Before the silly string, before the RVs and beer coolers and bleachers and picnic chairs, it all took place on a small chunk of land south of California Boulevard, known as “town lot.” Sandwiched today between the Caltech athletic buildings and a fenced-off residential neighborhood, the small sliver of grass known as Tournament Park was where the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl football game began.
Organized by the Valley Hunt Club—an exclusive club of wealthy emigrants from the Midwest and East Coast—the Tournament of Roses was to created in 1889 to draw tourists from other parts of the country, and to boast about Pasadena's pleasant winter climate.
The first tournament was held on January 1, 1890, and for the next decade the event consisted of a small parade with modest horse-drawn floats, games of tug-of-war, and races between elephants, camels and other exotic animals. The event was immediately popular, and its popularity grew with each successive year, so that by 1895, the Valley Hunt Club could no longer handle the responsibilities of the parade. Thus in 1895 was born the Tournament of Roses Association, and in 1900, the city renamed “town lot” Tournament Park, in honor of the festival.
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