The city of South Pasadena, California, and the California Historic Route 66 Association on Saturday will paint a large Route 66 shield onto Fair Oaks Avenue in front of Fair Oaks Pharmacy.
The ceremony that will mark the recent 90th anniversary of Route 66 will take place at 11 a.m. at the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Mission Street. Music artist Brad Colerick will perform a version of Bobby Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66″ during the dedication that will be attended by several local officials, reported the South Pasadena Review.
Fair Oaks Avenue was part of two alignments of Route 66 in South Pasadena from 1926 to 1982.
The newspaper also reported:
Two more emblems will soon be painted on the pavement adjacent to Comerica Bank and Rialto Theater. The stenciled emblems are the best way to avoid the “vanishing sign” syndrome whereby metal signs along the roadside tend to disappear, becoming collector’s items.
Colerick will use the occasion to preview his upcoming album, “Nine-Ten-Thirty,” which includes a version of “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66.”
The California Historic Route 66 Association, which will display an exhibit during the ceremony, will give a free Route 66 hat to new members. New business members of the association will receive signs to help guide Route 66 travelers through their doors.
Fair Oaks Pharmacy opened in 1915 as the South Pasadena Pharmacy, then was the Raymond Pharmacy during the 1920s and ‘30s. The Fair Oaks Pharmacy, including an original old-time soda fountain from Joplin, Missouri, was restored during the early 1990s.
The Rialto Theatre, built in 1925, closed a few years ago after structural problems rendered it unsafe for the public. The theater gained a new owner in 2015, who pledges to restore the restore the exterior and find good tenants to fix the interior. A local preservation group, Friends of the Rialto, has been leading preservation efforts.
The Comerica Bank at 825 Fair Oaks Ave., built in 1922, formerly was a furniture store.
(Image of Fair Oaks Pharmacy in South Pasadena, California, by Ken Lund in Flickr; image of Route 66 in California by Meins Photography via Flickr)
Thanks for the report! The Rialto Theatre is thrilled to be recognized as a Route 66 landmark, we get visitors who stop by while traveling the Road all the time! One slight but important correction, the Rialto Theatre was not closed because of “structural problems”, it is structurally sound and in good shape. It was closed for some fire safety code violations that are easily correctable. Friends of the Rialto is working to raise the funds needed to make the corrections, restore and reopen the Theatre. Donations are gratefully accepted at http://www.FriendsoftheRialto.org
When I mentioned “structural problems,” I was referring to pieces of the marquee falling onto the sidewalk below.