South Pasadena, California

Everything South Pasadena is known for

0 songs mention this city 1 artist from here

Music in South Pasadena

Songs About South Pasadena

No songs reference South Pasadena yet.

Artists From South Pasadena

K
Kristinia DeBarge
pop Pop: 49

Rivers & Roads in Song near South Pasadena

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near South Pasadena.

U.S. Route 66 11 songs Interstate 10 23 songs Interstate 5 13 songs U.S. Route 101 7 songs Interstate 405 4 songs

Musical Heritage

The Capitol Records Tower RoadyGoat

1956

The Capitol Records Building rises at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, a 13-story cylinder of curved white floors that's often likened to a stack of records on a turntable, though architect Louis Naidorf has said that resemblance wasn't actually his intent. Completed in 1956, it was among the first round office towers built. Atop its 90-foot spire, a red beacon has blinked 'Hollywood' in Morse code since opening night, when Samuel Morse's granddaughter Leila threw the switch; in 1992 it briefly spelled 'Capitol 50' for the label's anniversary. Inside, Capitol's basement echo chambers, designed by guitarist Les Paul, gave records by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and the Beach Boys their signature warmth. The tower is a registered Los Angeles landmark and a Hollywood skyline icon.

10.2 mi away

History of South Pasadena

South Pasadena, CA RoadyGoat

South Pasadena seems like any other quiet, affluent suburb nestled against the San Gabriel Mountains. But beneath the manicured lawns and Craftsman bungalows lies a surprising history, one intertwined with figures who shaped American culture. It's easy to imagine a young Sally Field, years before *Norma Rae*, walking to South Pasadena High, dreaming of the stage and screen.

Alhambra, CA RoadyGoat

Alhambra, a city named after a collection of Spanish stories, offers a pocket of relative quiet in the busy San Gabriel Valley. At a modest 500 feet above sea level, it catches a slightly cleaner breeze than the basin below. Its streets, often lined with healthcare facilities and social assistance offices, might seem like any other Southern California neighborhood.

Alhambra, CA RoadyGoat

Alhambra, a name plucked from Washington Irving's romantic tales of Moorish Spain, offers a pocket of relative calm in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley. Even at a modest 500 feet above sea level, the slight elevation provides a welcome, if subtle, escape from the smog that often blankets the Los Angeles basin. Though now a primarily residential community with a strong healthcare sector, Alhambra's history is punctuated by moments of both challenge and innovation. The devastating flood of 1914, for instance, reshaped the landscape and prompted the extensive flood control measures that define the area today. The city's modern identity began to take shape in the early 20th century, officially incorporating in 1903. It's a place where the seeds of a global fast-food empire were planted: Glen Bell launched the first Taco Bell here in 1962, a culinary landmark. Though the city feels removed from the constant spectacle of Los Angeles, it has also played an unwitting role in it. The quiet streets served as the backdrop for several scenes in the original 'Halloween' movie, forever linking Alhambra to a slice of cinematic horror. Alhambra, in its own way, is a study in contrasts: quiet and bustling, residential and commercially relevant, historically rooted and always evolving.

Griffith Observatory

1935

Free public observatory born from a mining magnate's transformative experience looking through a telescope.

8.7 mi away

Hollywood Sign

1923

Originally an ad for a real estate development, became the global symbol of the entertainment industry.

10.0 mi away

Watts Towers

1921

Italian immigrant spent 33 years building monumental folk art towers from found materials.

13.2 mi away

Watts Towers: One Man's Thirty-Three-Year Obsession

1921

Italian immigrant Simon Rodia single-handedly built seventeen interconnected sculptural towers over thirty-three years in his backyard in Watts, creating one of the greatest works of outsider art ever produced.

13.2 mi away

Things to Do in South Pasadena

food 6.3 mi away
Philippe The Original

Inventor of the French dip sandwich in 1908 in downtown LA. Sawdust floors. Nine-cent coffee. Some things shouldn't change.
food 11.0 mi away
Musso & Frank Grill

Hollywood's oldest restaurant since 1919. Faulkner and Fitzgerald drank here. Bukowski had a booth. The martinis are perfect.
historical 8.7 mi away
Griffith Observatory

Free admission observatory with the best view of LA and the Hollywood sign. Rebel Without a Cause filmed here.
quirky 10.0 mi away
Hollywood Sign

45-foot-tall white letters on Mount Lee. Originally said Hollywoodland and was an ad for real estate.
food 11.4 mi away
Pink's Hot Dogs

Hollywood's legendary hot dog stand since 1939. Started as a cart. The celebrity wall of fame is absurd. Open til 2am.
food 11.7 mi away
Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles

LA's iconic soul food mashup since 1975. Obama ordered the country boy. Snoop Dogg is a regular. Chicken and waffles shouldn't work but it does.
food 15.7 mi away
Randy's Donuts

The giant donut on the roof in Inglewood has been an LA landmark since 1953. Iron Man stopped here. So should you.
food 21.4 mi away
In-N-Out Burger (Original)

California's cult burger chain. Animal style fries are the secret menu essential.

Everything Near South Pasadena

240 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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