The Spanish name Arroyo Seco translates as dry riverbed, and refers to a deep canyon expanse that stretches form the San Gabriel Mountains all the way to Los Angeles. At its northern edge Is Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, home of NASA and the Sojourner robot that enabled earthlings to view the planet Mars from their own living rooms.

The southern end of this area was changed forever when the Arroyo Seco Parkway – Los Angeles’ first freeway, now called the Pasadena Freeway – blasted through in 1939. Arroyo landmarks include the Rose Bowl, the nearby Gamble House and other extraordinary Craftsman bungalows, and the Art Centre College of Design. Spanning the ravine is the renovated 1913 Colorado Street Bridge, all curves and arches, and measuring 150 feet high and 1468 feet long.