Some Work Out a Way to View the Rose Parade

Does this sound like fun?

Get up at 4 a.m. New Year’s Day, drive in the dark to Pasadena, wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic to park, then push your way through shoulder-to-shoulder crowds to find a seat on the cold, hard sidewalk for the Tournament of Roses Parade.

For a lot of people, the answer is no. But they still say yes to the Rose Parade.

How? They have found a way around the crowds, the commotion, the cramped quarters. They have found a secret spot for a good view.

For thousands who work in multistory buildings along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena--part of the parade route--the secret spot is their ordinary, everyday office.

“Almost any building along Colorado Boulevard will have some sort of party,” said Bruce Ackerman, executive vice president of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, there is a catch. “None of them are open to the public; it’s all by invitation only,” said Ackerman.

About 500 parade viewers swarm annually to the nine-story Mutual Savings Building with its 500-car garage, said building manager Robert Sahm. “They’ve got the warmth, an air-conditioned building, an open bar and the parade, too,” he said.

Although the perspective can be dizzying and distant from the ninth floor, Sahm said tenants in past years installed microphones on the windows and piped in parade noises.

The party is smaller on the second floor of Vroman’s, a long-established Pasadena bookstore. Owner Joel Sheldon arrives 10 minutes before the parade passes at 9 a.m. and parks in back. His gathering is limited to 40 and he furnishes doughnuts, snacks and a television to keep restless children occupied. “It’s more like being in your home,” he said.

A variation of the office party is the slumber party Judy Krancz throws in the showroom of her mattress shop on Colorado. Krancz invites family members and friends to spend the night in king-size beds in the store’s display windows. On New Year’s Eve, Krancz serves champagne. In the morning, it is bacon and eggs on the store microwave.

“We don’t get any kind of sleep whatsoever,” Krancz said. “It’s funny, when people walk by, they get jealous. . . . Last year, I was offered a gold card to rent a bed.”

For the fortunate few who reserve months ahead, their secret spot is one of 61 rooms overlooking the parade in five motels along Colorado.

Sally Djavan, manager of the Best Western Colorado Inn, has 15 rooms with balconies and begins taking reservations Jan. 15 for the next Jan. 1. Rates are high, up to $285 a night, with a three-night minimum.

Some recreational vehicle-owners avoid such costs, yet have lodgings along the parade. They park on the east side of Sierra Madre Boulevard, the last leg of the route. A wide, grassy median runs the length of the street and the parade travels the west side of the street.

Robert Gobrecht, a member of the Family Motor Coach Assn., said Pasadena ordinances prohibit RV parking along the street but, if neighbors do not complain, the vehicles remain on the street for days before the parade. “People stay in them and come out and barbecue,” Gobrecht said.

Sierra Madre Boulevard is also a secret spot for late risers, said Barbara Barrett, Pasadena’s New Year’s Day coordinator. The parade officially starts at 8:10 a.m. but takes two hours to reach the last leg. Late risers can sleep in, drive down empty streets to the parade’s end and stroll to a prime spot, she said.

The secret spot for retired Marine Lt. Col. William Kokenes is his front lawn. His house sits along Sierra Madre Boulevard. The floats pass 20 feet away from his home which, on parade days, is protected by a four-foot-tall chain-link fence.

“All I need do is stand there,” Kokenes said, pointing to his lawn, which is three feet higher than the street. “I’m over the top of the crowd and I’ve got a beautiful view.”

For those who prefer the old-fashioned, fight-the-traffic way of doing things, there are always the 120,000 grandstand seats along the parade route. Not exactly a secret spot, these. The best are the seats around Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards. Television cameras are positioned here, where the parade starts.

Some hardy souls stake out seats in the few grassy spots in this area starting the day after Christmas, said Kristan Tranquada, a spokeswoman for the Tournament of Roses Assn. It is not officially allowed until noon the day before the parade, but Pasadena police sometimes ignore the squatters, she said.

Lillie Irby, a 15-year Pasadena resident, said she has got the best spot of all. She gave up the cold, the wait, the sidewalk and the crowds for her living-room television set.

“I went at least 10 or 15 times, sitting out there in that cold weather with two pairs of pants and two pairs of socks on my feet,” Irby said. “It’s much easier sitting and watching it on TV.”

VANTAGE POINTS

1. Considered a prime area with paid grandstand seats costing $20 to $35 each. Television cameras stationed here.

2. Encompasses Old Pasadena, which has numerous multistory buildings, many used for invitation-only, window and rooftop viewing.

3. Five motels have parade views from upper-story rooms.

4. Parade-end area attracts recreational vehicle-owners who park on the east side of Sierra Madre Boulevard and late-risers who can come to Pasadena at 10 a.m. and still catch the parade. Also, residents along the route have front-lawn views.

TOURNAMENT OF ROSES PARADE ROUTE

Pasadena’s annual Tournament of Roses Parade, held Tuesday, draws hundreds of thousands of spectators. The two-hour parade begins at 8:10 a.m., followed by the Rose Bowl game at 2 p.m. The 5 1/2-mile parade route begins on South Orange Grove Boulevard, turning east on Colorado Boulevard and north on Sierra Madre Boulevard. It ends at Paloma Street, where post-parade viewing opens at 1:30 p.m. Grandstand seats can be reserved for the parade, but most viewers choose to claim a spot on the sidewalk. Police say those wishing to park within easy walking distance should arrive about 6:30 a.m.

1. Where parade units form. Close to the public.

2. Public display of floats after the parade from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (For the handicapped 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday.)

Parking available, except where posted.

Parade route.