The Story Behind the Location

This post will answer all of the questions on the Location Project assignment.

Who lived there?

Wrigley Mansion exterior in 1938. Photo credit: Works Progress Administration Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

The headquarters of the Rose Parade is the Tournament House, formerly called the Wrigley Mansion. Read more about the mansion in this earlier post.

How did the people get there? 

In the early 1900’s when the Wrigleys moved to Pasadena, some people had cars. Many still had horses or took trolleys or trains, depending on where they were going.

How did they use the land/location? 

The Rose Parade was started as a way of advertising Pasadena and its mild winters to people who lived in colder parts of the country. Early on, there were flower-covered carriages, then floats. There were also games and other entertainment.

The Wrigleys gave their house to the Tournament of Roses in 1958. You can read more about that here.

The Rose Bowl stadium was built in 1922 on the site of the former city dump. It was built because too many people were watching the Rose Bowl football game to fit in the former location. At first people just stood around the field. When the stadium was built, they dug out the field and built seats on the dirt. The Rose Bowl stadium can hold 88,000 people.

Did a historic event happen there? 

Yes, the Rose Parade historically includes the Parade, put on by the Tournament of Roses Association (offices in the Wrigley Mansion or Tournament House), and the Rose Bowl, which has been in the Rose Bowl stadium since 1922. The parade and game are held on January 1st each year, unless that falls on a Sunday.

What were the physical features of the land like? What did people add to the land/location? 

See above for the physical features and additions of the Rose Bowl stadium. For the Rose Parade, at first the parade was small and went down main streets in Pasadena, including the street where the Wrigley’s house was located (Orange Grove). The parade still goes through Pasadena and the house has become headquarters for the Association. Over the years, the parade has added bleacher seats and it is also now seen on TV across the world. The house has added offices in the back of the lot.