Kieran Healy is bad mouthing Pasadena over at Crooked Timber. The commenters are even worse (proving once again that my policy against them is correct). In sharp contrast, Crescat Sententia's Amy Lamboley rises to defend Pasadena, opining that:
Old town Pasedena is ok, if you like that sort of thing, but the Descanso Gardens are magnificent, including a veritable forest of camellia bushes, and a formal rose garden. Whenever I fly back home going through Los Angeles, I always like to stop at the Descanso Gardens as a reminder that I am indeed back in the land of perpetual spring. The camellias are probably fading by now, but the roses should be just coming into bloom.Exactly right. The gardens are magnificent.
The neighborhood around the garden includes some lovely Arts and Crafts houses, including Gamble House, which is open for tours. Other houses can only be viewed from the outside, and directions for a walking tour are provided in the Gamble House gift shop.Oh to live in the Gamble House. I am a big fan of the Arts and Crafts period, and the Gamble House may well be the finest expression of it anywhere. If you get within 100 miles of Pasadena, you must find a way to visit the Gamble.
The gardens are the best feature of the Huntington as well. I especially recommend the herb garden and the palm garden, but other places are often nicer in the right season. The art collection I didn't find particularly distinguished, but the manuscripts on display are quite nice.How could Amy forget the rose gardens? I love roses and routinely visit the Huntington for ideas. Indeed, it was at the Huntington that I first discovered the David Austin English Roses that are the pride of my own rose garden.
In sum, I like Pasadena - a lot. I wouldn't want to live there, because the commute to UCLA would be hellish. But I like that I can pop over whenever I want. (Be sure to check out Amy's post, I only excerpted part.)
