News of the Arroyo
Title: | Arroyo Seco's historic allure undergoing cultural revival |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2003-04-14 |
Summary: | April 14, 2003 -- The tremendous cultural revival in the Arroyo Seco is detailed in this Star News story. |
Author: | Lisa Faught, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | PASADENA -- The Arroyo Seco always has drawn crowds to its banks, even back when hikers donned knickers and corsets for their expeditions. But in recent years, the river has seen a cultural revival. The museums of the Arroyo Seco are joining forces. The course catalog at Occidental College, Caltech and UCLA includes a class on the history of the Arroyo Seco. The Arroyo Brigade has uncovered remnants of the old Busch Gardens. These days, scores of community groups are staking a claim in the life of the river, from the Arroyo Arts Collective to the Rose Bowl Riders, the North East Trees to the Montecito Heights Improvement Association. \"The Arroyo always had this historical allure,\' said Oralia Michel, who is volunteering her time to publicize the Arroyo Seco. \"It\'s like an oasis in the middle of urban L.A. It\'s reminiscent of the way early settlers gravitated to the river.\' For years, community leaders have been working on a collection of projects along the Arroyo Seco, many of which are coming to a close, Michel said. The Audubon Society has broken ground on a nature center in Montecito Heights, the Gold Line between Los Angeles and Pasadena is to open by summer and South Pasadena is on its way to adding a wilderness park. \"It\'s reaching critical mass,\' Michel said. \'It\'s pretty much because the community efforts are coming to fruition along the Arroyo Seco. Some of the work is paying off.\' The recent revival is culminating in the upcoming ArroyoFest, a day dedicated to celebrating life along the Arroyo. During the June 15 festival, Caltrans will close the historic Arroyo Seco Parkway to traffic, allowing hikers, bikers and equestrians to meet face-to- face instead of behind the steering wheel, said Marcus Renner, coordinator for the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College. The goal is to connect the sometimes disparate communities of the region around a unifying theme. In this case, the Arroyo Seco. The river stretches from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Los Angeles River, a distance of 22 miles. Along the way, it passes through the communities of Altadena, La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Highland Park, Mount Washington, Hermon, Montecito Heights, Lincoln Heights and Cypress Park. \"It\'s unusual for a community to connect in an urban area, because so much of the landscape is covered over. Especially in Los Angeles, where the landscape has been fundamentally altered and is constantly being redone,\' Renner said. \"(The Arroyo Seco) creates a sense of home and belonging to a place. It creates roots.\' -- Lisa Faught can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496, or by e-mail at lisa.faught@sgvn.com. |
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