South Pasadena

Book excerpt: South Pasadena is a small city among giants, sandwiched between the great metropolis of Los Angeles and its nationally famous namesake neighbor, Pasadena. Described as a modernday Mayberry and a Norman Rockwell painting come to life, South Pasadena thoroughly represents the very idea of "Main Street America." The city's 40year fight against the I710 Freeway extension is legendary in suburban efforts to maintain cultural identity. "South Pas," as residents know it, was named five times on the National Historic Register's top10 list of "Most Endangered Places." The city's resistance to outside forces threatening to erode the rich heritage captured in these evocative images has made this "little guy" municipality a giant in the historicpreservation battle.