We Partied on the Bridge

  

I would say that more than 1,000 people throughout the evening at the Colorado Street Bridge Party last night is a mark of success.

Every other year the City of Pasadena closes the bridge to vehicular traffic so Pasadena Heritage, which was instrumental in saving the historic structure, can have its annual fundraising event there.

An aerial camera captured some great shots. This was at about 7:30 p.m.

 

I'll let the next couple of photos speak for themselves:

My pals Kat Ward (left) and Vicki Laidig:

 

Dan McLaughlin (left) and Tavo Olmos were selling their respective books, with the evening's proceeds benefiting Pasadena Heritage.

Dan is a research librarian at Pasadena Central Library. Several times over the years he has provided me with background information about Mystery History photos on my Pasadena PIO blog and my Ann Erdman in Pasadena blog. Dan's book is the fun and informative "Pasadena History Headline Quiz: 690 Pasadena History Trivia Questions Taken from Pasadena Newspaper Headlines."

Tavo, my good friend and a sought-after historic preservation photographer, was commissioned to shoot photos of the restoration of the Colorado Street Bridge in 1990 and 1991. His book, "The Colorado Street Bridge: Restoration Project," is filled with photos of the restoration as well as stories about the photos and a foreword by Claire Bogaard.

Both authors signed their books for me. Here's Tavo:

The books are available at Vromans Bookstore, the Museum Store at the Pasadena Museum of History and Amazon; Tavo's book is also available at The Bookstore at The Gamble House. 

The Hutton family came to the bridge party:

Their great-grandfather (and the little one's great-great-grandfather) was A.W. Hutton, one of the pioneers of Pasadena. See my 2010 Pasadena PIO blog post about the monument to pioneers, including Hutton, in Defenders Park near the entrance to the Colorado Street Bridge.

And of course Snotty Scotty and the Hankies performed on the main stage!

Tavo and I walked out together and noticed the supermoon between two trees on South Grand Avenue. On my little phone camera the moon looked like a glorified star; Tavo captured the real deal on his professional camera.

It was a grand evening, and it was great to run into so many people I know but haven't seen in awhile, from Steve Vargas to Vannia De La Cuba and countless others. I also appreciated several Facebook friends I don't know personally who recognized me and approached me to say hello.

The next Colorado Street Bridge Party will be in 2016.

I took all the photos except the overhead shot of the bridge. Many thanks to Philip Coombs for that photo.