San Gabriel Valley - Local Interest

Local Interest

The San Gabriel Valley is home to the annual Tournament of Roses Parade, which is broadcast live on television on New Year's Day from Pasadena. After the parade, the Rose Bowl game between two rival college football teams is also televised live.

As the oldest incorporated community in the valley, the City of Pasadena serves as a cultural center for the San Gabriel Valley. Several art-house film and play theatres are located in Pasadena, including the Pasadena Playhouse. In addition, the local news/talk National Public Radio station KPCC 89.3 FM broadcasts from Pasadena City College, although it is operated by Minnesota Public Radio.

Old Town Pasadena, which has been restored and rejuvenated, remains highly popular. Old Town has an active nightlife, a shopping mall, boutiques, outdoor cafés, nightclubs, comedy clubs, and varied restaurants, Other communities hope to emulate its successes through commercial redevelopment and reviving their own downtown areas or "Main Streets".

The city of Azusa has attempted to encourage redevelopment of its once-dilapidated downtown section by using a Route 66 theme. Covina has had moderate success with its nostalgic Downtown Covina, with emphasis placed on a small-town America atmosphere and mom-and-pop merchants rather than big-box retail chains; Monrovia has also embraced this theme for their "Old Town." Alhambra has also worked to renovate its downtown along Main St. San Gabriel Mission is the center of Historical Culture in SGV.

The California Institute of Technology is located in Pasadena. The university is ranked in the top 10 universities worldwide by metrics such as citation index, Nobel Prizes, and general university rankings. Caltech is also responsible for the well-known Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which designs and engineers many of NASA's spacecraft.

The city of Baldwin Park is the birthplace of the popular hamburger fast food chain In-N-Out Burger. Its first location opened in the city in 1948.