Eaton Canyon Reservoir - January 5, 2022

Yesterday late afternoon looking west from New York Drive. It seems like years since there has been this much water in the reservoir.  

Eaton Wash Trail Design Meeting Tonight

The meeting starts at 7 pm at the Garvey Center in Rosemead. To get there, just pick up Rosemead Blvd. in East Pasadena and head south. After going under the 10 Freeway, turn west on Garvey. The Garvey Center is 9108 Garvey.

Eaton Wash Trail Design Review Meetings - Sept. 9 and 11

From Nancy Steele, President of Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy:

Please join us for the second round of meetings on the Eaton Wash to review the trail designs developed by our consultants. You have your choice of a Thursday evening meeting in Rosemead or a Saturday morning meeting in Altadena. We got a lot of really good input from the first round of workshops and I encourage you to attend one of these final two meetings to hear about the draft designs and provide your comments.

Workshop #3: Design Review
Thursday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Garvey Center
9108 Garvey Ave.
Rosemead, CA 91770

Workshop #4: Design Review
Saturday, Sept. 11, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Altadena Community Center
730 E. Altadena Drive
Altadena, CA 91001

If you missed the first set of workshops or want more information, please go to our website: http://www.arroyosfoothills.org/eaton-wash.html

You can also download a flyer in English and Spanish to help us get the word out.

See you there!

Hike to Eaton Canyon Falls

The trail starts at the end of the parking lot in front of the Eaton Canyon Nature Center. It is 1.5 miles to the falls.

The trail soon dips down into a wide and rocky arroyo. A seasonal stream flows at the arroyo bottom. This the first of many stream crossings.

Once on the other side of the arroyo, we were treated to an inviting stretch of oak- lined trail.

Sycamores, oaks and lots of sage. The trail continues north skirting the east side of the arroyo. Some shade along the way, but mostly the trail is in the sun.

Every now and then you can see (and hear) the stream from the trail. This picture is taken just south of the (Mt. Wilson) toll road bridge. The arroyo is still very wide at this point.

Sign along the trail as we go under the bridge. Ain't it the truth.

On top of the bridge looking south.

OK. We've gone under the toll road bridge. This picture was taken looking back toward the bridge. It is cool and shady. The rock wall to the right foreshadows what is coming up. The canyon gets increasingly narrower from here on.

Millipede curled up in the hollowed end of a log. You know they only have a few hundred legs; not a thousand.

Very quickly the trail leads to some absolutely stunning scenes.

As the canyon narrows and the stream winds around solid rock walls, the trail jumps from one side of the stream to the other. Here we're crossing from the left side to catch the trail again on the right side.

Then crossing back to the other side. There are lots of big boulders and logs to help at the stream crossings. But, unless you are very nimble, you're going to get wet.

Into the canyon. The falls are around the corner and I can almost hear the roar of rushing water.

A short scramble over some boulders and after crossing the stream again, we've arrived. Eaton Canyon Falls drops about 40 to 50 feet into a shallow round pool.



I think I'll wade in next to the falls. Ready to get wet?

That was refreshing! I'll just sit back on the warm rocks, dry out a bit and enjoy the falls. Watch for the little dog jumping in the pool to fetch a stick.

Grand Plans and Grand Ballrooms: A Story of Open Space and Ice Rinks

The city has scrapped plans to build a 50,000 square foot ice skating rink and parking for 150 cars on this open field adjacent to Eaton Wash. This field, which lies between Orange Grove and Foothill, will remain open space. The ice rink will stay at the Convention Center.

Like everything in Pasadena, there's some history to tell here. There is the saga of ice skating in Pasadena. And there are the plans for this unassuming field -- grand plans that never caught on. It all goes back about 80 years.........

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We start in 1932 when plans were adopted for Eaton Canyon Park extending from the mouth of Eaton Canyon all the to Pasadena's southern border. This was the first grand plan for the Eaton Canyon and Eaton Wash. It called for continuous parkland on both sides of the wash -- kind of a modest version of the Arroyo Seco on the west side of town. The field pictured above was smack in the middle of the plan.

