San Gabriel Valley

California (Los Angeles Area)

San Gabriel Valley (Pasadena)

Spreading east from Pasadena, ten miles north of Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley was settled by farmers and cattle ranchers on the lands of the eighteenth-century Mission San Gabriel. On your way to Pasadena northeast of Los Angeles, stop off at the Southwest Museum, which contains more than half a million Native American artworks and artifacts. PASADENA itself is as much the home of the grandes dames of LA society as it is to the “little old lady from Pasadena” of the Jan and Dean song. A luxury resort in the 1880s, it then became a residential area and underwent a major renovation in the 1980s, with modern shopping centres slipping in behind Edward Hopperish 1920s facades, and the blocks around the “Old Town” of Colorado Boulevard now fashionable with early-evening diners and kids cruising in heavily chromed lowrider cars. Maps and booklets are available at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, 171 S Los Robles Ave (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 10am–4pm; tel 626/795-9311).

The Norton Simon Museum at 411 W Colorado Blvd (Thurs–Sun noon–6pm; $4) is not one of LA’s better-known museums, but its collection – ranging from paintings by Rembrandt and Frans Hals to Monet’s Mouth of the Seine at Honfleur and Picasso’s extraordinary Woman with Book – is consistently excellent. Your ticket stub entitles you to a pre-selected print from the superb museum bookshop. The nearby Gamble House (Thurs–Sun noon–3pm; $5) allows an hour-long tour through one of the country’s best examples of Craftsman architecture, a rugged building style popular around 1900. South of Pasadena, in the dull, upper-crust little suburb of San Marino, the Huntington Museum and Library, off Huntington Drive at 1151 Oxford Rd (Tues–Fri noon–4.30pm, Sat–Sun 10.30am–4.30pm; suggested donation $8.50), contains numerous manuscripts and rare books, such as a Gutenberg Bible and the Ellesmere Chaucer, an illuminated manuscript of The Canterbury Tales from around 1410. Paintings include Gainsborough’s Blue Boy and Reynolds’ Mrs Siddons as the Tragic Muse, and the whole ensemble is set off by acres of beautiful themed gardens. Step inside the Pacific Asia Museum to see a replica of the Chinese Imperial Palace and Asian art. Stroll the gardens at Tournament House, former residence of chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr. Today, home of the Tournament of Roses Association, it contains Rose Bowl and Parade memorabilia. ARCADIA
Nestled against the looming San Gabriel Mountains, Arcadia was founded by Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin, who turned his love of horses into popular Santa Anita Park. Los Angeles State and County Arboretum (301 N. Baldwin Ave. 626-821-3222) Peacocks roam the manicured gardens of exotic flora in this 127-acre oasis. Don't miss the prehistoric and meadowbrook gardens. In the late 19th century the estate belonged to E.J. "Lucky" Baldwin, who built the red-and-white Queen Anne Cottage later featured in the television series Fantasy Island. Hollywood producers have used the gardens for settings in films from The African Queen to Roots. Adm. fee. CLAREMONT
Home to six private colleges, Claremont--situated at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains--is a tidy collection of quiet tree-lined streets and shaded boulevards, giving it a feel that is more New England than Southern California. GLENDALE
It sits between Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, but Glendale maintains its own character. The city was founded on part of a ranch that had been the first Spanish land grant in California. Morbidly fascinating, kitschy Forest Lawn cemetery is here.