Brookmore Apartments

The Brookmore apartment building on Marengo Avenue isn't on Pasadena's list of historic structures. Seems it could be, though it's not the oldest building in town. The website says it was built in the 1920's and has been renovated for the modern apartment dweller, with parking, wireless internet and basic cable included in the rent.

I found rental info that looks relatively current. If you're thinking of moving in you might want to talk to other tenants: the web has some imperfect reviews. I take that stuff with a grain of salt, though. People who love a product or service tend not to bother to write about it, so the negative often weighs too heavily.

I like the old-timey, Midwestern prairie look of the place: the brick facade, the neon sign, the fire escape. I imagine what it looked like long before the freeway entrenched itself close by. I wonder who dwelt in its cozy apartments in each decade of the last century and picture the changing trends. In the 1920's, City Hall was being built not far away; perhaps a young secretary or city official lived there. In the 1930's, after the stock market crash, it could be that the place saw hard times. Maybe the tenants were mostly single women in the 1940's when the men went off to war. And so on.

It's possible that folks who lived there years ago are still in town.