The modern history of this regal region began in 1873 with the arrival of a group of Midwesterners seeking respite from a particularly brutal winter. When teacher-turned-journalist Daniel Berry and his friends first saw the magnificent site, then known as Rancho San Pasqual, nearly 14,000 acres at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, they knew they had found a truly special place.

Others shared their enthusiasm and joined the exodus to the west, and the City of Pasadena was incorporated on June 19, 1886. Within just a few years, the town became the winter getaway of choice for many of the country's wealthy and powerful. Some families stayed on to build the mansions that even today sit on the stately, tree-lined streets that give the area its air of affluence.

While the original visitors traveled across country by train and horse, Angelenos will find it much easier to visit. Pasadena is only fifteen minutes from Downtown on the 110 Freeway. The Pasadena Freeway, which stretches 8.2 miles from the 10 in downtown to the Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena, was built in 1940 and known as the Arroyo Seco Parkway. The first freeway in the west, and widely considered the first in the world, it has many surprising curves that make it a fun, if challenging drive, as well as offramps that require drivers to slow to 5 mph with practically no notice. ArroyoFest recently shut the freeway to cars and opened it to pedestrians, cyclists and others who had long wanted an up-close look.