind. But the police can't take chances with secret boxes buried under the Colorado Street Bridge—not with this weekend's celebration coming up.

I called the PD but Lieutenant Jones had gone for the day. So I responded to his email with as much detail as I could. Secretly, though, I hoped the police would call me the next morning so I could lead them to the boxes. Maybe they'd even let me take a picture.

YAY!

Above, Officers Mark Abare (left) and Bill Shipman (right) examine one of the boxes we found. The box from my photo was gone, but we found two still buried. From my photo, the police had expected bigger boxes. These little things didn't scare them.

It was a thrill. I felt like Miss Marple, allowed to come along on a big investigation. I cannot thank these gentlemen enough. They were as nice as could be.

But I'm sorry, guys. The boxes were empty.

Why would someone bury empty boxes?

NEWS FLASH, 9:25PM: I was in the Arroyo again late today. (Okay, that's not exactly a news flash.) The photo below was taken from where the officers stood, looking up toward where I took the photo from yesterday morning. The hillside's all torn and trampled. Hmm. I wonder if geocachers read Pasadena Daily Photo. Or maybe someone came looking for that Zeppelin CD.

Flat-Cat

This kitty lives at the Curtin House on the grounds of the Pasadena Museum of History. She's very friendly. Don't worry about her ear. It's there, it's just a little flat. I've had this photo for a while. Been wanting to use it and finally decided to put it up this morning.

My timing's good. I checked the Museum's website and tomorrow (Thursday) is Family Free Day from 4-7PM. Click on the link to see what they've got planned. Then if it looks like fun give them a call at (626) 577-1660, ext. 10, because reservations are recommended.

I can't promise kitty close-ups, but there'll be plenty of other photo ops. That I can guarantee.

The Dragon(fly)'s Lair

Pasadena Daily Photo was born on January first of this year. In an early post I talked about the Central Arroyo Stream Restoration project, spearheaded by the Arroyo Seco Foundation. To quote their website, "the Central Arroyo Seco subwatershed begins immediately below Devil’s Gate Dam and terminates at the Colorado Street Bridge crossing."

I took a walk through there and I can tell you, they're making fine progress. It's positively sylvan down there. I'd expect to see hobbits or trolls or even Minnipins. Yeah, you can still see the earth movers under the bridge. You can also see the progress those earth movers have made.

And I don't know where they got those dragonflies. They're magnificent. It's just hard to get a picture of one.

Zen Monday: Buried Treasure

I found this box hidden in brush beneath the Colorado Street Bridge. I had to climb to get a look at it. More boxes were buried near it. You can see the corner of one in the foreground of this photo.

I didn't touch them.

Escapee

On our neighborhood walks, Boz and I often pass by the North Pasadena Church of Christ, and I admire this tree on the church property. Long ago someone built a wall around it, but a tree can't be bound by such insignificance. I'm pleased no one has attempted to imprison it in again now that it has busted free. Stone walls do not a prison make.

While I was taking this photo I heard the choir practicing. They sounded good. Richard Lovelace might have enjoyed the music.

IndyMaxed

When I heard the FDIC was taking over IndyMac bank my first thought was, "What happens in Pasadena?" The bank is headquartered here with 3,000 employees, 500 of whom presumably received pink slips last Monday. They got 30-60 days' notice.

I like to look on the bright side if there is one. I watched the video linked in the FDIC article above. In it the spokesperson says the FDIC has taken over IndyMac and is going to continue to run it as a full service bank, and to do that they'll need employees. I wonder if they'll need all 3,000. Maybe those 500 with the pink slips just got a reprieve. Maybe that's wishful thinking.

Of course this has larger implications than just for Pasadena, and I'm not qualified to discuss them—well, we're all qualified to discuss them, but you're better off reading this or this if you want the facts. But although the banking and housing industries are in lousy shape right now I know certain sectors of our economy are doing fine: retail, fashion, restaurants, and don't get me started on oil. Some folks are still making money in this country.

Dam Rappelling

It's not every day I find the Altadena Mountain Rescue Rescue Team rappelling from the Devil's Gate Dam. But there they were Wednesday as twilight was coming on.

I let them rappel (wasn't that nice of me?) and they let me take photos. When they were finished, they answered my questions. I hadn't known before that to become a member of the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team you must first become a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy as well as an EMT.

Wow. I'd heard it was an all-volunteer organization, but let's be clear: these guys are volunteer heroes.

And not just guys. The deputy leaning over the dam is a woman, and so is the trainee in this photo. It was her first rappel ever, and she was already a pro.

