Pasadena Celebrates 127th Birthday and Bridges Saturday

Pasadena is celebrating its 127th birthday Saturday and the occasion happens to coincide with the 100th anniversary of one of the city's most well-known landmarks--the Colorado Street Bridge.

The all-ages celebration, which includes several "Bridging Pasadena" presentations relating to various topics, free birthday cake and much more, will take place from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at the Pasadena Museum of History (470 W. Walnut Street)

The museum shared the following details about the event:

• The Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association will keep party-goers on their toes with a variety of dances and demonstrations. Join in or sit, relax, and enjoy the show!
• History "Pods" have become a defining and much-anticipated feature of Happy Birthday Pasadena events.  This year we celebrate Pasadena's physical bridges and use the concept of bridging to explore other facets of our City's vibrant lifestyle:
  • Bridges to Community - Meet Pasadena's community of Bloggers!  They are our eyes and ears; they share Pasadena-related thoughts, images, inspirations, and news from unique perspectives.  Here's your chance to chat with them in person.
  • Bridges to Exploration - From Pasadena to Mars and beyond: JPL representatives will amaze, enlighten, and inspire you!
  • Bridges to Health - Did you know that many early Pasadena settlers came here seeking health cures?  Our amazing medical history comes to life in this presentation.
  • Bridges to History - Our oconic landmark, the Colorado Street Bridge, is 100 years old in 2013.  Pasadena Heritage will preside over a display that celebrates this milestone and all of our City's physical bridges.
  • Bridges to Imagination - Kidspace Children's Museum and Side Street Projects will keep youngsters fully engaged in imaginative, hands-on projects.  Meanwhile, Gold Bug, Old Pasadena's neo-Victorian emporium, will amuse, engage, and delight the imagaination and senses of visitors of all ages.
  • Bridges to Understanding - The Pasadena Sister Cities Committee will feature details about our special relationships with Ludwigshafen, Germany; Mishima, Japan; Jarvenpaa, Finland; Vanadzor, Armenia; and Xicheng District, Beijing, China.
• "World's Smallest Motor" - In 1959 famed CalTech physicist Dr. Richard Feynman offered a $1,000 prize to anyone able to make an operating electric motor only 1/64th of an inch cubed (about the size of a speck of sand).  Pasadena's William McLellan, a CalTech graduate and miniaturization specialist, successfully claimed the prize just a year later, effectively ushering in the field of nanotechnology.  The McLellan family recently donated the tiny motor to PMH, and we are presenting in in a special display -- mounted under a microscope -- in the Archives on this celebratory afternoon.