The grand plan doesn't seem to have stirred much of a following. East Pasadena was still the city's countryside -- the place of fields and dairies and open land to spare. Some probably thought, "there will be time to build the park, but not now."

Meanwhile, ice skating was on its way to Pasadena's downtown. In 1940, the Pasadena Winter Garden opened. It was home to a hockey team and figure skating classes. The Garden was a popular weekend hangout for folks who enjoyed live organ music and couples only skates. However, it is most famous as the original home of figure skater Peggy Fleming, who went on to win the only American gold medal at the '68 Winter Olympics.

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Fast forward 25 years.

Maybe live organ music didn't cut it in the hip 1960's. Or maybe interest in ice skating just subsided. For whatever reason, in 1966, the Winter Garden closed. Pasadena was without an ice skating rink.

As it happened, about this time, the city's attention turned to Eaton Canyon and open space along the Eaton Wash. The stage was set for an improbable marriage between Eaton Wash open space and ice skating.

In 1967, Pasadena's Director of Parks approved a grand plan for Eaton Canyon Development. This was truly a remarkable plan. The focal point was a hiking, biking and bridle trail along Eaton Wash. There was a wild bird sanctuary a the Eaton Wash Reservoir and ample amenities spread out along the wash trial.

The plan called for a cluster of attractions between Orange Grove and Foothill. No doubt aware of the Winter Garden's demise, the plan called for a new ice skating rink in this area. The new rink would be part of a group of active venues including an outdoor roller rink, an amphitheater, an animal farm and a swim club.

The plan never took hold. With the 70's came a city-wide push for development. The city's vision for the area turned to industrial and residential development.

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Meanwhile, ice skating returned in the mid-1970's . At that time, the city developed a a series of buildings around the Pasadena Civic Auditorium that would serve as a convention center. The new buildings made the old Grand Ballroom expendable. The Ballroom was converted to an ice rink and has been used as an ice rink ever since.

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Fast forward 30 years.

Several years ago the city made plans to renovate the convention center. Part of the plan was to return the Grand Ballroom to it's original use. But, the city had a problem. There was an ice rink in the Ballroom and the city had a long term lease with the ice rink operator. If it wanted to restore the Ballroom, the city would have to find a place for the ice rink. Where could the city put an ice rink?

Well, you guessed it. There happened to be an open field over on the east side of town. Somehow this field had escaped development and it was now solution to the city's problem. Plans were made, permits obtained. It looked like the field was destined for an ice rink and parking lot.

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But, times change. By 2009, a shaky economy caused the city to rethink the wisdom of risking public dollars on the construction and operation of an ice rink. On reconsideration, the council voted not to risk the funds.

But there's another sea change at play here -- a change in how the public regards its remaining urban open space and a new awareness of how our actions impact our environment. When the ice rink solution appeared a few years ago, the city was just starting to explore what it meant to be a "green" and sustainable city. The city is now further along that road and has often stated its aspiration to leadership in environmental awareness and action.

Though the economy may and hopefully will change for the better, I hope an ice rink on this open field is now a nonstarter. For an environmentally aware city, the incongruity is striking. Why would Pasadena want to build a giant refrigerated box and a parking lot on some of its last remaining open space?

Yes, times have changed and with the passing years so have attitudes and values about what should be built, what should be preserved and what should be pursued. All of which brings me back to where we started. Now, about those trails in the '67 plan....

Oak-lined Eaton Wash immediately to the west of the former ice rink site.

New Road Under the Freeway -- Part 1: Kinneloa Extension

It is not every day that we get a new route under the freeway. Above is a picture of the work in progress to extend Kinneloa Avenue from Colorado Blvd., under the 210 to Foothill Blvd. That's Team Chevrolet on the other side of the tunnel. All of this is courtesy of city plans which call for the street extension to offset increased traffic expected with more development near the Sierra Madre Villa metro.

