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View Winners → Monrovia Old Town Report (03/30/17 Issue)
Monrovia Weekly Mar 30, 2017
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– Courtesy photo
By Pam Fitzpatrick
It is totally gorgeous in Old Town right now. The sun is shining, a slight breeze is blowing, and there is energy in the air! I was driving up Myrtle the other day, just ready to pass Library Park, when I saw the most beautiful little whirlwind with dancing yellow leaves cross the street in front of me. I wish I had a dashcam so I could share that fleeting moment.
What a beautiful day to dedicate the Gold Line Maintenance Facility in honor of our past Mayor and forever friend, Bob Bartlett. In addition to bearing Bob’s name, the facility will also be the home of two bronze plaques – one in the park area and one on the platform – both with Bob’s image. I saw a FB post this morning with a photo of our current Mayor Tom Adams alongside Past Mayor Lara Laramendi and Councilmember Larry Spicer. So great to see all four of them together!
I gleaned a little gem this morning from my weekly visit to our Planning Department. It looks like the empty space at 302 S. Myrtle (recently vacated by Knot Too Shabby) has been leased by a new retail business called “The Attic Events and Home Treasures.” It’s always difficult to find out exactly what a brand-new business will be selling, but I’m told at this point that the shop will stock refurbished furniture and possibly have some classes and events.
And, some news on the Copper Still Grill (600 block S. Myrtle where Sam’s Kabob Room used to be): I spoke with the owner, Steve, this morning and he says the full-service restaurant will be open sometime this May – for sure! I had the opportunity to go inside and check out the renovations, and it’s really going to be classy with lots of beautiful woodwork. The bar area looks huge while still leaving plenty of room for table seating. The loft area, which I once heard would be filled with live musicians, appears to be additional seating. Steve says at this point there will be no live entertainment.
Walking down further south on Myrtle, I stopped in at Jake’s Roadhouse for an update on their expansion. Right now, no one is willing to speculate on a grand re-opening, but I’m told the work continues in the south side of their existing space. The drywall is up and city inspectors are coming and going, so soon Jake’s will be able to seat lots more guests!
With Spring here and Summer on its way, my shop (The Dollmakers’ Kattywompus) has a new stock of Monrovia’s signature board game, “Monroviaopoly.” We’ve also decided to finally order some Old Town items like fridge magnets, custom Old Town socks, and other collectible goodies. I’m still trying to decide on art for an Old Town t-shirt, but expect those soon as well.
As I mentioned last week, the City is now, and has been for several years, working on the homeless/vagrant issue in Monrovia in general, but specifically the very visible issue in Library Park.
Unfortunately, I missed the two-hour presentation at last week’s Council meeting (jury duty….), but the total report is on the City’s website under the City Manager’s Report. Very interesting read…
It’s Spring Break now, and for the next few weeks (because schools vary their spring breaks) we have more kids and parents enjoying our historic downtown. April is one of those “diet, what diet?” months where we find ourselves in the mood for ice cream and chocolate bunnies and all the stuff we’ll promise ourselves to burn off at Foothill Gym … Speaking of bunnies, Old Town’s Official Easter Bunny, whose identity is top secret, will be visiting Library Park on April 15th between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. for photo ops. Both humans and animals are welcome!
