#1 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Santa Anita Race Track
285 W Huntington Dr Arcadia CA
~0.46 miles from Arcadia city center
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Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the autumn and in winter. The track is home to numerous prestigious races including both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap. As of March 5, 2009, Santa Anita's parent company (Magna Entertainment Corp.) filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Santa Anita Park opens annually on December 26, with daily racing continuing through April 20. In addition, Santa Anita's fall meeting, presented by the Oak Tree Racing Association, takes to the track from late September to early November every year and will be home to the 2008 Breeders' Cup World Championships.
http://www.santaanita.com
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#2 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Arcadia Historical Society
5639 Gary Park Ave. Arcadia CA - 626-446-8512
~0.84 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Arcadia Historical Society, founded in 1954, was created for the purpose of collecting and displaying artifacts and materials which preserve the rich heritage of Arcadia.
http://www.ci.arcadia.ca.us/home/index.asp?page=1363
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#3 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Los Angeles County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Ave Arcadia CA - 626-821-3222
~0.97 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 127 acres (51.4 ha), is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains, at 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA. It is open daily during business hours, for a fee.
The Arboretum is located across the street from the Santa Anita Park, the horse racetrack, and the shopping mall Santa Anita Fashion Park, now known as Westfield Santa Anita.
http://www.arboretum.org
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#4 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Gardens
Los Angeles CA
~1.15 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 127 acres (51.4 ha), is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains, at 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA. It is open daily during business hours, for a fee.
The Arboretum is located across the street from the Santa Anita Park, the horse racetrack, and the shopping mall Santa Anita Fashion Park, now known as Westfield Santa Anita.
Important in prehistory as a year round source of water fed by the Raymond Fault, the body of water known as Baldwin Lake attracted both waterfowl and other animals as well as arriving Native Americans. No documentation of the original appearance has survived, however it is safe to assume it would have been a natural wetland with tules and other vegetation as well as standing pools of water. Permanent Native American habitation in the are is believed to have been sited on nearby Tallac Knoll, but with the exception of excavations at the site of Hugo Reid Adobe, no archaeological work has been conducted on the present day Arboretum site. Close proximity to the nearby San Gabriel Mission may have led to the siting of a small seasonal dwelling at the site for shepherds or hunters. After a period of dispute, the grant to the land was awarded to Hugo Reid (1809-1852) and his Tongva wife, Victoria Bartolomea Comicrabit. Reid was an educated Scotsman known for a series of letters describing Tongva culture as well as his role in the 1849 California Constitutional Convention. Afflicted with tuberculosis, he died at the age of 43. A series of short term owners of the property, Rancho Santa Anita, followed.
A series of subsequent owners followed; in sequence they were Henry Dalton, Joseph A. Rowe, Albert Dibblee in partnership with William Corbett and a Mr. Barker, Leonard Rose and William Wolfskill, Alfred Chapman with Harris Newmark until finally the property was sold to Elias Jackson Baldwin. With each transition beginning with the sale to Rose and Wolfskill, a portion of the ranch was sold off. Every owner in some ways typifies the history of southern California during the period. Agricultural innovation is a feature which persisted taking advantage of the climate and the new crops that it made possible as well as a growing body of consumers and new markets opened by transportation innovations.
The site's modern history began in 1875 when Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin purchased Rancho Santa Anita and constructed its buildings and grounds. Baldwin's influence was a strong presence on the site. A certain flamboyance was evident in the creation of a showcase at Santa Anita. Baldwin in some ways anticipated the development of Las Vegas creating Arcadia as a kind of prototype destination resort. The Oakwood Hotel, the Santa Anita racetrack and the creation of Arcadia as an independent city made it possible for Baldwin to become its first Mayor. The first liquor license was issued to his oldest daughter Clara Baldwin. This becomes more significant when one understands that Pasadena which borders Arcadia was dry from its founding in 1886. A major motivation for incorporation being the banning of liquor in the city. Although many towns in southern California were dry, commercial viticulture flourished around the San Gabriel Mission since mission days. Baldwin started an award winning winery to supply the thirsty tourists, sold land to settlers as well as running a private water company and brick works. A partnership with Henry Huntington and the Santa Fe Railroad insured that passengers could arrive by rail from Los Angeles and other locations as well as bringing freight, such as building supplies and taking away ranch produce for sale.