The Altadena Mountain Rescue Team has its own website at amrt.org, but I couldn't get it to load. How much does that matter? Do they have to be techies when they've got so much else going for them?

You can see a cool rappel from a helicopter in this video of the Rescue Team.
I shot the trainee's full rappel, and those photos are at Overdog.

Goodbye, Church of the Angels

Behind the Church of the Angels a crypt is built into the hillside beneath the rectory. Kelly, who guided me through the church last week, wasn't quite sure of the crypt's history. No mention is made of it on the church's website. Someone out there may know.
The story goes that Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Robert Campbell-Johnston were buried there together, at least for a time. But Pasadena zoning laws don't allow burials, so the bodies were eventually moved. This may or may not be the case.**
Web research turned up very little, except an intriguing bit from Brompton Cemetery in London. Click on the link and scroll to the caption under the third photo.
'Alexander Robert Campbell Johnston
Who served many years in China
Under H.M. Foreign and Colonial Offices.
He died at San Rafael Ranch, Los Angeles
January 21st 1888 aged 75
In beloved memory
This stone is erected by his widow and children
Also to the memory of
Frances Ellen Campbell-Johnston
His beloved wife
Who died at 84 St. George's Sq. London
November 21 1893 Aged 56'
It could be them. And it doesn't say they were buried there. Did she die so soon after he did? Did she spend so little time admiring the chapel she'd built?
I tried looking into the crypt. It's not like you can tell if anyone's there.
It's their place. It was made for them. I hope they were allowed to stay.*

 
**1/26/2012: Much later! Update on this crypt: 
*It was not made for them.
In a book called "Within the Vale of Annandale" by Donald W. Crocker, a relatively rare but not impossible-to-find book first published in 1968, there's a short chapter about the church with pictures, very interesting, pp 38-42.
On page 40, Crocker says the "...memorial vault which was later added to the church...bears the remains of two of the Campbell-Johnston sons, Alexander Napier and Augustine, and Augustine's wife, Alice."
The book was "A Fund Raising Project of Scout Troop 35." It's an entertaining history of the southwest side of Pasadena, and Garvanza. I found it by searching online sellers.

Mrs. Campbell-Johnston's Wishful Thinking

When I first got to Church of the Angels last week Kelly, my guide, was finishing a conversation with friends and said I could go on in. I had never been there before and didn't know what to expect. When I walked into the small chapel I saw this window and gasped a little.

Kelly's husband, The Scout, got a much brighter picture of the window. It's posted at Kelly's blog, West Coast Grrlie Blather. Maybe the window glows differently at different times, like we all do, according to the sun. (Maybe The Scout's a superior photographer, which he is.) But I saw the the nave around me in darkness and the window aglow.

Click on the photo above to enlarge it and you can read the inscription at the bottom. The window, made in London in the late 1800s, shows an Easter motif: "He is risen..."

This is said to be one of the "finest examples" of stained glass in America. I don't know who says it, but I do know it knocked my socks off. Seriously. I was wearing socks when I got there, but I couldn't find them when I left.

Tomorrow, our last installment of Church of the Angels: the crypt.

Memorial to Love

The Church of the Angels looks large from the outside, but Kelly, my tourguide, told me it holds only about 130 people "tightly packed." In part, the church was meant to be a place of worship for the people of the village of Garvanza, now the section of Los Angeles surrounded by South Pasadena, Highland Park, Eagle Rock and Pasadena.

But mainly this church was built by Mrs. Alexander Robert Campbell-Johnston as a memorial to her husband. She had the the means to demonstrate her love in a most impressive way. Expensive appointments abound; in the photo you can see the red pressed brick of the walls and beginnings of the upper redwood beams. The lectern resembling the Archangel Michael was carved in Belgium from a solid piece of a bog oak tree more than 400 years old. The baptistry, with a figure of Italian marble holding a font of Mexican alabaster, was a gift from the workmen who built the church. (I'm saving the stained glass window for tomorrow.)

In front of the church, a stone sundial in a heart-shaped setting is a memorial to Mrs. Campbell-Johnston, donated by her sons. And over the years, the congregation has maintained the whole place with care.

Money made the place impressive, but it's the love that makes it special.

Zen Monday: Church Attic

An upstairs room at Church of the Angels.

If you want daily zen, try daily zen.

Then and Now: Church of the Angels

It's a bit of a thrill to find an old photo, taken from a spot you can get to, then go see what the shot looks like today. I've wanted to try it for a long time.

