Sierra Madre Boulevard

Sierra Madre Boulevard in Lamanda Park, Pasadena and San Gabriel Mountains in eastern Pasadena

Central Ave, Sierra Madre CA in 1904, now called Sierra Madre Blvd. A mule team is grading the Ave for the installation of the 1905 Pacific Electric street car, in the background is the Old North Church with its original barn roof bell tower.

Sierra Madre Blvd. at Baldwin in 1908 with PE line Depot and the Hotel Shirley in background

Original 1890 Sierra Madre City Library, built in 1887 on Sierra Madre Blvd.

Sierra Madre Boulevard is a 6.6-mile (10.6 km) long road connecting five suburbs of Pasadena, California; Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Hastings Ranch, East Pasadena, and San Marino.

For the most part, it is a winding road divided by a grassy median, but the part between Pasadena and Arcadia is a two-lane road.

It was built around the Pacific Electric Sierra Madre interurban railway line. The smaller and older portion of the road was originally Central Avenue in Sierra Madre, built some time in the 1860s or 1870s. The road forms a "┌" shape, starting at Elevado Avenue in Arcadia heading west and ends at Huntington Drive in San Marino. At Huntington Drive the road continues south as San Marino Ave, ending at Clary Ave, near S. Del Mar Ave.

The section of Sierra Madre Boulevard between Washington Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue is the end of the Tournament of Roses Parade. Floats are display the day after the Roses Parade on Sierra Madre Boulevard. Much of the boulevard in Pasadena has large grass median strip area between the lanes, that was part of the Pacific Electric street car in the past.

Notable on the Boulevard[]

• Santa Anita Ave, Arcadia
• Sierra Madre Pioneer Cemetery
• Baldwin Ave, Sierra Madre
• Jailhouse Inn, Sierra Madre
• Old North Church of Sierra Madre Congregational Church
• Sierra Madre Memorial Park
• Sierra Madre Police Department
• Sierra Madre City Hall and Fire Department
• Sierra Madre City Library
• Michillinda Ave (Sierra Madre- Pasadena City line)
• La Salle High School, Pasadena
• Church of the Nazarene
• Field Elementary School, Pasadena
• San Gabriel Valley Council, now part of the Greater Los Angeles Area Council, Pasadena
• New York Drive (north) - Sierra Madre Villa Ave (south)
• Eaton Canyon Golf course, Pasadena
• Washington Boulevard
• Pasadena High School
• Victory Park, Pasadena
• Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena
• Foothill Boulevard, Pasadena
• Interstate 210, Pasadena - L Line Metro rail
• Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena
• E. Del Mar Blvd. (Pasadena - San Marino City line)
• E. California Blvd.
• Huntington Drive, San Marino

References[]

• Pacific Electric org Central - Sierra Madre Boulevard
• Pasadena Heritage Org Running with History - Mile 23: Sierra Madre Line
• USC Digital Library, View of Pacific Electric car 401 at the intersection of Baldwin Avenue and Sierra Madre Boulevard in Sierra Madre, 1908
• Pacific Electric Sierra Madre Line, by the Electric Railway Historic Association of Southern California.