City of Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre is a small town near Pasadena, at the foothills of the mountains with beautiful views of it. It has a nice, intimate feel, with a big main street, old architecture, nice buildings, great restaurants, shops, coffee shops and a nice Playhouse.

You are close to LA, but it feels far away, it is great to come here and spend the day, for a slower pace, change of scenery, a nice getaway not far from the city!

We finally checked it out during the Wistaria Festival, so it was crowded and lively, but I would go back some other time of the year.
We did check out movie locations for Carpenter's "The Fog" and "Halloween 2", among others productions filmed here.

Nice, picturesque, charming town, it makes it for a great escape!

Why did I go to the City fo Sierra Madre ?? Well because its super small and its cool.

A retirement enclave it still caters to a discerning palate for those who know

Loved walking around this teeny tiny town. Not much to see but from what I gathered from the few stores that I saw, there is a pretty high standard of living, generally.. lots of antique, vintage clothing, other obscurities and a grandpa driving a sporty red convertible from the past.

There's a big art scene here (don't know the schedule) and plenty of acupuncture and massage places.

Welcome to suburbia. Sierra Madre is a beautiful foothill city in the San Gabriel Valley of LA County. It's an upper middle cla$$ city with a high percentage of white people living, therefore, not particularly diverse unlike LA. However, there are small percentage of latino and asians living in this neighborhood. I like the vibe of this small city and their small shops and restaurants/bars albeit very limited. Furthermore, the people that I encounter on the streets were very friendly (e.g., Hello) and full of ardor. I think this city is a great place to live and raise a family. It's clean, quiet and has a small population. Statistically speaking the percentage of married people (59%) are high compared to unmarried people (25%). Anyways, I enjoyed my time strolling and exploring the streets of Sierra Madre and it's gorgeous mountain view.

We always enjoy visiting this very small city. It feels like a town that is hours away and secluded from LA County. There are few restaurants and one Starbucks to get high on caffeine. The people are always friendly and the city stays very clean with no litter in sight.

After a visit to nearby L.A. County Arboretum, I suggested to D.H. that we go check out Sierra Madre. We'd visited the main fire station several times over the years as part of a fundraiser for burn survivors, but had never spent time in the downtown area.

We were there on a very hot Sunday late afternoon. The heat of the day hadn't started to wane yet, so strolling around was at a very leisurely pace and with a cold water bottle in hand. There are many charming shops and restaurants to catch one's eye in the area of Baldwin Avenue and Sierra Madre Blvd.

The shops were mostly closed by 5:30 on a Sunday. That was a shame, as there were several I'd want to check out. Petunia's, especially, was a draw.

Due to the vintage of the old part of town - dating to the 1880's, there's a definitely feeling akin to many of the Gold Rush towns along Highway 49 in the Sierra foothills. It's a vibe I enjoy!

As we completed our circuit, we noted there was a concert in the park happening that evening a few blocks from downtown. It was too hot to linger, and we didn't have lawn chairs with us. Something to look forward to another time.

We noted many stately and interesting historic homes and those with character of various ages in this charming town. Looks like a great place to live.

The Village of Sierra Madre is a destination location for one person, couples, and for the entire family. It is located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, a click north of Arcadia and a few clicks east of Old Pasadena.

The Village was founded in 1881 and is only 3 sq miles in size. It stretches from 800 ft to 2000 ft elevation, and is the starting point for numerous strolls and hikes. For the last hundred years, Sierra Madre has been a haven for Writers, Filmmakers, and Artists, including Anais Nin, Howard Whalen, Igor Dekansky, Rolf Forsberg, Howard Miller, and many more.

The village center, located where 0 Baldwin Ave meets 0 Sierra Madre Blvd and 0 Kersting Ct, where there is a small triangular park as the town square. Restaurants, Cafes, Art Galleries, and Boutique Shops line the streets all around the court, giving it the feel of a European Village mixed with a small independent American Town similar to Mayberry. The great thing about this is that it is not fake. Sierra Madre is a true and real village, a rare thing in LA County.

There are numerous public events held here year round, including free films show in the Spring on a large portable screen in Kersting Park (line the streets with lawn chairs and have fun). There are also parades on big holidays like the 4th, and art walks and wine walks a number of times a year. Sierra Madre has a large park near city hall that boasts numerous free concerts as well. See the schedule board in Kersting Ct for more info on all of these.

