Author: Brett Fujioka
I’ve lived in the Pasadena area since I was eight and casually frequented it when I got my license. When I transferred to Occidental, I found it peculiar how excited people got over Old Town. It slowly crept under my skin whenever my college friends would announce that they were planning a trip to Old Town. They treated it like a brief vacation to the city.
A year later, these exact friends scoffed at Old Town, and turned to different locales like Westwood, Brand Boulevard in Glendale, and sometimes even Little Tokyo. The thing is, I have a difficult time differentiating between the three.
My father once described Westwood as the “Old Town of old.” Apparently, it used to be as bustling as Pasadena’s epicenter, until a shooting brought it down to its knees. Practically overnight, it became a ghost town until it established itself as a college village. Brand Boulevard in Glendale has just as much to offer as Old Town and Westwood. Even “Little Tokyo” or Japan Town emulates these three others, in the hopes of attracting more tourists. The only differences between it and the former three is that it carries, with a few exceptions, a constant authentic Japanese feel. It isn’t quite big enough to rank itself alongside Chinatown or Koreatown, but it keeps up alongside this rising trend, which brings me to my point.
There isn’t anything special about Old Town. It’s central precursor, Westwood, was just like it. Every city with a commercial property is working to develop an Old Town of its own. Slowly, but surely, the area within Oxy’s immediate vicinity is headed towards this direction. We already have a Cold Stone, a Jamba Juice, several reputable restaurants including Spitz, a hookah bar, and even a local comic book store. Eagle Rock has showed signs of renovation, and it may even advance itself to the level of an indoor version of the Paseo. It’s only a matter of time before Pinkberry sets its sights on the Rock.
I’ve said it once already, but Little Tokyo is probably the anomaly among all of these commercial communities. It carries a consistent and authentic Japanese theme, but with enough variety between its restaurants (i.e. Shabu Shabu, Japanese Curry, ramen, sushi, etc.) to encourage multiple trips. However, due to the rising popularity of anime and video games, it’s sort of become the geek mecca of Los Angeles; America’s Akihabara, if you will. However, its possession of mismatched gelato and Korean Barbeque restaurants just proves that its moving along with the Oldtownification of California.
I will acquiesce to the following things, however. It does have a good selection of exotic restaurants. It’s perfect for anyone who’s looking to impress their date with something out of the ordinary. Out of all of the hookah bars in Los Angeles, Equador has the most reasonable fee out there. (Yes, there is a hookah bar in Old Town. It’s in the alleyway between Jake’s. Spread the word). The Paseo is probably the biggest theater close to Oxy. The size of its screenings is up there alongside the IMAX. Other than that, it’s the same as every other Westwood clone out there.
Old Town was just the first of many. Someday people may even categorize it as an expanded type of strip mall for the new millennia. After about a year, perhaps even two at tops, newcomers lose interest in it. I have a friend from UCLA with the same view. Only freshmen, he says, are excited over Westwood. The upperclassmen quickly grow tired of this commercial attraction and move on to explore other more exciting parts of Los Angeles.
I’m pretty sure that other students outside of Oxy will say the same thing about the “Old Towns” near their campus. I will, however, admit one thing. I am interested in seeing how the area surrounding Occidental develops in the years ahead. I do expect that after a year or so, I’ll get tired of it.
Brett Fujioka is a senior ECLS major. He can be reached at bfujioka@oxy.edu.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
