When most people think of Pasadena, they think of Old Town, Paseo Colorado, parks, trees, coffee shops, bars, restaurants, stores, the Rose Parade... good old, fun, cute, south-of-the-210-freeway Pasadena.
Most people wouldn't even know that in the past month, there have been 4 gang-on-gang shootings. Most people wouldn't know that a teenage boy died in one of those shootings. Most people wouldn't know that I often times fall asleep to the sound of a helicopter flying around our blocks, patrolling the area or responding to a call.
Why do people not know this part of Pasadena, the part north of the 210 freeway, the part that we lovingly call North-West Pasadena? Because the city is really good at keeping secrets. Like any normal booming city, they want to continue booming, they want people to continue to move in. Thus they keep their secret hidden. It's working too. I know of several people that are moving here this summer. I was talking to one of them, telling him where the more affordable apartments were, and warning him that these places were more run down and in more dangerous areas. He literally laughed and said, "What?! Dangerous?! In cute little Pasadena?"
Not only does Pasadena keep people from hearing about the crime and violence, the city also keeps them from seeing it with the magic of one-way streets. These one-way streets are incredibly inconvenient, so along with everyone else, I never use them. As it turns out, these one-way roads are home to some of the most run-down residential areas in north-west Pasadena. No one drives through there, because its too much of a maze, and so no one sees it. In fact there is about a 3 by 5 block area that only residents and their visitors ever drive through.
And so they remain hidden. Fortunately for me, Pasadena can't completely hide their wound. Contrary to most, my housemates and I moved here because of Pasadena's little secret. And I love it here. I love my neighbors, I love my little run-down home (most of the time), I love that it never gets boring, and I hate that the lives of the people I have grown to love have been buried by secrets.
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5 comments:
Hey Miss Beth!!! We joined you in cute little Pasa--- my first night there was last night. We're a few blocks north of the S. Lake district, come visit!! love, lexie.
Ps. heard you did a great job with the Barcelona fr!!
Hey Beth,
Just found the blog.
I can definitely relate to seeing people's perceptions of Pasadena being much different than reality. However, I think it is as much a problem of what people want to believe rather than the city actively hiding stuff. There is plenty of news out there (especially Pasadena Star News) about the recent flood of gang violence in the last month. But I think people interpret it differently because of they way they want to see Pasadena. It is the same way with a place like Compton, just the other end of the perceptions spectrum. People read the same news from the different places and have two completely different responses.
But even some of the dangerous parts in Pasadena can look relatively cute. =)
thanks greg. I very much agree with your comment. The problem of what people want to believe could very well be the larger issue. The news is out there, but I am guessing most Pasadena Star (http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/)readers are Pasadena residents. And the Pasadena visitors never take the time to go further north than Colorado Blvd.
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