One Colorado

This is a nice section of store-​lined streets to stroll around, eat, & shop in downtown Pasadena. I prefer an actual indoor or outdoor shopping mall environment personally, but this is nice to go to every once in a while, especially if the weather’s nice. I went to a couple of stores and had lunch.
I parked in one of the public parking lots and was only there for a couple of hours. The parking came to $ 8…yikes.

Parked less than thirty minutes with validation and still paid 4 dollars. Are you guys serious?

If you want a true, traditional set of Santa pictures, look no further. One Colorado has their yearly Santa pictures set up from Black Friday through to Christmas Eve. Some of the HUGE benefits of it, is that there is never any real line, the prices are low, you get a LOT of pictures, and the photographer and Santa will work to get the best pictures they can of your children, family and pets. All of these reasons make it a better choice than going to one of the bigger malls, where you have to make an appointment or wait in line for hours, pay a LOT more and get a LOT less, and feel rushed to get in and get out.
The setting for Santa seems to change every year, usually at a different location on the property, but every year the decorations are beautiful and have a classic feel to them. No oversized plastic nutcrackers, candycanes, or snowmen. No odd little houses purportedly for Santa, but really couldn’t house an elf. Just classic designs and well appointed Christmas trees, lights, wreaths, and poinsettias. If you get a picture taken here, if you look back on it in 20 years, the only thing that may seem dated will be the clothes you’re wearing and, well, you.
They have a pet night each year, where a portion of the price charged, will be donated to an animal charity. Despite that, you don’t have to come on that one night to get your picture taken with your pet. They will take whatever animal you decide to come with, and will work it out when you come down. The photographer even has some squeaky toys that he’ll use should your dog not be so inclined to look at the camera. If that doesn’t work, he’ll use whatever trick may work, from using a command or word the dog responds to, right down to doing his best imitation of a Scooby Doo type of bark. The photographer is dynamite at trying to capture the attention of animals.
The pictures will be taken first, and then the children have time to talk to Santa. He takes cues from parents on what the children might want or what the parents might want from the children, like cleaning up their room or getting along with their sibling or doing chores, etc. The great thing is, if there is no line, which happens often, and the kids want to talk to Santa but the parents don’t want a picture, Santa will talk to the kids, find out their Christmas list, etc. There is no strictly enforced time, so there’s no pressure if the kids completely blank on what they want for Christmas. Santa is more than happy to chat for a bit.
I’ve gotten my pictures taken here for a few years and have to say it’s always an amazing experience. The photographer is always kind, talkative, and genuinely interested in the families or individuals coming in. He also genuinely cares about getting the best pictures he can get. With an always fantastic backdrop, and classically dressed Santa, he’ll make noises, sing songs, fake sneeze, and just generally be a bit of goof to get everyone, especially the kids, to smile and look at the camera. The Santa is also great. He focuses on the kids, and once the pictures are taken, he’ll ask them if they’ve been good, then offer a bit of advice, like eating vegetables and going to bed on time, before getting to the all-​important Christmas list. He’ll make suggestions if the kids can’t think of anything, or look to the parents for a hint as to what they want.
All in all, it’s a great time. For $ 20 you get a memory card and upwards of 20 pictures, $ 15 if you use your own camera. It beats the heck out of the other malls, where just a few printed wallet sized pics are like $ 25 and only go up from there. Also, no long waits and no making appointments. For a once a year experience, and some memories that can last a lifetime, you can’t do better than getting your Santa pictures here.

We took our four-​year-​old daughter to see Santa Claus at One Colorado yesterday evening. Other than meeting Santa at her preschool last year, it was the first time she’s met Santa, and she was very excited.
I can honestly say it was a bizarre experience from start to finish. We understood that purchasing a photo package was part of the deal, and in fact looked forward to getting professional photos. Your photographer, however, was not a professional. He spent most of his time barking orders at the customers on line, and making strange noises at the children sitting on Santa’s knee in order to get them to look at him. He was not friendly. He was irritable and intimidating to children.
My husband was laughing after getting snapped at a couple times, but wouldn’t tell me why. Later, he explained that it was because the guy reminded him of the Soup Nazi, which was a perfect comparison.
When we got to the head of the line and it was our daughter’s turn to sit on Santa’s lap, Santa said very little. The only thing I remember him saying was that it was important for her to go to bed on time. I mentioned that my daughter hoped Santa would say «Ho Ho Ho,» and he grumpily said «We’ll get to that.» He had absolutely no rapport — and seemingly no interest — in children. He told her again that it was important that she go to bed on time and added that it was very important that she sleep in her own bed. Again, it was weird.
The photographer was snapping away and at one point commented that our daughter looked «just like a mannequin.» I think she was scared.
I asked her later if she enjoyed meeting Santa and she said yes, and so I guess it wasn’t a disaster. But your Santa Team gets a D minus from me. There was clearly no interest in creating any illusion of a jolly, kind Santa. It was all about moving people in and out and charging them for photos.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived, but was surprised by the amount of commercial stores. I was hoping for more local and mom and pop companies. The parking was a challenge. I can at least check it off my list of places to visit in LA.