The arboretum itself began in 1947 with California and Los Angeles jointly purchasing 111 acres (44.9 ha) to create an arboretum around the Baldwin site. By 1949, the first greenhouse had been constructed and the site's plants inventoried. In 1951, the first 1,000 trees were planted, and in 1956 the arboretum was opened to the public. Ongoing construction of gardens and greenhouses took place during the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1975-1976 the Tropical Greenhouse was opened and the Prehistoric and Jungle Garden completed. Construction and renovation of both greenhouses and gardens has continued to this day.
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#5 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Art Odyssey
2059 E Foothill Blvd Pasadena CA - 626-792-7896
~4.26 miles from Arcadia city center
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#6 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Huntington Library
Los Angeles CA
~4.37 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (or The Huntington[1]) is an educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington in San Marino, California, USA. In addition to the library, the site houses an art collection strong in English portraits and French eighteenth-century furniture and botanical gardens that feature North America's strongest collection of cycads.
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#7 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Bunny Museum
1933 Jefferson Dr Pasadena CA - 626-798-8848
~4.83 miles from Arcadia city center
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#8 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Pasadena City College
1570 E Colorado Blvd Pasadena CA - 626-585-7123
~4.86 miles from Arcadia city center
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Pasadena City College (commonly known by the abbreviation PCC) is a community college located on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, USA. PCC is the third largest community college campus in the United States.
The school attracts students from throughout southern California, enrolling a large percentage of student from outside of the bounds of the Pasadena Area Community College District, established in 1966. The district includes the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena, Altadena, San Marino, Temple City, La Canada Flintridge, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, and portions of Rosemead and El Monte.
The sports teams are known as the Lancers, and the school colors are cardinal red and gold.
As of 2006, the college claims that over one million individuals have taken classes at PCC.
http://www.pasadena.edu
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#9 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
California Institute of Technology
Los Angeles CA
~5.17 miles from Arcadia city center
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The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. The Institute maintains a strong emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering, and operates and manages NASA's neighboring Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Caltech is a small school, with only about 2100 students (about 900 undergraduates and 1200 graduate students), but it is ranked in the top ten universities worldwide by metrics such as Science Watch, Nobel Prizes, and general university rankings.
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#10 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Heritage Square Museum
225 S Lake Ave Pasadena CA - 626-449-0193
~5.60 miles from Arcadia city center
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A living history museum reflecting the settlement and development of Southern California from the Civil War to the early 20th Century, Heritage Square Museum offers visitors a look into the everyday lives of Southern Californians at the close of the 19th Century.
Guided tours of the museum are supplemented by special events, such as Museums of the Arroyo Day®, which take our guests back in time to the era where electricity was a novelty, a trip to the beach was often a full-weekend activity, and manners were distinctly different from those of today.
The eight historic structures located at the museum, constructed during the Victorian Era, were saved from demolition and serve as a perfect background to educate the public about Southern California's early development. From the simplicity of the Octagon House to the opulence of the Perry Mansion, the Museum provides a unique look at the lifestyles of the people who contributed so much to the development of modern Los Angeles.
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#11 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Alhambra Golf Course
San Gabriel CA
~5.71 miles from Arcadia city center
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#12 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Kidspace An Interactive Museum
390 S El Molino Ave Pasadena CA - 626-449-9143
~5.86 miles from Arcadia city center
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Kidspace Children's Museum is located next to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Since the December 2004 opening of its new facility in Brookside Park, Pasadena, Kidspace Children’s Museum has provided local community children with a space for creative and interactive learning.
1979: Kidspace Children's Museum officially launched at the California Institute of Technology. A community project of the Junior League of Pasadena, Kidspace addressed a critical educational need in the San Gabriel Valley: increased access to the arts, humanities and sciences for children. Volunteers created and presented a prototype interactive exhibit, "Making Senses," designed to stimulate the interest and curiosity of children by featuring robotics and neon light displays. More than 10,000 young visitors, their parents and teachers participated in the first exhibition during its six-week run, a significantly larger turnout than the 2,000 visitors expected.
1980: The Museum opened its doors in the Rosemont Pavilion on scenic Arroyo Seco parkland with long-term "hands-on" exhibits. Among other organizations, exhibit design and construction were the product of community collaborations with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Art Center College of Design and UNOCAL. Volunteers helping create the new museum included a Pasadena Unified School District superintendent, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory director and an originating director of the Princeton Junior Museum, all of whom provided expertise and guidance as members of the Museum's first Board of Advisors.
1981: With burgeoning support, Kidspace leased a larger and more accessible site from Pasadena Unified School District in the heart of Pasadena. Later that year, Kidspace Children's Museum was incorporated as a private, nonprofit children's museum with a mission of enriching the lives of children through an interactive learning environment that is fun for families.
1982-1990: Kidspace introduced participatory exhibits and educational programs that engaged and educated children in the arts, humanities and sciences. Quarterly themes, such as Homes and Habitats, Seasons and Celebrations and Children of the World at Play, provided focus during public programming and school tours.
1991-1995: Kidspace had established its reputation as an innovative institution in the community. A new school programs coordinator met specific needs of teachers to coordinate curriculum with visits to the museum. In addition, campers enrolled in summer workshops and "Toddlers on the Move" provided popular and effective parenting classes and developmental play. With the energetic support of community volunteers and the Circle of Friends support group, the staff produced a range of annual events, including the Rosebud Parade (a child-sized Rose Parade), the "creatively creepy" Haunted House, Critter Expo and the Eco-Arts Festival. This period of growth was charted by Kidspace's first comprehensive strategic plan to broaden its reach into the community, fortify its volunteer base and respond to the critical needs of the community's schools, children and families.
1996: The Kidspace Board of Directors adopted a strategic plan to grow the museum from a small local attraction to a major Southern California cultural and educational destination. 2002: Kidspace closed its former site at McKinley School in Pasadena and began renovation of the historic Fannie Morrison Horticultural Center buildings at Brookside Park in the Arroyo Seco.
2005: The new Kidspace features world-class exhibitry and 2.2 acres (8,900 m2) of gardens designed to encourage children to discover the excitement of learning, while engaging in the creativity of play. Two three-story climbing towers and more than 2 acres (8,100 m2) of outdoor arroyo-scape environments designed by Nancy Goslee Power include 14 different seasonal gardens and 10 unique exploration and discovery stations.
Over the years Kidspace has received funding from many individuals including Jud and Marilyn Roberts, the Boone Family, Mark Taper, and others. Community partnerships have been formed with the City of Pasadena, the Junior League of Pasadena, Nestle Corporation, and others.
Kidspace features exhibits, programs and activities that encourage a child’s growth and development through explorations of the environment, investigations in science, and artistic forms of expression that captivate the inquisitive and growing minds of children ages 2 to 10.
Inside the museum are a variety of different exhibits and displays:
Bugsy's Diner Learn about the anatomy and feeding habits of insects and take down some recipe ideas from “The Bug Food Channel,” such as baby bee dip, banana worm bread, or roasted cricket pizza.
The Dig Uncover plant and animal fossils native to the arroyo and discover past life forms! Play the part of a paleontologist, while you investigate the dig site. Or stop by the life size vintage utility vehicle.
Shake Zone Create an earthquake by pushing large tectonic plates against each other to see how the Earth’s own shifting and sliding causes those quakes. Learn how mountains erode, and check out the map of the local area to track recent earthquake activity in Southern California.
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#13 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Pasadena Museum of California Art
497 E Colorado Blvd Pasadena CA - 626-568-3665
~6.06 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, USA, showcasing art and design that originates from California. The museum was founded by long-time Pasadena residents and art collectors Robert and Arlene Oltman. Ground was broken in 2000 and the museum officially opened in June 2002. Notable exhibitions have included "Maynard Dixon: Masterpieces from the Brigham Young University and Private Collections", the largest exhibition of Dixon's art to date, and a mid-career retrospective of painter Mark Ryden. The museum hosts the California Design Biennial.
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#14 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Pacific Asia Museum
46 N Los Robles Ave Pasadena CA - 626-449-2742
~6.14 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Pacific Asia Museum is an Asian art museum located at 46 N. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California, United States.
The museum was founded by Grace Nicholson who was a dealer in Native American and, later, Asian art and antiques.
The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1926 and designed by the architectural firm of Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury.
One of the museum's 2009 exhibits looked at the mash-up of Chinese calligraphy and American graffiti. US-China Today has an article and slide show on the exhibit and a video featuring the curator and a couple of the artists who contributed to the exhibit: Calligraffiti: Crossing the Divide
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#15 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Pasadena (Neighborhood)
Los Angeles CA
~6.25 miles from Arcadia city center
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Pasadena (pronounced /?pæs?'di?n?/) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and the Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home of many leading scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena City College (PCC), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (the leading robotics and spacecraft design and manufacturing NASA center), Art Center College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, California School of Culinary Arts Pasadena, the Norton Simon Museum of Art and the Pacific Asia Museum. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 133,936. As of 2009, the estimated population is 150,185, making it the 160th largest city in the United States. Pasadena is the 6th largest city in Los Angeles County, and the main cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. It is the host city to numerous TV shows, including Chuck Lorre's successful sitcom The Big Bang Theory
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#16 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Pasadena
Los Angeles
~6.44 miles from Arcadia city center
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Pasadena (pronounced /?pæs?'di?n?/) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and the Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home of many leading scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena City College (PCC), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (the leading robotics and spacecraft design and manufacturing NASA center), Art Center College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, California School of Culinary Arts Pasadena, the Norton Simon Museum of Art and the Pacific Asia Museum. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 133,936. As of 2009, the estimated population is 150,185, making it the 160th largest city in the United States. Pasadena is the 6th largest city in Los Angeles County, and the main cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. It is the host city to numerous TV shows, including Chuck Lorre's successful sitcom The Big Bang Theory
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#17 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Downtown Pasadena (Neighborhood)
Pasadena CA
~6.65 miles from Arcadia city center
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#18 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Alhambra (Neighborhood)
Los Angeles CA
~6.94 miles from Arcadia city center
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#19 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Norton Simon Museum of Art
Los Angeles
~7.13 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, USA. It was previously known by other names, including the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum.
The Simon collections include European paintings, sculpture, tapestry and remarkable sculpture from South Asia. Outside gardens house sculpture and a pond. The museum is located along the route of the Tournament of Roses Parade, where its distinctive, brown tile-exterior can be seen in the background on television.
The museum features a theater which shows films throughout the day. It hosts lectures, symposia, and dance and musical performances year-round.
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#20 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Pasadena Historical Museum
470 W Walnut St Pasadena CA - 626-577-1660
~7.20 miles from Arcadia city center
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Founded in 1924 to preserve and share the rich history, art, and culture of Pasadena and neighboring communities, Pasadena Museum of History has developed into one of the country's premiere institutions of its size.
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#21 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Simon Norton Museum of Art
411 W Colorado Blvd Pasadena CA - 323-681-2484
~7.34 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Norton Simon collections include: European paintings, sculptures, and tapestries; Asian sculptures, paintings, and woodblock prints; and Sculpture gardens displaying many sculptors' work in a landscape setting around a large pond. The Museum contains the Norton Simon Theater which shows film programs daily, and hosts; lectures, symposia, and dance and musical performances the year-round. The museum is located along the route of the Tournament of Roses - Rose Parade, where its distinctive, brown tile-exterior can be seen in the background on television.
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#22 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
The Zorthian Ranch
Altadena CA
~7.66 miles from Arcadia city center
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45-acre ranch that serves as a location for concerts, fashion photo shoots, and movie shoots.
http://zorthianranch.com/index.html
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#23 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Rose Bowl
Pasadena CA
~7.72 miles from Arcadia city center
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The Rose Bowl is an outdoor American Football stadium in Pasadena, California, near Los Angeles. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-10 Conference. It hosted events during the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, and was the venue for the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
The natural grass playing field runs in a north–south configuration and sits at an elevation of 825 feet (251 m) above sea level. The stadium is a National Historic Landmark. Its design was based upon the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.
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#24 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Azusa Pacific University
901 E. Alosta Ave. Azusa CA - 626-969-3434
~8.28 miles from Arcadia city center
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http://www.apu.edu/
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#25 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Downtown City of Industry (Neighborhood)
Hacienda Heights CA
~9.06 miles from Arcadia city center
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#26 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
California State University Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive Los Angeles CA - 323-343-3000
~9.19 miles from Arcadia city center
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California State University, Los Angeles (also known as Cal State L.A., CSULA, or CSLA) is a public university, part of the California State University system. The campus is located in the eastern region of Los Angeles, California, United States, in the University Hills district at the center of Los Angeles metropolitan area just five miles (8 km) from Los Angeles civic and cultural center. It is located next to two major interstate highways: Interstate 10 and Interstate 710.
http://www.calstatela.edu
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#27 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Highland Park (Neighborhood)
Los Angeles CA
~9.38 miles from Arcadia city center
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Highland Park is a district of North East Los Angeles.
Highland Park is located along the Arroyo Seco. It is situated within what was once Rancho San Rafael of the Spanish / Mexican era. Its boundaries are roughly the Pasadena Freeway (California Route 110) and the city limits of South Pasadena on the southeast, the city limits of Pasadena on the east, Oak Grove Drive on the north, and Avenue 50/51 on the west. The district's neighbors include Mt. Washington on the southwest, Montecito Heights on the south, Hermon and Monterey Hills on the southeast, South Pasadena on the east, Pasadena on the northeast, Eagle Rock on the north, and Glassell Park on the west. Primary thoroughfares include York Boulevard, Avenues 50, 54, and 64, Monte Vista Street, and Figueroa Street. Highland Park is served by the Gold Line, a light rail system that largely runs at street grade parallel to Figueroa Street until turning east into South Pasadena at Avenue 61. The district's ZIP code is 90042.
One of the oldest settled areas of Los Angeles, Highland Park is also one of the most scenic due to its architecture and location between the Mt. Washington hills, the San Rafael hills and the Monterey Hills, Los Angeles, California. There are large sprawling parks in the area, including the Arroyo Seco Park and the Ernest E. Debs Regional Park. The Southwest Museum , with one of the largest and most significant collections of Native American artifacts in the country, is located in adjacent Mt. Washington. The light rail Metro Gold Line from Union Station to Pasadena (traversing all of Highland Park) is one of the most enjoyable and dynamic public transportation journeys in the city, because of views offered by the parks, hills and valleys along the meandering route.
Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock was founded in Highland Park in 1923, and constructed its building in 1930. It is the second oldest synagogue in Los Angeles still operating in its original location, after the Wilshire Boulevard Temple (built in 1929).
Highland Park has experienced white flight, from the development of Mid-Wilshire district in the 1920s through the late 60s/early 70s with the development and creation of new neighborhoods in Temple City to the east and the San Fernando Valley to the north-west. By the mid 1960s, it was becoming a largely Latino enclave. Relentless over-development caused land prices to drop. By the mid 1970s, it had emerged as a predominantly Latino area. In keeping with its tradition of being a haven for immigrants, however, the racial demographics never fully homogenized as in the case of other neighborhoods like East L.A., leaving room for many races and ethnicities to find a place in Highland Park. Indeed, some residents find the mix of people to be one of the most appealing aspects of the community.
During the 1950s and continuing into the 1960s, many of Highland Park's grandest and oldest homes were razed. Witness, for example, Heritage Square: a Highland Park museum started by local Los Angeles activists hoping to save some of the Victorian homes which were scheduled for demolition to make room for gas stations and parking lots. One of the fine and architecturally significant homes was the only one saved from this era. Gentrification began to set in in 1964 when large tracts of the district were set aside for historic preservation under Los Angeles' Historic Preservation Overlay Zone ordinance.
Before the skyrocketing of Southern California housing prices from 2002–2005, many arrived to Highland Park to seek out, buy, and revitalize Craftsman homes that had suffered neglect over the decades. Although this quiet movement continues, Highland Park has not undergone the dramatic changes that Silver Lake, Echo Park and Eagle Rock have experienced. The district's proximity to those neighborhoods (coupled with low rents), have made it increasingly popular among "hipsters". Local dive bars have become fashionable nightclubs, with doormen and velvet ropes. (see below) In another sign of neighborhood change, the Old LA Certified Farmers Market opened in 2006, operating adjacent to the Highland Park Gold Line Station and providing a new nexus of community activity. It remains to be seen whether gentrification in the area will continue. Some contend that the poor quality of Highland Park's schools will ultimately make it less an attractive destination for young affluent couples, noting that the better school districts in Mt. Washington, Eagle Rock and South Pasadena made these destinations attractive for upper middle-class Angelenos seeking alternatives to suburbia. Many of those who already live in the area, however, have found that decent schooling options already exist, including some commendable bilingual programs.
The area is also served by the Arroyo Seco Journal politically-oriented monthly publication, founded in 1999 by Edward Rivera, a local journalist/activist.
From the late 1950s until around the early 80s, Highland Park and neighboring Eagle Rock were known as a haven for Hot Rod builders. While most of the original hot rod shops have now disappeared, McGibbons Auto Body still exists at 5251 York Blvd. McGibbons shop was the creator of many of the hot rodder and low-rider graphics and paints from the 1970s onward.
One of the last typewriter shops in the City of Los Angeles, the U.S. Office Machine Company, is located in Highland Park at 5722 N. Figueroa. They specialize in repairing antique typewriters, and have restored a few for movie studios. It is one of three businesess located in the old Sunbeam Theatre, one of the earliest in the area, much older than the Highland Theater.
The clothing retail chain Forever 21 was founded in Highland Park in 1984. The first store is still located in its original location at 5637 N. Figueroa and bears the original name of the company, Fashion 21.
Atomic Toys is the first Action Figures Gift and Collectibles toy store located at 5725 N Figueroa Street is in Highland Park which opened on November 5, 2008
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#28 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Eagle Rock (Neighborhood)
Los Angeles CA
~9.94 miles from Arcadia city center
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Eagle Rock is a neighborhood in northeastern Los Angeles, California, United States. It is bordered by the city of Glendale on the north and west, Highland Park on the south, and the cities of Pasadena and South Pasadena on the east. Major thoroughfares include Eagle Rock Boulevard, Colorado Boulevard, and Figueroa Street. The Glendale and Ventura freeways run along the district's western and northern edges, respectively. A massive boulder at the district's northern edge contains an indentation which casts a vaguely bird-shaped shadow on the rock at certain times of day; the neighborhood derives its name from this geological feature.
The entire neighborhood has been experiencing gentrification for the last few years as young urban professionals, finding themselves priced out of Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Echo Park, have found affordable housing there. Eagle Rock is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnicities and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class. Eagle Rock is known for its bohemian vibe, mix of class levels, and neighborhood feel.
A core of counter-culture writers, artists and filmmakers has existed in the town since the 1920s and is being supplemented by the recent influx of hipsters. The town was well known during the late '50s, '60s and '70s for its sizable hot rodder culture, which is now almost defunct.
Eagle Rock is the site of Occidental College, designed by famed architect Myron Hunt and built in 1914.
Eagle Rock is home to many historic and achitecturally significant homes, many done in the Craftsman, Georgian, Streamline Moderne, Art Deco and Spanish/Mission style.
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#29 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Occidental College
Los Angeles CA
~10.15 miles from Arcadia city center
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Occidental College is a small, private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast. The college is noted for its combination of rigorous academic programs, a small yet diverse student body, and the resources of one of the world's major cities. Occidental has recently gained greater attention through President Barack Obama, who attended the college for two years from 1979-81 before transferring to Columbia University.
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#30 of 30 Things To Do in Arcadia
Southwest Museum
Los Angeles CA
~10.22 miles from Arcadia city center
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Founded in the year 1907 by the Southwest Society, the Southwest Museum opened on its present site in 1914. Situated at 234 Museum Drive, it is reached via the Pasadena Freeway, exit 43rd Avenue. This building in the mission-house style lies in the Highland Park area of the city, high above the Pasadena Freeway, northeast of the city center. Today, the museum owns one of the best collections of Indian art and culture; exhibits come from as far apart as Alaska and Tierra del Fuego on the southernmost tip of South America. Its founding was attributable to the initiative of Charles F. Lummis, who applied himself at an early stage to preserving Indian culture, and set up the Southwest Society for that purpose. Over the years the stock of North American Indian artifacts increased, mainly as a result of the acquisition of the Poole Collection, including among other things Navaho carpets and basket-work. The building contains a well-stocked museum shop, as well as a library with works on Indian culture. A festival of Indian art is held in October each year.
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