View Lamanda Park, CA in a larger map

Toward the bottom of the map you can see Kinneloa Ave. Seems likely that Kinneloa Ave. once led to Abbot Kinney's estate, which was located on the mesa above present day New York Drive. Over time the length of Kinneloa was chopped up until all that was left of the avenue was a short stretch of road running south of the 210 to Del Mar.

Don't know whether the Kinneloa extension will help traffic, but it stands to be an important link to establishing the long-planned Eaton Wash trail. The thin blue line on the map is the Eaton Wash. The opening of Kinneloa will provide a route for trail users to traverse the freeway and stay near to the wash.

Four East Pasadena Issues for the General Plan Update

As promised, here are my top planning issues concerning East Pasadena that I think should be discussed and be part of the city's updated General Plan.

1. Eaton Wash Trail

And the winner of the award for longest planned project never built is ..........................
The Eaton Wash Trail!
Seventy-eight years after the first plan, we have a trail of plans, but still no trail.

First, there was this 1932 plan that I posted on a year ago.


1932 Plan for Eaton Canyon Park

Then there was the 1967 plan approved by Pasadena's Director of Parks. Really a plan for a park and trail extending from Eaton Canyon south along the wash to the southern city limits. Exciting stuff. But, the plan went nowhere.

Instead, over the years, bits and pieces of the long planned park were carved away for developent. A few acres here and there for housing developments, 30 acres for an industrial park and so it went. The old plans gathered dust on a shelf.

Then, 40 years after the city's '67 plan, the city revived plans for an Eaton Wash trail in the 2007 Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Less ambitious than earlier plans, but still holding on to the goal of a north south trail along the wash.

But, the city has never gotten behind the trail in any serious way. Most of the noise for a trail these days is provided by others -- the Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy , Pasadena's Open Space Now, local bloggers and Cal Poly graduate students. The city has largely been passive while others push an Eaton Wash trail as part of a web of proposed regional trails.

In 2008, Cal Poly graduate students produced the Emerald Horseshoe Concept Plan: trail connections for the Los Angeles Region. In particular, Part 4 (be patient, it takes some time to load) of the Concept Plan presents the trail plan. With cues from decades old plans, the Concept Plan takes the Eaton Wash trail to another level -- the students revived old plans for public use of the Eaton Wash Reservoir and for a migratory bird sanctuary. They propose an Eaton Wash Plaza where the wash crosses at Colorado Blvd. and give details of how the trail connects to other trails to the north and south of the city.

The Eaton Wash trail, especially as envisioned in the Concept Plan, has the potential to directly connect the city with Eaton Canyon and with the city's natural landscape. The trail would be a much needed defining element of East Pasadena and a recreational attraction used by people across the city.

Certainly the city would have to change spending priorities to build the trail. And LA County would need to cooperate. All possible and all appropriate for a general plan discussion. Pasadena is a resourceful city. Projects the city wants tend to happen. It is time for the City of Pasadena to take hold of this long-planned project and do what it takes to build the trail.

2. Open Space

Preserve open space. Absolutely. Positively. No exceptions.

Be proactive about planning the open space under the Edison power lines. East Pas has dozens of acres of land zoned open space and sitting under power lines just growing weeds. Now that Edison is making all kinds of "green" noises, why not seize the moment and be proactive about using this land for more than weed fields. Urban farms? Community gardens?

City owned land adjacent to the Eaton Wash and between Orange Grove and Foothill. The land is zoned open space but was approved for an ice rink building 500 feet long, 116 feet wide and 54 feet high plus a parking lot for 150 cars.

The 1994 General Plan requires the city to "preserve and acquire open space." However, the city's zoning code allows construction of massive buildings, such as the proposed ice rink and a parking lot for 150 cars, on "open space" zoned land. What's the point of the open space designation if you're just going to pave it and construct massive buildings? I think there's a disconnect between what the General Plan requires (or should require) and what the zoning code allows. The zoning code should be changed.

