Neighborhood Focus: Mission Street, South Pasadena

Children perform at dance routine at the Mission West Fall Street Festival on Mission Street in South Pasadena. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 16, 2014 10:46 AM PT

Artist Leanne Pleshek’s work was displayed at her booth at the Mission West Fall Street Festival on Mission Street in South Pasadena. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Buster’s Ice Cream parlor on Mission Street draws a crowd during the Mission West Fall Street Festival on Mission Street in South Pasadena. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Raluca Tudusciuc 14 months, reaches for a balloon during a visit to Buster’s Ice Cream parlor with parents Cristian, left, and Oana, right. The family, originally from Romania was visitig the Mission West Fall Street Festival on Mission Street in South Pasadena. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Fair Oaks Pharmacy in South Pasadena. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Jack Fong, right, and his family including daughter Jillian 16, on left, shared a banana split at the soda fountain at the Fair Oaks Pharmacy in South Pasadena. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Nick Freeman, 50, of Glendale, looks at the works of artist Michelle Caplan while visiting the Mission West Fall Street Festival on Mission Street in South Pasadena. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Justin Fisher 26, right, watches singers from left; Tina Tong 25, Becky Ullett 30, Ellen Griffith 20, and Thelma Medina 24, (playing guitar) during rehersal for the production ...Everything Nice! at the Metamorphosis Theatre Company. The theatre is located in the basement of a Mission Street building in South Pasadena. (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Robert Bernard and his wife, Beverly Archer, enjoy dinner at Mike & Anne’s restaurant located on Mission Street in South Pasadena. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Traffic stops at Mission and Meridian Avenue for a light-rail train _ the Gold Line _ en route between Pasadena and Union Station in Los Angeles. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Organic Rush, selling organic linens and other products, is among the unique shops on Mission Street, which has been designated a redevelopment district for nearly four decades. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)