The Votes Are In!
2023 Readers' Choice is back, bigger and better than ever!
View Winners → 
Pasadena Named “Best Arts Town” of the West by Sunset Magazine
News Jun 02, 2015
by
share with
-Photos by Terry Miller
Pasadena has been declared the Best Arts Town of the West by Sunset magazine, the premier guide to living in the West, in its inaugural Sunset Travel Awards.
The awards honor the West’s top destinations in lodging, dining, cultural tourism, outdoor adventure, environmental stewardship and more. Along with all 30 winners, Pasadena is currently featured in the June issue of Sunset magazine and on Sunset.com. A full list of winners can be found online at www.sunset.com/travelawards.
“The arts are everywhere in Pasadena and are truly part of the city’s DNA and culture,” said Michael Ross, chief executive officer of the Pasadena Center Operating Company, which includes the Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau. “With Pasadena’s historic architecture, world-class art museums, acres of botanical gardens, landmark theaters, entertainment venues, and special events dedicated to visual and performing arts, this city possesses an unsurpassed passion and responsibility for preserving and promoting all of the arts.”
-Photos by Terry Miller
“Pasadena has made an extraordinary commitment to the arts,” said one of the judges in the June Sunset magazine. “From museums to performing arts, architecture to events, including the Rose Bowl, nothing is lacking.”
Pasadena’s museums are home to some of the nation’s most distinguished art collections. With five major museums, it has more museums per-capita than most U.S. cities. The Norton Simon Museum of Art is home to art from the Renaissance to Van Gogh, Picasso and Rembrandt. The Pacific Asia Museum has one of only two authentic Chinese gardens in the United States, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art is devoted to California’s art, architecture and design. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is one of the world’s foremost cultural centers with a collection of rare 17th and 18th century masterpieces.
Known for its historic architecture, Pasadena boasts an impressive list of 1,000 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Tournament of Roses House and Wrigley Gardens. Nowhere in America is there such a large concentration of Craftsman-style homes, and the Gamble House, built in 1908, is recognized as a masterpiece of the American Arts and Crafts Movement.
The Pasadena Playhouse is the official State Theatre of California and a national historic landmark that boasts year-round productions – many of them that have gone on to success on Broadway. The city’s exciting nightlife ranges from jazz clubs and comedy at the Ice House Comedy Club to cultural performances at the renowned Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The Boston Court Performing Arts Center features jazz concerts to classic Shakespearean plays.
The artistic pageantry of the world’s most famous parade begins every year in Pasadena. The Tournament of Roses Parade is an international showcase of the imaginative genius of designers who create parade floats decorated only in flowers and other natural materials. Special events ranging from the annual Make Music Pasadena and Pasadena Chalk Festival to Craftsman Weekend and Pasadena Art Weekend fill the city’s calendar throughout the year.
Arts education is at the forefront at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design, the Armory Center for the Arts, and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Los Angeles.
More from News
