Quaint Historic City Embracing A New Urban Future

"South Pasadena is the kind of town that takes its history seriously -- a place that's proud of slogans like 'South Pasadena -- where the past is the present' and 'South Pasadena: 1888 with all the modern amenities.'

And that was Sherry Hodge's life.

The mother of one child lived in a 100-year-old house on a historic preservation list. She devoted countless hours as a volunteer in the city's heralded school district. She even bought a T-shirt that said "no" to the extension of the 710 Freeway, which the city has long opposed because it would carve up historic neighborhoods.

But now, Hodge has become a pioneer of sorts in the San Gabriel Valley city.

Hodge, a TV producer, quit her job, and she and her husband sold their Craftsman home to buy a two-bedroom unit in a modern condominium building in the city's revitalized downtown.

'We discovered this whole new urban South Pasadena,' Hodge, 47, said. 'There's a wine bar, organic food and a kitchen store. We never had date nights in town. We do now.'

Hodge's move underscores a quiet revolution in a town where 10,000 homes are on a historic protection inventory.

Long averse to any change, South Pasadena has embraced an aggressive redevelopment strategy that has brought loft condos, high-end restaurants and trendy shops to a city that has prided itself on a Main Street USA feel even though it's less than seven miles from downtown Los Angeles."