Editing Pasadena, California (section)

===Contemporary===
[[File:Caltech Military Department 1925.png|thumb|left|The [[California Institute of Technology]] in 1925]]
The [[Second World War]] proved to be a boon to Pasadena as Southern California became a major [[staging area]] for the [[Pacific War]].<ref>[https://www.cityofpasadena.net/about-pasadena/history-of-pasadena/ City of Pasadena - History of Pasadena]</ref> High tech manufacturing and scientific companies made the city their home, a trend which continued in the decades following the war, notably with [[NASA]]'s [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]], [[Tetra Tech]] and Ameron International.

In the 1950s, Pasadena saw a steady influx of people from the [[Culture of the Southern United States|Southern United States]], especially African-Americans from [[Texas]] and [[Louisiana]]. Pasadena also began hosting a large immigrant community, particularly from China, Japan, Philippines, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Italy, Armenia, and India.

The [[American Academy of Dramatic Arts]], founded in 1884 in New York, opened its Pasadena campus in 1974. However, in 2001 the conservatory moved from Pasadena to Hollywood. Training actors for the stage in a two year program, the conservatory was the first school in the United States to offer professional education in the field of acting. [[Point Loma Nazarene University]] was located in Pasadena for many years before relocating to [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]], and retained the names Pasadena University and Pasadena College.
[[File:Pasadena 1945 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Downtown Pasadena in 1945]]
In 1969, the [[Pasadena Unified School District]] was desegregated, though the issue would continue to be fought in court for a decade. A year later, the [[Interstate 210 and State Route 210 (California)|210 Freeway]] was built along a newly chosen route. The freeway's construction was controversial, as it caused the demolition of over a thousand homes, many historic, and many claimed that the route was designed to cut off the city's less wealthy neighborhoods.

[[Downtown Pasadena, California|Downtown Pasadena]] became dangerous in some parts and deserted in others, and incidences of murder and arson skyrocketed. Old Pasadena faced destruction as plans for new high-rise developments were drawn up, though they were mostly stopped by increasingly active preservation advocates. Pasadena suffered demographically as many residents moved for the nearby suburbs or the [[Inland Empire (California)|Inland Empire]], causing an overall decrease in population.{{Citation needed|date=November 2015}} Despite these setbacks, many local artists and [[hipster (1940s subculture)|hipster]]s moved in to take advantage of low property values. Their legacy can be seen today in the [[Doo Dah Parade]] which began in 1976.

In 2014, several arrests were made involving an embezzlement scheme which stole an estimated $6.4 million from the city's Underground Utility Program.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-city-worker-embezzled-6-million-from-pasadena-da-alleges-20141230-story.html |title=Pasadena employee allegedly embezzles $6 million from city |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 30, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allgov.com/usa/ca/news/where-is-the-money-going/pasadena-accuses-ex-city-employee-of-stealing-64-million-from-slush-fund-141231?news=855237 |title=Pasadena Accuses Ex-City Employee of Stealing $6.4 Million from "Slush Fund" |publisher=allgov.com |date=December 31, 2014 |access-date=January 6, 2015 |archive-date=January 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105012456/http://www.allgov.com/usa/ca/news/where-is-the-money-going/pasadena-accuses-ex-city-employee-of-stealing-64-million-from-slush-fund-141231?news=855237 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2025, portions of Pasadena were destroyed in the [[Eaton Fire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pasadenanow.com/main/eaton-fire-reaches-full-containment-after-devastating-altadena-and-portions-of-pasadena |title=Eaton Fire Reaches Full Containment After Devastating Altadena and Portions of Pasadena }}</ref>