The relinquished former portion of Route 110 that is located between Glenarm Street and Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena is not a state highway and is not eligible for adoption under Section 81. [CS&HC Sec. 410(b)]
Signed as an Interstate highway from Route 47 to Route 10.
Route 110 from Route 47 to Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. [CS&HC Sec. 253.5]
Entire route. From Route 47 to Route 10, it is called the "Harbor Freeway". From Route 10 to Glenarm Street in Pasadena, it is the "Pasadena Freeway". The portion north of Route 5 is known as the "Arroyo Seco Parkway".
Before 1964, Route 110 (then Route 11) co-signed with U.S. Route 6 from Route 5 to Route 1 in Wilmington. (Thus, said portion was and still is part of the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.) From Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles to Colorado Boulevard, Route 110 co-signed with Route 66.
That part of the California highway system frequently referred to as the Pasadena Freeway, which is the section of Interstate Highway Route 110 lying between milepost 25.7 and milepost 31.9 is hereby designated a California Historic Parkway pursuant to Section 280, and is named the Arroyo Seco Parkway. [CS&HC Sec. 283]
Alpine Village is located west of Route 110 at the Torrance Boulevard exit. This likeness of a German village features a restaurant, several European import shops, a market focused on German foods, and a cafeteria featuring some very delicious baked goods. The parking lot is host to a weekend swapmeet as well. Events relating to European culture are held here regularly.
Next, there's Exposition Park. The park hosts many museums, like the Natural History Museum, the California African-American Museum, and the California ScienCenter. It also has a rose garden, the Memorial Coliseum (home of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics), and the Sports Arena as well. The park is west of Route 110 at the Exposition Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard exits.
Downtown L.A. was once much busier and lively than it is today. The dismantling of the Red and Yellow Cars, zoning practices that placed residences far away from commercial and industrial zones and into idyllic suburban areas, and the total accomodation of the automobile have been attributed to its decline. Until recently, most suburbanites shied away from it, and tourist guides regularly dismissed it as a ghost town. However, the once-forgotten center is going through a transformation for the better, thanks to improved rail transit, massive investments in public areas, developers that continue to convert vintage office buildings into loft housing and apartments, and an improving pedestrian environment. At Pico Boulevard (Olympic Boulevard if you're heading south), you can visit the L.A. Convention Center and the Staples Center, home to the L.A. Kings, Clippers, and Lakers. At 4th Street east is the Music Center featuring the Walt Disney Concert Hall (north on Hope) and Grand Central Market (north on Hill). The Metro Red and Blue Lines converge at 7th and Flower Streets. There are also now uncountable restaurants, clubs, and hangouts that one can visit. (If you're into IHOP, there's one at Flower and 8th.) For more invormation on fun things to do, visit DowntownLA.com.
And who can forget L.A.'s beloved Dodgers and their stadium at Stadium Way? Stop by and bore yourself with another shutout courtesy of Eric Gagne!
After surviving the Pasadena Freeway and cutting through South Pasadena (home of the NIMBYlungs), you end up on Arroyo Parkway in the city of which the freeway is duely named after. West on Colorado is Old Pasadena. Metro Gold Line stations are located left on Filmore Street, left on Del Mar Avenue, and, continuing past its former end at Colorado Boulevard, at Holly Avenue (Memorial Park station).
From Route 91 to Adams Boulevard. The occupancy is two or more people per vehicle, with two lanes to each direction. As part of the Harbor Transitway, bus stations are located at 39th Street, Slauson Avenue, Manchester Boulevard (former Route 42), Imperial Highway (near Route 105), Rosecrans Avenue, and Route 91 (the Artesia Transit Center). The transitway features the modestly famous elevated lanes hovering over the Harbor Freeway for some two miles from Slauson Avenue to 39th Street. At Route 105 is the Imperial Highway/Harbor Freeway station, which has buses that go to downtown and San Pedro, as well as the Metro Green Line, which takes you from Norwalk to Redondo Beach. To learn more about all this, go to the MTA page or the Union Station page.
The Pasadena Freeway can be much like a wild rollercoaster at high speeds, so be careful.
The University of Southern California a.k.a. U.S.C. is west on Exposition Boulevard. Established in 1880, it is the oldest independent teaching and research university in the West. I'm personally mindful of its School of Cinema-Television, where cinematic greats such as directors George Lucas and Robert Zemeckis, as well as cinematographer Conrad Hall, learned the craft.