Walking Tour Sunday Visits Landmarks in Pasadena African American History

Before the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, there was the Brookside Plunge, the City’s first public pool, which opened in the early twentieth century with a “white only” sign. 

The Plunge went on to become a landmark in the struggle for equal rights in Pasadena. 

Pasadenans can learn more about the Brookside Plunge and other important people in the history of Pasadena’s African American community in a three-mile-long walk this Sunday, Oct. 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Pasadena African American History Walk, hosted by NAACP Pasadena Branch and Day One,  is a guided walking tour that’s part of Pasadena Walktober 2022, made possible by the City of Pasadena Department of Transportation.

Allen Edson, one of the organizers of the event from the NAACP, said the walk starts at the Aquatic Center, where a discussion about the history of the Brookside pool takes place. It will then go by the Jackie Robinson statue in front of the Rose Bowl, stop by Melvin and Ruby Williams’ Pocket Park, through Doctor’s Row, and to Forest Ave. where participants will hear about some of the people that lived in the neighborhood.

The assembly site for the walk is where the Brookside Plunge used to be. Previously known as Sheep Corral Springs, it was pasture land for sheep from the San Gabriel Mission.

History of Brookside Plunge

When the Brookside Plunge opened in 1914, on land obtained by the City of Pasadena, it was segregated, with a “white only” sign, outraging the sizable African-American population of Pasadena.

“This kind of discrimination occurred in the South, but was not supposed to be as virulent in CA. In reality, segregated facilities were the norm in California, too, and the Brookside Plunge became a landmark in the struggle for equal rights,” according to Pacific Coast Architecture Database. 

When the plunge opened with a whites only sign, the active Pasadena chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) protested, and park administrators decided on a “fair” compromise. On Wednesdays during the day, the plunge would be opened for non-whites only; Wednesday evening was also the regular time that the pool would be drained and cleaned. This affront enraged local civil rights leaders who urged a boycott of the pool. 

“It depicts some racial discrimination in Pasadena and how African Americans fought back,” Edson said.

Brookside Plunge was ultimately demolished to make way for the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, built on the site in 1988 and 1989.

On the day of the walk, Edson advises participants to get to the assembly site early. 

“Parking may be a little scarce. The [Rose Bowl] Flea Market will be happening at the same time. So they use that area to park, too,” he said.

The walk is free for all to attend. To more, visit:
https://www.godayone.org/walktober2022