Our New Old Home Sweet Home

We’ve moved. We went through miles of tape and enough boxes to build a cardboard super highway to the moon. After 17 years – even in a renovated livery stable – it's amazing what you can amass.
Now from our humble stable, we’ve moved into one of the grander examples of Beaux Arts architecture in Southern California. Our new offices, at 117 E. Colorado Boulevard in the heart of Old Pasadena, are a part of history. In 1906, ironically the year of the great San Francisco earthquake, this was was the first steel framed building in Pasadena, and one of the first west of the Mississippi.

The original Chamber of Commerce Building in the early 1900's with the Red Cars on Colorado Blvd.

This innovative building fell into disrepair along with all of what is now Old Pasadena in the 60's and 70's. For decades, the only traffic on Colorado Boulevard was drug traffic. However, in 1986, Gene and Marylyn Buchanan completely renovated the building, enclosing the central atrium, making the most of the building’s natural “green” cooling structures with the addition of air conditioning and thermal venting. It was an auspicious beginning to what is today Old Pasadena. It was a part of an effort embraced by hundreds of concerned citizens who joined together to rehabilitate the old downtown to it’s former glory.

The Chamber of Commerce Building Today with the same charm, but with a helipad on the roof.

It was also a new beginning for Pasadena Advertising (then The Pasadena Agency), as it was our first professional building after we moved out of the office over our garage. We were one of the first tenants of the old Chamber of Commerce Building, and it marked the beginning of a long association with the rebuilding and maintenance of Old Pasadena.

Suite 165, the (almost) finished lobby of Pasadena Advertising Marketing Design

You can read the whole story on our website, Where we Work page. Of course you are welcome to visit at any time. Just give us a call at 626-584-0011, and we will take you on a tour.

Out of the Mouths of Ghouls

Frightfully Good Times Take Time & Talent

While I was working on yesterday’s blog about Old Pasadena’s Halloween celebration, I happened to run across a volunteer from the Old Town Haunt, which has been a tradition of Halloween for years. I love giving people credit for what they do, and certainly the staff at Old Pasadena Management District play a huge role in the success of our district. But so do the merchants, and the guides, and the police, and our loyal customers. However, when I spoke to this volunteer, I remembered that one of the most essential elements in the success of Old Pasadena over the years has been its volunteers.

Volunteers sit on the board. They sit on our committees. They appear before city council. They take time out of their days, away from their businesses, to help improve the quality of life in Old Pasadena. Obviously, they don’t do it for the money, so why? Certainly donating their time is an investment in the success of the district, so you could call that self serving and all, but why do retirees volunteer their time? And teenagers? The answer is certainly more complex than any kind of profit motive, no matter how far removed. But allow me to introduce you to a young lady who began to volunteer her time to the Halloween Haunt three years ago, when she was only fourteen.

 Ghoul-age zombies. Why do they do it?

"I was first introduced to the Old Town Haunt in Old Town Pasadena by a close friend named Micheal when I was 14 years old. He had already been a volunteer for several years himself. I am currently 17, and have committed myself to volunteering at the Haunt for the past three years. I don't plan on leaving this anytime soon.

I am thrilled whenever the month of September rolls in, because that is when we all get together with Ron Rogge (Owner) and Mark (Ron's Partner) and begin to set up the Haunt.  We change it up every year, and we all work together on such things as repainting certain areas. It is such an adrenaline rush as every September day goes by, because we all know that October is just around the corner. We can't wait to scare the people who walk through and feel the excitement that comes with it.

I have tons of fun at the Old Town Haunt for various reasons, the first is that I have made some close friends there. In fact, most of the people there have known each other for years. Then of course, after we are done scaring, we are taken to either eat at Bella's Pizza, or at Barney's Beanery. Finally, we love the excitement and fear that we put into the people who come down.  We love the screams. What could be more beautiful than a whole month spent at a haunted house where every square inch is stuffed with props and people ready to inject a little fright and feat into these people's experience.

When I first started here, I didn't have many friends at all, but once I started volunteering, I scared up a whole bunch of friends and I became a more social person. I gained a lot more self esteem which was another great benefit of being in an atmosphere filled with young people who just wanted to have fun.

If the Old Town Haunt ever disappeared for whatever reason, we would all be devastated! Nothing could compare to lying in wait, ready to pounce and scare up a terrified screech. Adrenaline just rushes through our bodies because we know these people are about to scream their heads off.

We are all thankful to Ron and Mark, because they put in a lot of hard work into the Haunt, and they have shared this experience with me, and with all of us. October Old Town Haunt is a labor of love that they work practically every day of the year to make a success. I am so grateful that they have allowed me to be a part of it."

– Sandy, the eloquent Ghoul

Not for the faint of heart, but for the rest of us...  =)

From the Old Town Haunt to the Tournament of Roses. From the Old Pasadena Management District, to the Playhouse and South Lake districts, the unique character of the City of Pasadena rests in large part on the generosity and dedication of its volunteers. It starts early and lasts a lifetime. I am proud to be even a small part of this community, and prouder still of the youth already donating their time and talents to keep up the tradition.
Happy Halloween everyone, and
BOO!