3. Development Near the Sierra Madre Villa Metro Station
This is a big big issue. If or when building resumes, there is likely to be a lot of pressure to develop within 1/2 mile (generally walking distance) of the Sierra Madre Villa Metro Station.

Traffic is already congested along Foothill and Rosemead. Obviously how new development impacts traffic will be a huge issue.

If there are new developments, what kind of uses will they be? I'll admit to some disappointment over the lone "transit oriented" project we've seen so far. As originally planned, the corner of Foothill and Sierra Madre Villa and the old Stuart building was to include a mix of uses, including office, bio-tech uses, and some housing. Somewhere along the way, that plan got jettisoned and the entire area is now primarily devoted to housing. I'd rather have the mix of business uses and potential work opportunities than just more housing. But, hopefully future development around the metro will bring in more business uses.

Also, maybe I'm just not clued into swanky '50's styling, but the Stuart apartments just don't read enduring quality and design to me. They don't reflect the same quality or appealing design as the historic Stuart building that fronts the apartments or the Kaiser office building to the west. The apartments more reflect the untitled design of the SMV Metro Station, which seems uninspired to me as well. Standards need to be higher for future development.

4. St. Luke's Medical Center

I've posted before on the proposal to develop the St. Luke's site with condos and assisted living. DS Ventures, which bought from Cal Tech, paid way too much for the Public Service zoned St. Luke's property anticipating that they'd be able to jam condos on the site. The proposal is now on ice as the owners apparently work their way through bankruptcy. Pasadena needs to evaluate the best uses for the site and adjoining neighborhood without regard to the price paid by the westside developer. This is an exceptional and rare property with great history. Likewise, future plans for the property should be extraordinary as well. Among other possibilities, future use should include return to medical services and medical research.

Updating Pasadena's General Plan -- October 6 Meeting

The city is updating its General Plan. There are a lot of ways folks can get involved and have their voices heard. A whole list of meetings and surveys is here. For those in East Pas, there is a meeting this Tuesday, October 6 at 6:30 pm at the Stuart Pharmaceutical Building (now apartments) at 3660 E. Foothill. City representatives will talk about emerging themes for future planning of the city and receive input from those who attend.

What's so important about a General Plan? Well, a city's General Plan guides how a city develops -- where growth is allowed and how much. For instance, the city's 1994 General Plan called for development in the city's downtown and at metro stations. For better or for worse, that is what has happened. The General Plan called for protection of existing residential neighborhoods. For the most part, that has happened as well.

Imagine a Great City

The story of the city's current General Plan is a good one. It is told in the preface to the Land Use Element adopted in 1994. The story has all the elements of a good land use dispute -- a voter approved initiative to slow growth, lawsuits filed to challenge the initiative and a city leaders grappling with what to do. The city had to appease a citizenry that voted to limit growth and legal arguments of those who wanted growth.

The result was a campaign to "Imagine a Great City" and create a new General Plan. Pasadenans responded in droves. Charged to imagine a great city, 3,000 people attended more than 50 workshops to work out the city's future. When a consensus emerged, a handful of farsighted residents oversaw the wordsmithing. A General Plan emerged that has guided the city's development ever since (and served as a model for other cities).

Though we lived well west of Allen, I took part in the workshops, meetings, hearings and such that led to the new Plan. It was pretty exciting stuff -- deciding a city's future. One way or another, I've since tried to stay in touch with city planning efforts.

Public interest in city planning is not at the fever pitch it was 20 years ago. But, it probably should be, at least on the east side of town. The plan to drive growth downtown and near metro stations has played itself out over much of the central and western parts of the city. East Pas, with metro stations at Allen and Sierra Madre Villa, has seen some "transit oriented development," but could be in for a lot more. There are other issues out here too -- development of open space, use of the Eaton Wash, plans for St. Lukes and more.

