Pasadena was thriving in the 1920's, when its population grew from 45,000 to 76,000. Four great hotels of the resort era still flourished, welcoming Eastern guests; the Huntington, the Maryland, the Green, and the Vista del Arroyo, with the hoopla of their pageants and sporting events.

But at heart, Pasadena was a middle-class town of small businesses, light industries, and craftsmen. The skill of these practical artists is still admired today, in the stone work, tile, and architectural details of the 1920's Mediterranean style.

Some of Pasadena's enduring landmarks were built in this decade. Thanks to the City Beautiful movement and a $3.5 million bond election, the new Civic Center went up; the City Hall, the Central Public Library (both 1927) and the Auditorium (completed in 1932). In 1929, west Colorado Boulevard was widened with 14 feet cut off the building fronts on each side of the street, and new facades were added for an up-to-date look.

More buildings from that time are still prized today: Grace Nicholson's Chinese palace home (1926), which is now the Pacific Asia Museum; the Pasadena Playhouse (opening night was in 1925); and Myron Hunt's first version of the Rose Bowl, an open horseshoe shape, with roses on the earth-banked sides (1922). Three years later, the open south end of the Rose Bowl was filled in, to increase the 57,000-seat capacity by an additional 19,000.

Nearby in San Marino, Henry Huntington's Library and Art Gallery were opened to the public in 1928, and in that same year Pasadena's famed Busch Gardens were closed.

Little things mean a lot, in a city's history. In the year 1920, Throop College of Technology changed its name to California Institute of Technology; Mijares Mexican Restaurant first opened; and the beautiful Altadena deodars were first lighted to create Christmas Tree Lane.

On a practical note, Pasadena spurred in 1928 the organization of the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), today a massive association providing water for much of Southern California. The MWD Board of Directors first met in Pasadena City Hall. Numerous schools, branch libraries, and bridges were built, including the Linda Vista Street Bridge, the San Rafael Bridge, and the bridge at Devil's Gate Dam.

Perhaps it caught the spirit of this exuberant decade when one Art Goebel flew a biplane under the now-famed Colorado Street Bridge, with two young women standing on the wings.