On Wednesday, during harvest time, there is a medium sized Farmers Market held in the large park. There are also street fairs, art fairs, and even an Octoberfest fest here. For a small town there is a lot to do, and when you are ready to eat, there is an abundance of good places to eat. The village also has the largest Wisteria Vine in America.

For those who like historic buildings, Sierra Madre boasts a huge collection of original Craftsman homes, as well as the beautiful Victorian Mansion, The Pinny House (up the hill on Lima). There is also a Franciscan Monastery that offers retreats, and has beautiful grounds; the private girl's high school, Alverno, whose campus is a piece of historic art on a huge plot of land (for less than 300 students), and Lizzy's Trail Inn (& the Richarson House) two of the oldest corteges in the San Gabriel Valley, which for a time used as a speakeasy and moonshine mill during prohibition. Lizzy's Trail Inn is now open again on Saturdays for the traditional menu that they served 90 years ago to hikers at the head of the Mt. Wilson Trail.

Other events include:
Wistaria Festival (March)
Huck Finn Fishing Derby (March)
Art Fair (May)
Mount Wilson Trail Race (Memorial Day Weekend)
4th of July Festivities (July)
Dickens' Village (November)

Sierra Madre is an undiscovered gem.

Love this place for hiking and cusine.

Little hidden gems of the culinary arts can be found among this Sierra foothills community.

And it's close to Pasadena aother hub of food artist.

Definitely invite everyone to discover this city.

Oh my... I see what Brian S. mean by kids can run around and their parents no need to worry about scary neighbors kidnapping them.. It's so peaceful and quiet!

Just driving down sierra madre blvd towards Santa Anita way, my boyfriend and I decided to stop by the area where there is a Starbucks and a yogurt & More. People here are nice, and did I already mention quiet?

There are a few small shops to look around. A few restaurants you all can check it out.

If I need to escape the SGV, I would come here.

Do you remember that movie Pleasantville? You know - the one where the kid idealizes a 1950's "Leave It To Beaver" style television show and ends up getting sucked literally into his tv?

That's how I feel sometimes coming back to Sierra Madre as an adult...

Nestled among the foothills, surrounded by the megolopolis that is Southern California's non-stop development, sits a community of about 10,000 people that feels as if it is stuck in some 1950s-era television show (ok, we have a little, err, color now, so maybe 1960s).

Sierra Madre is a city where the community paper's "police blotter" still reports things like "Police respond to report of cat in tree. After several minutes of cajoling, whiskers has been safely returned to owner."

Sierra Madre is a place where children are able to still able to run free and parents don't have to worry that their neighbors are going to kidnap them. It is a place where the community still comes out for a very cheesy, totally non-corporate, 4th of July Parade and carnival, complete with competitions like a shoe toss, egg toss, and wheelbarrow races and, of course, a beer garden. It is a place where people come out in droves for "Huck Fin Day" - an opportunity to camp and fish in settling ponds. It is a place that has a Wisteria Festival to commemorate, well, a giant vine. It is a place with great community pride in our local trails, especially the Mount Wilson Trail Race, which hosts a big race every year. It is a place where the biggest concert in town is from an Elvis Impersonator.

Sierra Madre is a place where people worry about "big development" coming in, namely because the latest housing project may actually force them --gasp-- to put in a stop-light. It is a place that has one of the last volunteer fire departments in the State, much less the nation. It is a place where neighbors still have block parties. It is a place where you can still find honest-to-goodness hippies (and a few yuppies) still living in "the canyon."

Sierra Madre is a place where you can find a real Craftsman nestled alongside a pho-craftsman. It is a place where you can also find Victorian, Mission, post-modern, and Mediterranean architecture. It is a place that contains only one major chain - Starbucks - and people still talk about how they "let them in".

Sadly, it is also a City gentrifying. There is no way I could possibly ever, in my wildest dreams, afford to purchase a home in this community. But, for now, I'm enjoying every minute of my trip back to the Mayberry of SoCal....

P.S. If you "Love Sierra Madre", check out this facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-love-sierra-madre/108183679203012

Nice city, however it is a shame that their fire depatment is a volunteer department which lacks appropriate resources to effectively support it's city. It puzzles me how the chief and captains (4 of them) are on the payroll while all other firefighters are non paid volunteers. Their respose times to emergencies is just unacceptable. This city deserves a paid department that can appropriately care for their community. Where is all of the Hollywood money going?? Who is pocketing all this money?? Not the volunteer firefighters. What about the city taxes from the mansions?? SAD that paramedics get paid 12.50 an hour to save ur life. Might as well spit in their face. Sierra Madre shame on you.