Audio tour South Grand Avenue Tour

Welcome to the Pasadena Heritage South Grand Avenue Walking Tour.  This tour was developed as part of our 2020 Virtual Celebration of the Colorado Street Bridge for Pasadena Heritage members. All of us at Pasadena Heritage sincerely thank you, our members, for your continued and generous support. 

This tour can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home, or as you walk or drive the tour route. Please note as you explore the route, this tour will rely on the GPS in your smart phone. Information about each historic house and landmark featured on the tour will be made available as you approach the stop.

The South Grand Avenue neighborhood is within the earliest settled portion of what became Pasadena. In December of 1873, a group of 27 individuals, mostly from Indiana, purchased land at the edge of the Arroyo Seco for the purpose of establishing an agricultural community. The group organized under the corporate name “San Gabriel Orange Grove Association.”

This land would be developed into 100 lots of 15 acres.  The boundary was the Arroyo Seco on the west, Fair Oaks Avenue on the east, the Mission Hills on the south, and approximately one mile north of Colorado on the north. In January of 1874, shareholders met near the intersection of N. Grand and Arroyo Terrace and selected their lots. Many owners immediately moved to the area and began developing their properties into working farms.

All of the properties on this tour were initially allocated to four people, Daniel Berry, his brother-in-law Dr. Elliott, Jabez Banbury, and N. R. Gibson.  Daniel Berry was an agent for a group in Indianapolis called the “California Colony of Indiana.” Berry arrived in California in 1873 to locate lands suitable for settlement. It was through Daniel Berry’s efforts, that the initial acquisition of what became Pasadena was achieved. 

By the end of 1874, the population of the area grew, which brought increased property values, and a trend away from an agriculturally-based community to the beginning of an urban community.  As Pasadena gained a national reputation, agriculture continued to thrive in the area; however, it moved east. The original colony land along Orange Grove Avenue became more and more subdivided as more streets were put through. South Grand Avenue was put through in 1885.

The majority of the houses on this tour date from the early 1890s to the late 1920s. Many of the original houses have been demolished, or altered significantly.  Works by well-known architects can be seen including Greene and Greene, Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey, J. J. Blick, Sylvanus Marston, G. Lawrence Stimson, and Cyril Bennett.