PMH Super Twofer

Two new exhibits at the Pasadena Museum of History are well worth your visit.

You're going to love the enthralling Pacific Electric Railway, Then and Now, an exhibit of memorabilia and "then and now" photos based on the book by Steve Crise and Michael Patris. Crise took the exquisite "now" pictures with more than expertise: he added care and wit. Not satisfied to simply position his camera to correspond exactly with the "then" photos, Crise went to the trouble to take his photographs at the same time of day so shadows would correspond. He added witty touches as well, even waiting for the time on a clock to be the same in one photo as it was back then.

Oh and note the detail of the train crossing gate above. A delicious touch.

Tasty in a whole different way (like a banana split with a whiskey chaser) is What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been: 35 Years of the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade. Just across the hall from the trains you'll find photos, costumes, signs, and uh, stuff, collected from past Doo Dah Parades. I wish my photo of the crowns of past Doo Dah queens had worked! That is some fab headgear.

Doo Dah is our own mini-Burning Man, Pasadena's hand-made, knee-jerk reaction to the Tournament of Roses. There may be other events like it, but they probably haven't had a lot of museum coverage. Bravo to the PMH for proclaiming Doo Dah as part of Pasadena's history, which of course it is. My only concern is the exhibit may legitimize Doo Dah, and I would hate for that to happen.