Success doesn’t take a miracle in Old Pasadena.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit I am biased. I am a Pasadena Advertising owner and the chairman of the Old Pasadena Marketing District (OPMD). However, I’ve heard more than my share of comments about Old Pasadena leading a charmed life, and I think it’s time for a little reality check.
Times are hard, and doing business anywhere is a challenge, but as far as Old Pasadena is concerned, the rumors of the economy getting better seem to be true. Like anywhere else, to take full advantage of that, you not only have to work harder, you have to work smarter, and in Old Pas, we also work together. Cooperation is what gave Old Pasadena its start in the late ‘80s, and it’s what is keeping us ahead of the curve today.
This was a very good Holiday season for our 22-block district. Even though we don’t have all the figures in from all the stores, we can see that our garages were consistently at full capacity, unique visitors to our web site nearly doubled from last year, and merchants have come to us with thanks and stories.

Marci Christianson, proprietor of LulaMae, an award-winning Old Pasadena gift boutique saw a dramatic increase in profits over last year. She is not only a smart merchant but also an active marketer. Since OPMD research had predicted that virtually all our customers would be spending less, she changed her product line to take full advantage the situation. To attract more customers, she participated in all our holiday events beginning with the Halloween, Trick’’n’’Treat weekend. To maximize her visibility with limited ad funds, she developed a web site as fun and quirky as her store. She linked it to the OPMD site, offered on-line coupons from both sites, then gave the coupon discount to all her customers, whether they knew about them or not. “I see the look in their eyes when they get the added discount. I know they’ll visit my site now, and they’ll come back to the store.”

Andrea Auman, owner of Crowned Studio salon not only experienced a 35% increase in business, she did it overcoming an additional challenge. In the middle of the worst recession in anyone’s memory, she decided to move and start up her business all over again. “It was the best possiblee timing as far as I was concerned, “she remarks, “I knew my best customers would follow me, and with Pasadena rents at an all time low, I knew I could find a great place in a great city." Andrea not only took full advantage of the OPMD web connections and events to bring in customers, she started up networking and cross-promotional events of her own. To maximize her electronic presence Andrea links to her partners and fellow merchants from her home page and maintains Facebook and Twitter accounts and a blog.
As diverse, and sometimes eccentric, as the merchants of Old Pasadena are, all of our success stories share this aspect of working harder, working smarter and working together. No magic potions (that we know of), no lucky Leprechauns, and no behind-the-scenes buyouts or bailouts have been employed to give us the upper hand. Just Good research, good marketing and good business. The Old Pasadena Management District is proud to be the hub of this activity, and is working hard to keep giving our merchants and business owners ahead of the game.

How Old Pasadena Won a Food Fight with a Bad Economy

At my day job, I create advertising at Pasadena Advertising, Marketing & Design. However, in my spare time, I’m also the Marketing Committee Chair of the Old Pasadena Management District (OPMD). We’re a small part of the economic engine that we call Old Pas… and in case you missed it, the economy sucks.
Even in Old Pasadena. The merchants are suffering, stores are closing and even donations to our local charities are drying up. It’s undeniably bad. Yet it was far worse when Old Pasadena first began its breakout from decay in the late 80’s.
That was a desperate time. Block after block of boarded up buildings, and crime defined Old Pasadena. There was no Crate and Barrel, Tiffany’s, Apple Store or Gap. The only stores on Colorado Boulevard that paid their rents on time were three pawnshops and a Sex Store. But we not only survived, we thrived. There were no government bailouts, not even from the city of Pasadena itself. Our own business people, building owners and developers took direction action, and we pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We’re an ornery lot. We saw no reason why we couldn’t do it again this time.
OPMD decided to hit the doom-and-gloom despair head on. Economic collapse. Exploding unemployment. Homelessness. Helplessness. The end of the world as we knew it. We didn’t buy it. Our businesses needed customers. Our charities needed contributions. We decided to tackle both problems at once.

We soon realized that the two problems that seemed most basic weren’t our major concern. Yes, business was down. Yes, donations were down. But the central problem was “morale” was down. No one was having any fun. There seemed to be no relief. But one of Old Pasadena's greatest assets is an array of award-winning restaurants, and, as everyone knows, “food” equals fun. And that’s how the idea of “Old Pasadena Restaurant Week” began. The concept was similar to many other restaurant events. Restaurateurs would offer reduced price, prix-fixe, three-course lunches and dinners. Pretty standard event. The only real difference would be that 10% of the proceeds would be donated to Pasadena’s Union Station Homeless Services, celebrating 35 years of helping those in need.

The response from the district was amazing. Out of our 22-block district, more than 27 of Old Pasadena's finest restaurants offered to take part. Pasadena media gave us extraordinary support including magazines, newspapers and PCC, the local Public Broadcasting station, and soon even L.A.’s mainstream media joined in. We posted the special menus online and immediately noticed that our OldPasadena.org web traffic spiked to levels we hadn’t seen since the Christmas holidays.
Restaurant Week proved so successful that instead of just one week, OPMD extended the event for another week. Some owners reported increases of up to 80%, and many of the restaurants put their restaurant week specials on their menus permanently. Many non-restaurant merchants also noted a increase in business. However the real benchmark of success of that promotion came when OPMD presented Union Station with a check for $10,000.
Of course, the reality is that the economy still sucks. Business is still down. There are businesses that are still in trouble. But we’re not going away. Old Pasadena revived itself once, and we haven’t forgotten what we learned then. We‘ve found our bootstraps right where we left them. Now we’re just starting to pull.