Pasadena marked 140 years as a city on Sunday, June 14, with vintage cars, live music, and a two-tiered birthday cake cut by Mayor Victor Gordo on the lawn of the Pasadena Museum of History.
The annual "Happy Birthday Pasadena" celebration, themed "Highway to Adventure!" this year, drew families to the museum's two-acre Fenyes Estate campus at 470 W. Walnut St. from noon to 4 p.m. The free festival honored three milestones at once: Pasadena's 140th anniversary of incorporation, the centennial of Route 66, and the 150th anniversary of Colorado Boulevard.
Pasadena incorporated as a charter city on June 19, 1886, the second city to incorporate in what is now Los Angeles County, according to city records cited by the museum.
"Route 66 went right through Pasadena," said Daniel Nevarez, the museum's education and program manager. "Businesses lined the route, which brought many people to them."
The grounds were reimagined as a nostalgic road trip. The Jewel City Model A Club and the Pasadena Motorcycle Club staged vintage automobiles and motorcycles for photo stops. Children built cardboard race cars at an Art 2 Go craft station, while artist Alex J. Cabalu of Appojax Designs created a 3D chalk mural. The Pasadena Society of Artists led a watercolor workshop, and the band 4 on the Floor played live music through the afternoon. Stater Bros. Markets sponsored free cake, lemonade, and popcorn.
The festival also served as the opening weekend for the museum's new exhibition, "Where History Meets the Road: Celebrating Route 66 & Colorado Boulevard," which runs through January 24, 2027. Its centerpiece is a 70-foot-long illustrated canvas scroll tracing Route 66's California leg from Santa Monica to Needles, produced by Claremont Graduate University's Center for Humanities in Practice under Project Director John Bohn and CHIP Director Dr. Joshua Goode.
The museum is open Thursday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. General admission is $9; seniors pay $7. Free for members, students, and visitors under 18.
Upcoming Route 66 Events at the Museum
- Thursday, July 9 — "Route 66: The First 100 Years," talk by Jim Ross and Shellee Graham ($18 general, $13 members)
- Saturday, July 11 — Walking tour: Route 66 & Car Culture in the Playhouse Village ($25 general, $20 members)
- Saturday, July 25 — "Before Route 66: Early Road Travel and the Birth of Highway Signage" ($20 general, $15 members)
- Thursday, August 20 — Pasadena Hotels, Motels & Resorts lecture ($18 general, $13 members)
- Saturday, August 22 — Walking tour of Old Pasadena hotels ($25 general, $20 members)
- Thursday, August 27 — "Aprons Away: Women's Work on Route 66" by Cheryl Eichar Jett ($18 general, $13 members)
