You Pave Paradise...

I know! It looks kind of like a golf course, so I forgive you if you mistake it for one. Actually, though, it's a parking lot.

It's in the Arroyo Seco just north of the Rose Bowl Stadium. If you think the Arroyo Seco is a great place for area residents to ride a bike, walk, play soccer, or take their kids swimming or to the Kidspace Museum, once again, I forgive you, because once again, you are incorrect. The Arroyo Seco is off limits to Pasadena residents.

Unless, of course, they have a ticket to the NFL game.

I don't care if you pay taxes. I don't care if you vote. If you don't shell out for that ticket you don't matter around here, so quit yer bellyachin' and go ride yer bike around Victory Park.

That's the scenario, folks. Eight hours before game time, you and your kids and your bike and your soccer ball are out of the Arroyo. It does not belong to us. It belongs to the NFL and thousands upon thousands of cars and people and all the trash and pollution they bring with them. For those who live near the Arroyo, the nightmare of trying to navigate your own street is only the beginning.

We've already rejected this once. Apparently we haven't made ourselves clear and we have to reject it again. A petition, launched by a Caltech professor, is gaining momentum. You can also comment on the EIR but you must do it by Monday. RoseBowlNFLComments@cityofpasadena.net And if you have questions, you can contact Mr. David Sinclair at 626-744-6766.

We can live in our town, or we can sell it.

Summer Course

I need a break from dreary skies, so I looked through my files for a sunny picture. We're supposed to have sun today. Fingers crossed.

I took this shot a couple of weeks ago, peeking through the fence at Brookside Golf Club north of the Rose Bowl Stadium. The stadium has been known to use the course as a parking lot.

I couldn't find much history of the course itself, but it's part of the Brookside Park complex, a Pasadena crown jewel containing the Rose Bowl, Kidspace Museum, miles of hiking trails and more.

Got any golf stories to pass the time until summer finally shows up?

If I haven't been to visit your blog lately, please give me some time to catch up.

Ann Erdman, Pasadena's Public Information Officer, added some terrific information in the comments. I quote her here:

Some history because I can't help myself:
With 36 holes (two 18-hole courses) in a beautiful, natural setting, Brookside Golf Course is continually listed among the top golf courses in California and among the top municipal courses in the nation.

Many people mistakenly call it Brookside Country Club, I presume because it as un-municipal-looking as a golf course could get. But it's owned by the City of Pasadena and membership is not required. In fact, if you live in Pasadena, you get a lower rate than outsiders if you play there.

It's also known as one of college football's greenest parking lots. In the areas where vehicles park during Rose Bowl games and major concerts, the irrigation pipes are situated much deeper under the ground so they don't get crushed. There's also the obligatory and very special turf management as a result of the parking. 

The first of the two courses was designed by Billy Bell and constructed in 1928 at a time when organized recreation was becoming more and more popular in the Arroyo Seco. Since then, of course, the goal is to protect the Arroyo Seco from further development.

The PGA had a Pasadena Open at Brookside annually from 1929 to 1938, and the 1968 L.A. Open was at Brookside. 

Since it is a publicly owned course, you can go into Brookside Clubhouse any time and look around at the memoriabilia, visit the pro shop and have a nice lunch in the restaurant with spectacular views.

The 3.3-mile Rose Bowl Loop goes around part of the property, intersecting between the two 18-hole courses. Walk around the loop with Mayor Bill Bogaard and special guests the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 a.m. (meet at Rose Bowl Stadium's Gate A).