New ‘Historic Pasadena’ Smartphone Application Unveiled Today

Pasadena’s Historic Preservation Commission will hear details about and see a demonstration of a new smart phone application which disseminates public information about historic resources in Pasadena at its meeting today.

The “Historic Pasadena” smart phone application will enable the public to search for any historic resources near their location; look for specific kinds of historic resources, including architectural styles, works of a particular architect, and properties within a landmark or historic district; and to follow pre-defined mobile tours created by the City and other agencies in the future.

Staff of CF Webtools, Inc., the company which the City hired to develop the application, will also hold a demonstration of the program during the meeting.

The application will also give detailed information on how to access chosen destinations through walking, transit or driving and will also give information on each property in accordance with the California Historical Resources Inventory Database.

Historic Pasadena application is for both iPhone and Android devices and will be available for download at the Itunes Store and Google Play upon approval. To download the application, visit http://bit.ly/pasadenaios for iPhone, or http://bit.ly/pasadenaandroid for Android devices. The database can be accessed from a desktop computer at www.cityofpasadena.net/chrid.

The California Office of Historic Preservation, through the Certified Local Government program, granted the City in 2012 a funding to create a public information program about the historic resources in Pasadena. The project involves the creation of a smart phone application, the City’s website and a printed brochure.

The City’s website will also contain a page for the project’s mobile tours, as well as a link to download the smart phone application. Brochures will be printed to provide a condensed version of the tour information.

The text, images and maps for the websites were already submitted to the City’s graphic designer for development and are expected to be completed by mid-October.

The Pasadena Convention and Visitor’s Bureau also developed a brochure called “Explore Pasadena Architecture,” which can be accessed at www.visitpasadena.com. It will feature several historic architectural resources in Pasadena, including houses from late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The  Historic Preservation Commission meeting is open to the public. It begins at 6 p.m. in the Hale Building, located at 175 N. Garfield Ave.