DO NOT PARK HERE–
Expensive and deceiving. No attendant and signs are poorly marked. The lot is designed to maximize the time you spend there. A 15 min stop to do a pickup cost me $ 6.00.
Go to the «schoolhouse» parking lot down the block –the first 90 min are free.

This is the WORST parking lot in Pasadena. Don’t park here on weekends if you have a quick pick up or purchase to make. They are out to trick you with poorly signed charges. 15 – 20 minutes will cost you $ 2. Elsewhere you get first 90 minutes for free. Too late by the time you exit. They know they’ve got you.

I practically live here lol. I’m here every week to work at Origins but even before that I would frequent all the shops and restaurants lol.
Love that they have a chill, community vibe going on in the area. They always have free events for every season and holiday. My bf’s son sent his first letter to Santa here last year!
They always have wine tasting events at Il Fornaio. Lots to see and do in the area!
Parking is the usual charge for Pasadena — 90 minutes free, and is $ 6 for the day. However on Saturdays and Sundays it is $ 6 regardless.

I hate being lied to. I was going to pick up a pizza at Bella’s; the parking attendant told me the first 10 minutes is free, so I park and fetch my pizza. Time elapsed: 5 minutes. No attendant to be found, machine charges me $ 2, as they no doubt knew it would.
Okay, $ 2 is no big deal, right? But the bait-​and-​switch tactic of telling me it’s free to get me in, that’s scummy. They were obviously counting on me deciding it was no big deal and walking away. But that’s not how I’m wired.
I take my pizza home and call One Colorado. The guy on the phone argues with me and says I must have been there more than 10 minutes. I read the time in and out off the receipt, and he basically calls me a liar. Finally he tells me to come back and show him the receipt, because I MUST have taken more than 10 minutes. So I go back. He tells me the system must have made a mistake. I tell him it worked exactly as intended, they were just counting on people not coming back. He hands me $ 2 and says not a word.
Then I tell him to validate my new parking ticket so I can leave without getting dinged for another $ 2. Instead he goes out and waits until I pull up and then manually overrides the machine to let me out. Why? Because the machine is set to charge from the first minute, but they lie to customers to get them in. Scumbags.
If this is how sleazy the parking structure is, how crooked must the stores be?

Look, I have to give this place full stars and I’m going to tell you why…
You can ALWAYS find a free event here. They have free summer concerts, movies playing on the large screen, art installations, etc. It is so engaging as a part of Old Town. It’s open day and night with full security walking around so it’s safe.
If you are in Old Town this is where the public bathrooms are located BTW. That alone deserves it’s own star. You can come and kick it in the courtyard between dinner and the next drink.
Seriously, go there because it’s beautiful and a great way to find free events in an expensive district. Very child and animal friendly.

I love this area. It is kinda hidden but it’s a pretty square once you find it.
I came here for the Pet Day and Contest. My bunny won 2^nd place in the Online Pet Competition but didn’t win in the live contest :(
He was the only rabbit in the contest and honestly… dogs always win: P
He wore a tuxedo for this event too!
Anyways, the area has security guards and was SO clean. I liked it. Very close to food and shopping in Old Town!
Overall… LIKE my bunny. And come to One Colorado!

What a nice spot for the summer. Saw a KCRW event there on a Saturday night and it was so so nice. And it’s free! Go Go Go

One Colorado is not only a great collection of shops (and home to the new Gold Class Cinema) but a functional space for Art Exhibits and Holiday Events. They even show movies here during the summer on an outdoor screen. Adjacent to Colorado Blvd. in Old Town Pasadena, you get the best of both worlds, shopping and outdoor space where you can relax and unwind. For those who work in Old Town, it’s a great escape at lunch with all the tables and chairs in the plaza. Perfect for eating a brown bag lunch or something yummy from one of the surrounding cafes or sandwich shops.

