Street Map of the City of Pasadena California

The city of Pasadena at the start of the 1960s.

This simple street plan Pasadena, California was drawn by John L. Lynde and printed in March of 1960 by the Logan Printing & Binding Company. It was distributed by the Altadena Federal Savings and Loan Association. Bold text proclaiming the company’s FREE PARKING occupies a large portion of the right edge and a logo in the upper left advertises the (now largely obsolete) ‘Double “TT” [Time & Temperature] – Every 5 Seconds – 24 Hours A Day.’ Further ads, a photo of the main branch (including the cutting-edge digital billboard), and a Pasadena street index can be found on the verso.

In addition to street names, the map shows schools, country clubs, the Rose Bowl, and points of elevation. Circles radiate in half mile increments from the intersection of Colorado Blvd and Fair Oaks Avenue downtown. Planned development can be seen in the northeast – what would become the unincorporated community of Kinneloa Mesa. According to the City of Pasadena website, the L.A. suburb encountered a number of challenges from the 1950s to the 1970s, many relating to shifting racial and economic conditions.

“By 1950 the population was 104,777, including a significant increase in the Black population (from 3,900 in 1940 to 7,800 in 1950). In the mid-’40’s and early ’50’s, to relieve the housing shortage, new housing tracks were opened in the Linda Vista, San Rafael and Allendale areas and to the east in the Hastings Ranch and Coronet areas. Retail sales showed a steady increase and in 1947 the opening of Bullock’s heralded what was to become an exclusive shopping area on South Lake Avenue. A new shopping center opened in Hastings Ranch in 1956. With growth came problems.

The city once famed for its salubrious climate was now inundated with smog. As the business district moved east of Fair Oaks and Colorado, the area that was once the heart of the city became dilapidated, with high vacancy rates and declining property values. In much of the city’s pre-1929 housing, middle income families moved out and low income families moved in. Minority populations were heavily concentrated in the older sections of the city.

The early ’60’s saw some major companies leave Pasadena due to lack of land for expansion. Although the problem of central city decline was pointed out in a major report in 1959, little was done to remedy it until the early seventies. An April 27, 1969 Los Angeles Times article on Pasadena was entitled “Pasadena’s Crown City Image Tarnished: White Flight, Urban Blight, School Problems.”

Source: History of Pasadena