About Altadena
Altadena is an unincorporated census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center. The population was 42,610 at the 2000 census.
Featuring spectacular views of the San Gabriel Mountains, Altadena was developed as a suburb of Pasadena in 1887. It has long refused annexation by neighboring Pasadena. Its unincorporated status allowed it to become a major settlement area for working- and middle-class African-Americans during a period in which non-whites were forbidden to live in the vast majority of greater Los Angeles.
The name Altadena derives from the Spanish alta, meaning “upper”, and -dena from Pasadena; the area is adjacent to, but at a higher elevation than, Pasadena.
