EXPLORING PASADENA’S PAST

“Exploring Pasadena’s Past”

10 W. Walnut Commemorative Exhibits

A recently unveiled outdoor exhibit at 10 W. Walnut provides a new way to look at Old Pasadena. “Exploring Pasadena’s Past” is dedicated to remembering the residents of a multiracial community that lived at the heart of Pasadena before “urban renewal” forced them to pack up and sell their homes, relocate their churches and businesses, and sometimes, leave Pasadena for good.

Councilman John J. Kennedy was the moving force behind the project. He had the vision — and the resolve — to require the project’s developer, the Lincoln Property Company, to “develop a permanent and visible recognition on the property such as a plaque or monument of the history and contribution of African American businesses, individuals, and residents in the area.”

These thirty words set a high bar. The Councilman inspired the project team to meet that bar — and strive to surpass it. The exhibits needed to tell the story of Old Pasadena’s neighborhoods that were razed and uprooted by eminent domain in the 1960s and 1970s. It needed to evoke the spirit of the vital community that once lived there. And it needed to be permanent, beautiful, and ultimately, uplifting.

Thanks to Councilman Kennedy’s dedication and commitment, “Exploring Pasadena’s Past” is now a permanent feature of Pasadena’s landscape. The main exhibit panel is located at the intersection of Holly and Pieroni Street. Six other panels are located throughout the 10 W. Walnut complex. Together, they fulfill Councilman Kennedy’s vision and inspire others to carry on the hard, beautiful work that he championed throughout his career.

2 June 2022

Dear Friend and Neighbor,

Please take a moment to review and reflect upon the photographs of the final art monument, representing and commemorating a history and a land bereft from a once vibrant heavily minority community in Pasadena, California.

We worked hard to make sure this critical component was included in the development, and I demanded that it would be more than just a work of art. The images and words had to be researched, authentic and representative of what actually happened.

Hats off to developers, Lincoln Property, for doing their part, and to City staff for providing a needed measure of oversight. The development is bounded by Fair Oaks Avenue, Union Street, Pasadena Avenue and Walnut Street.

I am sure there is much more to come in introducing the monument to the residents of Pasadena and our neighbors in the region. I look forward to adding even more of my voice to the exposition of the historical and present significance of the monument(s) in the days, months and years ahead. Your comments, reflections and thoughts add to the richness of our proud history.

Be sure to take the time to wander through 100 West Walnut, with family and friends, to bear witness to an important part of Pasadena’s past that has abundant relevance today as we continue to seek justice in Pasadena and throughout this great nation of ours.

Sincerely,

John J. Kennedy

Remembering Real People, Places, and Faces

This small neighborhood reflects big chapters in Pasadena’s past. It has been a corporate headquarters, a multiracial, multiethnic neighborhood, and long before that, Indigenous Tongva lands.

Beginning in the late 1800s, generations of African Americans, Japanese Americans, Mexican Americans, and other residents lived here. They raised families, ran businesses, built churches, and shaped Pasadena’s social fabric while combating racial prejudice and discrimination.

These exhibits honor the memories of everyone who lived and worked in this area before “urban renewal” forced them from their homes. They are dedicated to envisioning a more just future for all Pasadenans.

PHOTO

First AME Sunday School, 1938