Rick Thomas
Author Rick Thomas is the former museum curator and vice-chair of education for the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation. He served on the South Pasadena Natural Resources Commission, helping to maintain a strict policy protecting the city’s great old-growth trees. Using touchstone photographs from his own collection—one of the San Gabriel Valley’s largest accumulations of historical images and artifacts—as well as national, state, and local historical archives, Thomas provides a window to his city’s past and an understanding of why its preservation is so important.
Throwback Thursday | Oranges Make Better Snowballs
Most of us gaze wistfully at our snowcapped mountains, knowing we can fully appreciate the winter season without having to shovel snow.
Every day is like paradise in the San Gabriel Valley. Plenty of sunshine....
Throwback Thursday | My South Pas “Most Thankful” List
Thanksgiving is a time for personal reflection. The process begins today for most people, lasting through the “holiday season” until late December – ending just after New Year’s Day.
So, let’s reflect together on what...
Throwback Thursday | The Odd Big Bird
It is probably hard to imagine just how popular ostrich feathers were a hundred years ago. Today, women’s fashions come and go with each new season.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the ostrich...
Throwback Thursday | Evening at the Garfield House
Tomorrow night (Friday, November 15th at 7 pm), the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation will host a rare event at the historic Green and Green home of the late First Lady, Lucretia “Crete” Garfield. The...
Throwback Thursday | Growing Up in Southern California
In 1926, Paul Helms took early retirement due to poor health and moved his family from New York to sunny Southern California. A few years later, he opened Helms Bakery in Culver City.
Helms bakery...
Throwback Thursday | Love in Plain Sight
Rick Thomas | U.S. Court of Appeals (formerly Vista del Arroyo hotel) seen in the framed arch of the Colorado Street Bridge (2007)
A massive concrete bridge and a luxury resort hotel. They make...
Throwback Thursday (#100!) | When the Iron Horse Became a Red Car
Before the rolling hills of scrub and oak is terraformed with streets and homes, the only transportation “vessel” capable of making the transcontinental trek to California requires coal to produce steam locomotive power. These...
Throwback Thursday | Views of South Pasadena from Monterey Hills
South Pasadena is heavily photographed and subject of numerous motion pictures throughout its history.
The first photos of the original Raymond Hotel (1886-1895) are taken from the Monterey Hills. The City of South Pasadena (incorporated...
Throwback Thursday | What Once Was
Desiderio Neighborhood Park recently appeared on the site of the former Desiderio Army Reserve Center.
In 2013, the City of Pasadena acquired the property. According to the Pasadena Star-News, “It involved property transfers from the...
Throwback Thursday | The Legacy of Charles Lummis
In 1884, Charles Fletcher Lummis came to Los Angeles by walking the entire distance from Ohio. After his arrival, Lummis became a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Times editor, magazine editor, writer, poet,...