The good:
*Beautiful courtyard where they screen movies during the summer. I saw Singing in the Rain there and highly enjoyed it! I think this is the best part of the mall.
*Apparently they have exhibitions here every so often… I didn’t get to see one though.
*Within walking distance from more interesting destinations.
The bad:
*All the stores/​restaurants are too expensive for Average Joe’s and Jane’s like me (except Johnny Rockets)… i r inferior.
*Expensive parking garage
*Very limited selection of stores… :yawwwwwn:

Food was nearby and the parking structure was convenient so I hosted an orientation meeting at the administrative offices, which were as small as a college enrollment office. Go here if you can afford to splurge on beauty products, home furnishings, and watches. I love that they have an art program now but I was more excited about Daniel Buren than Yoko Ono (they have wish trees at EPCOT too). I mostly browse at Goldbug or Papyrus. I’ll be back in the summer to watch a movie.

It’s aight. I like it better than the Paseo, but it reminds me of a maze, and we’re the fucking rats trying to escape it.
The buildings are cool, and the lighting (at night) is nice. Lots of expensive little shops are located throughout the maze. There’s a movie theater, Gordon Biersch, and a Johnny Rockets – among other things.
Granted it’s not as big as the Paseo, or multi storied. It’s just alright.
Fine, I’ll rank One Colorado equal to the Paseo, they’ve both got their uses.

The avant-​garde artist and widow of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, has selected Pasadena as the only west coast showing of her celebrated Wish Tree installation. The exhibit opened on Saturday, Aug. 2 at the One Colorado Courtyard, in Old Pasadena and will continue through Nov. 9, 2008.
Consisting of 21 living crêpe myrtle trees installed amongst the café tables and chairs in the courtyard, visitors are invited to write their wishes on pieces of paper and hang them on the tree branches. Some of the currently displayed wishes range from the sentimental to silly, but all seem to be sincere. «I wish for forever health and happiness for my loved ones… for love that will last a lifetime, a career that will keep me excited and days and moments that will bring continuous comfort and smiles,» wrote an optimistic wisher named Sara. A conscientious person wrote, «I wish for ecological preservation, universal unity, justice, love and excellent health.» While one wisher writes, «I wish my cat would be good.»
Wishes from Wish Tree for Pasadena will be joined with others from around the world and placed in specially constructed capsules to be installed in the area surrounding Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower, on Videy Island, off the coast of Iceland. The artwork is dedicated to the memory of legendary Beatle and peace promoter, John Lennon.
The tower, a column of light emanating from a stone base with a radius of about 10 meters, is lit for two months each year starting on Oct. 9, Lennon’s birthday, and ending on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death.
In the spirit of the legacy that Lennon imagined for the world, a person wrote, «I wish for John Lennon’s dream of the world coming together as one… without all the barriers of religion, nationality and politics.»
The Wish Trees are a moving tribute to all that is good, just and sincere around us. The sight of thousands of wishes is a testament to what a wonderful world this is.

This is the plaza on the north end of Colorado in Old Towne. They have a parking lot that validates for the Laemmle here. They have a Sushi Roku, a Johnny Rockets, a J Crew, a Kate Spade and a couple of other restaurants and shops. The plaza itself is pretty clean and nice. Why 2 stars then (and an otherwise unnecessary review)?
They shut down the plaza for some private party.
Ok, that happens. But we were going to see a movie and they wouldn’t let us in. I could see the bloody entrance. I think they should’ve made a little corridor for movie patrons. Instead, they directed me to the east entrance, which seemed odd to me but we went there and were turned away again. This joker said to go to the west entrance. In the end, it was the north entrance. Get your story straight, One Colorado security guys. And I missed the previews. Now I have no idea what’s coming out this summer. Hope you’re happy. I’m not. Two stars for you.

Don’t be fooled by the address (that’s the admin offices), but One Colorado is more than just a little courtyard in the middle of Old Town Pasadena.
One Colorado is technically the one block between Colorado and Union, Delacy and Fair Oaks. This space is home to some of the bigger retail stores in the area and provides an array of dining choices, from the classic diner style of Johnny Rockets to the shi shi Sushi Roku. You’ll also find interesting little boutiques in this area as well.
My favorite aspect of One Colorado by far is the courtyard in the heart of the block. Not only is the place interested in consumerism, but one can notice the abundance of art that peppers the alleys of the block. I remember first seeing that construction and thought it was some random temporary thing, and much later when one of those men broke, I was sad to see that, but was happy to know people actually noticed his presence. This past July on the screen above Sushi Roku, they had screenings of spaghetti westerns on Friday and Saturdays. They’ve even partnered with the Armory Center for the arts to have temporary, site-​specific art installations throughout the place, including last year’s Carlos Mollura’s inflated sculptures and the currently, France’s most famous site specific artist Daniel Buren has created a shimmering sea of flags that flutter against the blue California sky (through Nov. 11).
By no means does One Colorado define Old Town Pasadena and shows what the place has to offer, but it definitely gives you some place to come back to.