Sunday, June 14, 2026

Route 66 Centennial Anchors Pasadena’s 140th Birthday Celebration Today

Colorado Boulevard in its early days. [Pasadena Museum of History]

The free Pasadena Museum of History celebration runs noon to 4 p.m. on the Fényes Estate campus and marks the city’s 140th, Route 66’s centennial and Colorado Boulevard’s 150th anniversary

The Pasadena Museum of History and the City of Pasadena will throw the city its annual birthday party on Sunday, June 14, with a free, all-ages celebration that doubles this year as a tribute to two highway milestones — the centennial of Route 66 and the 150th anniversary of Colorado Boulevard.

Billed as “Happy Birthday Pasadena: Highway to Adventure!”, the event runs from noon to 4 p.m. on the museum’s Fényes Estate campus at 470 W. Walnut St. and marks Pasadena’s 140th birthday alongside the two road anniversaries. Admission and parking are free, and no reservations are required.

Mayor Victor Gordo and special guests are scheduled to cut a three-tiered birthday cake at 2 p.m., according to the museum’s event page, with cake, lemonade and popcorn served throughout the afternoon.

The museum’s event page lists a road-trip-themed lineup across the two-acre campus: vintage automobiles and motorcycles staged for photo opportunities by local collectors and clubs, including the Jewel City Model A Club and the Pasadena Motorcycle Club; a watercolor workshop with the Pasadena Society of Artists; an Art 2 Go craft station where children build cardboard race cars; face painting; Pump & Splash water toys; a Greetings Tour mini-mural station; and a 3D chalk mural by artist Alex J. Cabalu. A live music act billed on the page as “4 on the Floor” is scheduled to perform, and the day also includes Pasadena history trivia contests and on-campus scavenger hunts.

The party coincides with the opening weekend of the museum’s new exhibition, “Where History Meets the Road: Celebrating Route 66 & Colorado Boulevard,” which opened June 13 and runs through Jan. 24, 2027. Its centerpiece is a 70-foot-long, five-foot-high illustrated canvas scroll — the Route 66 Pathway Project from Claremont Graduate University’s Center for Humanities in Practice — tracing the highway’s California leg from the Santa Monica coast to Needles at the state’s eastern edge. The project, led by John Bohn with Joshua Goode, was inspired by 1915 road-map booklets from the Southern California Automobile Association. During regular hours the exhibition carries standard admission of $9 general and $7 for seniors and is free for members, students and visitors under 18; it is free during Sunday’s event.

Pasadena incorporated as a charter city on June 19, 1886 — the second city to incorporate in what is now Los Angeles County — placing its 140th anniversary in 2026. U.S. Route 66 was officially established on Nov. 11, 1926, eventually running 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica before its decommissioning in 1985; Colorado Boulevard, which originated in 1876 with a general store and post office at Fair Oaks Avenue, forms part of the historic Route 66 corridor through Pasadena and remains the route of the Tournament of Roses Parade. Community partners taking part include Pasadena Heritage, which contributed oral histories to the exhibition, and the Altadena Historical Society.

The museum, a private nonprofit dedicated to the history, art and culture of Pasadena and the west San Gabriel Valley, is at 470 W. Walnut St.; more information is at pasadenahistory.org or (626) 577-1660. The Route 66 programming continues through the summer with ticketed author talks and walking tours.

Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut St., Pasadena. For more call (626) 577-1660 or visit pasadenahistory.org. Tickets: Free; no reservations required.