Tours of Pasadena City College Campus

A walking tour of the campus provides visitors and prospective students a fascinating look at the college's educational and historical campus. Tours of PCC are available to groups and individuals on a limited basis. Please complet the Campus tour Request form.

You can take a Virtual Tour of the Campus.

For a self-guided tour please download the "Self-Guided Handout".

This information is in PDF format. The freely available Adobe® Acrobat® Reader is required. To download a free copy click here.

Pasadena City College has a rich history. The first public school in Pasadena opened its doors on September 10, 1874. The session was conducted in the home of the teacher's father. Two students enrolled the first day and by the end of the week, enrollment had increased to fourteen.

Soon after steps towards the development of Pasadena's public school system took place. In the fall of 1887, Pasadena High School was established.

On March 29, 1924, the citizens of Pasadena voted to establish a junior college district and in June, 1924, Pasadena City Junior College District was formed.

From these modest beginnings, Pasadena City College has grown to become one of California's 107 community colleges and is the third-largest single campus community college in the United States. It enrolls 23,000 credit and 4,000 non-credit students. The main campus occupies a 53-acre site centrally located in Pasadena. Housed within the 39 buildings on campus are classrooms, auditoriums, theaters, vocational/instructional shops and labs, a radio station, a TV studio, an art gallery, a life science museum, an observatory, and other instructional facilities. PCC also owns and operates the Community Education Center within a few blocks of the campus.

Pasadena City College:

• is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
• offers Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees.
• offers 60 academic program areas and 70 vocational programs areas and offers classes during the day, afternoon, evening   and weekend.
• is ranked in the top ten California community colleges transferring students to the California State University and   University of California systems.
• is recognized for: high student transfer rate, Honors at Entrance Scholarship awards and nearly $9 million in student   scholarships and financial aid, and KPCC, listener-supported public radio for Southern California.
• has special activities and honors that include: national math and forensics awards, Scholars Program, semesters abroad in   Oxford, England and Florence, Italy, several summer study/travel programs, and national choral performances.
• has intercollegiate athletics including: football, basketball, baseball, softball, golf, volleyball, cross country, soccer, tennis,   track and field.

Famous Alumni:

• Bob Mackie, Fashion Designer
• Bruce Merrifield, Nobel Prize Winning Chemist
• Dick Williams, Baseball Manager
• Eddie Van Halen, Rock Musician
• George Reeves, ( a.k.a. Superman)Actor
• Howard Packard, Industrialist
• Jack Larson, (a.k.a Jimmy Olson)Actor
• Jackie Robinson, Baseball Legend
• Jaime Escalante, Teacher
• John Singleton, Filmmaker
• Joyce Kennard, State Supreme Court Justice
• Michael Cooper, Laker Player
• Nick Nolte, Actor
• Octavia Butler, Science Fiction Writer
• William Holden, Actor

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Honor Band:

Leading the Rose Parade every year since 1930 is the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Honor Parade. The band was originally called the Pasadena Junior College Bulldog Band, a bulldog being the school's mascot at the time. It is composed of the Pasadena City College Marching Band members and high school honor students who are accepted by audition. It performs for many Tournament of Roses Association events, such as press conferences, the queen and court announcements, and Bandfest. Each year, the band performs musical selections which depict the parade theme, including "Everything's Coming Up Roses".

Mascot:

The Lancer, a Roman-type warrior

School Colors:

Cardinal and Gold 

Revised June 23, 2011 by webservices@pasadena.edu