Before Tuesday's meeting, I'll try to list some of the planning issues I see affecting East Pasadena.

Eaton Wash Reservoir February 2009

After a good rain, Eaton Wash Reservoir is a small lake. This is the reservoir looking eastward. On the far side a horse and rider are returning to the Eaton Dam Stables off of New York Drive. The reservoir was created in 1937 when the Eaton Wash Dam was built. It has a surface area of 54 acres.

It does not take long for birds to find water. These are Canadian geese and ducks at the water's edge. Lots of honking and quacking going on down there. I've seen long-legged herons in this spot too.

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About every thirty or forty years, plans are made to commit Eaton Wash and Eaton Wash Reservoir for public parks and trails. In 1932, Los Angeles County produced plans for the Eaton Canyon Park, which included the reservoir area and the wash down to San Pasqual St. Then, a 1967 City of Pasadena plan called for a series of trails down the wash and a wild bird preserve at the reservoir. Now, after a forty year hiatus in planning for the reservoir and wash new plans are again emerging. In 2007, Pasadena adopted the Parks Master Plan which recommended trails along the Eaton Wash. Exciting work is also being done by students in Cal Poly's Urban and Regional Planning Program who are at the leading edge of plans to restore southern California's natural waterways and create a trail system. The Arroyo Seco Foundation has more on plans to create a "golden necklace" of interconnected trails using natural rivers and waterways such as the Eaton Wash.

Eaton Wash February 2009

Sunday we walked a stretch of Eaton Wash. This picture was taken just north of New York Drive. My first photo on this blog was of Eaton Wash taken from about the same spot in January 2008.

Eaton Wash as it flows under New York Drive.

Earthside Story

Since posting on Earthside twice in December, I've made several trips back to the garden. The Earthside story continues to unfold and continues to fascinate. This was and is an incredibly beautiful place. And the time, effort and money that went into creating Earthside is evident nearly every step of the two acre site.


Above is a weathered plaque that hangs on the outside of a kiosk at the entrance to Earthside commemorating its beginning in 1971. The faded photos provide only a glimpse of the work that must have gone into creating Earthside.

A lot of people played a part in the Earthside story. Here's another weathered plaque that hangs outside the kiosk (donated by the Pasadena Rotary). The last honorees named on this plaque are Elna Bakker in 1994 and Virginia Connelly in 1995. Ms. Bakker was one of Eartshides' visionaries and her death in 1995 may have had something to do with the demise of the nature center.

A few memorials are placed around the Earthside grounds. This one honors "Pop Pop" Shirley W. Owen of Pasadena. Makes you want to know about Pop Pop.

The Earthside garden is on a hill adjacent to the EatonWash. This photo is taken looking west over the wash out to Eaton Blanche Park. Trails zig-zag down the hillside.

Walking the Earthside site, you see the phenomenal amount of work and expense that went into creating this garden. The trails along the side of the hill are kept in place by an extensive network of rail road ties and heavy lumber. These stairs circle down the hill.

The system of trails leads down to the edge of the wash, or more accurately, the fence along the wash.

This rock lined pool is part of an oasis at the north west corner of Earthside.

California native palms that stand over the pool.

After the January rains, wildflowers are appearing. Life is evident in the dormant vines that line Earthside's north and west sides. I"ll return to see this garden grow over the coming months as the Earthside story continues.

Eaton Wash

During rainy times, like this January, Eaton Wash is a wonderful rushing stream. This picture seems out of place in southern California -- and so all the more beautiful. I took this picture a short walk from the Eaton Canyon Nature Center just north of New York Drive. From here, the wash flows south under the bridge at New York Drive and into Eaton Wash Reservoir.

We walked up and down the stream until my agile ten year found a spot where he could scramble across the stream. Once he was on the other side, we had to shout to be hear each other over the crash of the water.