The Pasadena Foot Hills area... Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home of many leading scientific and cultural institutions, including California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Art Center College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, California School of Culinary Arts Pasadena and the Norton Simon Museum of Art. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 133,936, making it the 160th largest city in the United States. The California Finance Department estimated the Pasadena population to be 146,166 in 2005. Pasadena is the 6th largest city in Los Angeles County, and the main cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley.