Washington Boulevard Is a major street in Pasadena, California

Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

, and one of eight streets in Pasadena named after U.S. States. It is notable for being a major roadway that bypasses Pasadena's central districts.

History

Washington Boulevard was constructed in the early 20th Century to facilitate vehicular access to the Hotel La Pintoresca, originally the Painter Hotel, at the Fair Oaks intersection, and to service riders on the East Washington

East Washington (Pacific Electric)

East Washington was a local line of the Pacific Electric Railway serving Pasadena until 1941. It ran from Downtown Pasadena to East Washington Village, by way of Los Robles Avenue and Washington Boulevard. The line was cut back to the intersection of Washington and Los Robles in 1928....

 Streetcar line. The line ran for 2.5 miles between Los Robles Avenue and Santa Anita Avenue

Altadena Drive (California)

Altadena Drive is one of the major east-west roadways in Altadena, California, stretching almost continuously from one end of the town to the other. The road is actually a convergence of several smaller roads which were established over the half century of a growing Altadena community...

. Washington Boulevard originally terminated at Arroyo Boulevard and Altadena Drive. An extension west to Linda Vista

Linda Vista, Pasadena, California

Linda Vista is a neighborhood in Pasadena, California. It is Pasadena's wealthiest neighborhood and its largest neighborhood by area. It's bordered by Oak Grove Drive to the north, Colorado Boulevard to the south, the Pasadena-Glendale border to the west, and Linda Vista Avenue to the...

 was built in the 1940s and another southeast to Pasadena High School

Pasadena High School (Pasadena, California)

-History:The school was first established as a district school in 1884 and became Pasadena High School in 1891. In 1928, the school merged into Pasadena Junior College and operated as a four-year school, grades 11, 12, 13 and 14. Pasadena realigned its 6-4-4 school system in 1954 with Pasadena High...

 in the 1960s.

West Washington

At its westernmost end, Washington Boulevard serves as a utilitarian connection between Linda Vista and the neighborhoods east of the Arroyo Seco (the nearest crossings are 3100 feet to the north and over a mile to the south). The Washington Boulevard Bridge is a low bridge which crosses the river at one of its narrowest and flattest points, cutting through the Brookside Golf Course. It ascends the canyon wall by way of a single, quarter-mile long incline, which ends at Arroyo Boulevard.

Central Washington

Between Arroyo Boulevard and Hill Avenue, the road is mostly residential, the only commercial and industrial zones being located at intersections with major north-south thoroughfares. This portion of the road is often criticized for its perceived state of urban decay

Urban decay

Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...

, as much of it is marked by housing projects, the windowless backsides of office buildings, strip mall

Strip mall

A strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...

s, and boarded-up shops and movie theaters.

East Washington

see also East Washington Village, Pasadena, California

East Washington Village, Pasadena, California

East Washington Village is a predominantly Armenian neighborhood in Pasadena, California, straddling the border with Altadena and centered around Washington Boulevard between Hill Avenue and Altadena Drive...

.

East of Hill Avenue, Washington Boulevard takes on a very different look. The road widens (originally to accommodate the streetcar line) and is lined with businesses, shopping centers, and postwar homes. This neighborhood has experienced major revitalization in the past decade as evidenced by several new retail buildings and new brick crosswalks

Pedestrian crossing

A pedestrian crossing or crosswalk is a designated point on a road at which some means are employed to assist pedestrians wishing to cross. They are designed to keep pedestrians together where they can be seen by motorists, and where they can cross most safely across the flow of vehicular traffic...

.
East of Altadena Drive, the road bends southward and becomes isolated, with some 1980s-era housing developments on one side and the Eaton Wash on the other. Washington Boulevard officially ends on Sierra Madre Boulevard

Sierra Madre Boulevard

Sierra Madre Boulevard is a long road connecting five suburbs of Pasadena, California; Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Hastings Ranch, East Pasadena, and San Marino. For the most part, it is a winding road divided by a grassy median, but the part between Pasadena and Arcadia is a two-lane road. Built...

 in front of Pasadena High School, though the roadway continues southward as Sunnyslope Avenue.

Trivia

In Pasadena, five streets are named after U.S. Presidents and eight are named after states. Washington Boulevard is named after the state because of its east-west orientation (all streets named for presidents are north-south).