When you see this 1912 photo of Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, you can see how turn-of-the-century Northerners fled here to escape the winters. Wide-open streets, shady trees, lawns, smooth sidewalks, regularly-spaced street lighting, no over-crowding, no tenements, no snow storms. Honestly, it’s a wonder any of them went back.

I don’t know where the 1912 photo was taken but here’s a shot from April 2019 showing us that Orange Grove Blvd is still wide and leafy.