Pasadena's Church of the Angels is a good place to start. It's the oldest church in Pasadena (built in 1889), rich in history and still active today. It appears in films and TV from time to time.

My friend Bob Goldstein used to be a docent at Pasadena Heritage and probably still would be, had he not moved away from southern California. He loved that volunteer position and relished giving tours of Pasadena's historical neighborhoods. Bob took his post card collection with him, but he's shared some good scans with me. He sent tour information, too—I still haven't perused it all. There'll be more "Now and Then" installments, thanks to Bob.

There'll also be more pictures of Church of the Angels in the next few days, thanks to Kelly. She showed me around her beloved church and read to me about its history. A beautiful old building is a treasure, an old church a quiet mystery. When you and your friend have that to yourselves, it's a special kind of blessing.

A Room With a View

I suppose we could play "where am I?" Nah. Too easy for the locals, and no fun for the out-of-towners.

So okay, these are the tippy-tops of the condos at 111 S. Delacey Avenue. Which doesn't leave a lot of options for where I was when I took the photo.

I wish I could remember who recommended the tops of parking lots as good places from which to shoot photos. This lot's at the corner of Delacey and Green.

A Hopeful Independence Day

I searched and searched for the right photo for today. What would it be? Something essentially Pasadenian as well as American? Look what Clueless in Boston posted. Perfect, no?

Or would I post something more global? I was moved by Eric's post at Paris Daily Photo, reflecting the thrill of new freedom hard-won, and his kind mention of the American hostages. (click link then scroll to top.)

New York City Daily Photo has another good post—a protest! (A revolution. How quintessentially American.)

In the case of America's Fourth of July celebration, the word "independence" has a broad definition. From immigrants scratching out a living to the wealthy who've made it and everyone in between, we all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Not to mention free speech. These rights are worth protecting. We all agree on that. We don't always agree on how.

Life has changed since I was a kid. Everything's global now and we're not going back to the old days. The one thing you can be sure will always happen is change. Change can be a very good thing.

So I posted a hopeful photo. I'm hopeful for a future where we can work things out not just as a nation, but as a world.

Superfluous Detail: Lany's Antiques

Really. It's a door. How fancy does it have to be?

It is a door to an antique store, and one that specializes in jewels at that. It's Lany's Antiques, at the corner of Green and Catalina Streets.

Back in May I posted what I called a superfluous detail, an architectural decoration with no other use than to be beautiful. Generally, the response was that beauty was useful enough. One commenter suggested Superfluous Detail could be a regular feature here on the blog. There are enough such architecture details in town to make it at least semi-regular, so I thought I'd take him up on it.

I didn't go in to Lany's. (Bad blogger!) I felt a bit out of my league. I mean, jewelry. Precious stones. (Could I use more italics in this post?)

Old Fashioned Patticakes

I tried to pack everything in to one day—groceries, dry cleaners, merchandise returns, hardware store, dog bath, post office and everything else you can think of. By the time I'd worn myself out Patticakes was right there. I hadn't stopped by in ages and it was easy to talk myself into a treat.

But once I was inside I couldn't choose! Could you? They've got TEN different kinds of chocolate cake! Not to mention cheesecakes, muffins, croisants, mousse cakes and tarts. Plus you can pre-order just about anything for weddings, parties or personal indulgence. I finally settled on the "old fashion" chocolate cake (it had to be chocolate). Here's the menu description: " four layers of devil's food chocolate cake with a white chocolate mousse center, glazed with chocolate ganache." Not exactly like my mom used to make it. Yours?

Patticakes has been at the corner of Allen Avenue and New York Drive in Altadena for about 23 years, and has been owned by the same family for about ten years. Mike, Phyllis, Shawn, Shannon and Billy run the place, and while I was there three of them were visible. It's spotless, comfy and busy enough to be friendly but not rushed.

I took my time with that cake. The white chocolate mousse was a cool counterpart to the rich chocolate, and latte was the finishing touch.

You work hard, you rush around, you get tired. You deserve a break.

Theme Day: "No" Signs

The first of every month, the City Daily Photo Blog community shares a theme day. July 1st's theme is "No" signs.

You know, it's not like we're way out in the country here. This sign is about a hundred paces beyond an entrance to the Angeles National Forest. This particular entrance is, oh, about a quarter mile north of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.

So yeah. No shooting. Please.

172 blogs are participating in theme day this month. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Zen Monday: Bridle Trail

If you work at JPL and if you're looking, you see this as you're leaving the parking lot every day.