Pasadena Now reports that, after a week’s weather delay, the years-in-the-planning, much-anticipated Playhouse Village Park opened to festivities on Saturday that included pint-sized Van Halen look-alikes and no fewer than four past-and-present City Mayors as the legendary Pasadena rock group were honored at the event when the park’s Van Halen Stage was dedicated in the group’s honor.
“Regarded as one of the most successful rock bands of all time,” reads the Van Halen Stage dedication plaque, “Van Halen got their start in Pasadena in the 1970s. They played 14 sold-out shows at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium between 1975 and 1978. Signing with Warner Brothers Records in 1978, Van Halen would go on to release their debut album and embark on their first international tour that same year.
“Pasadena is proud to recognize Van Halen and honor the band’s Pasadena roots and lifelong legacy.”
The Van Halen Stage is part of a new 1-acre Playhouse Village Park, located at 701 East Union Street between El Molino Avenue and Oak Knoll Avenue; it includes a children’s play area, a dog run, a trellised structure over the sitting/stage area, lighted pathways, restroom and storage building, and a 48-space parking lot.
Originally conceptualized as a tribute to Eddie Van Halen following his passing in 2020, a city-wide survey last year saw residents nominate the venue to be named Eddie Van Halen Park but, as Pasadena Now recently reported, the Van Halen family then requested that the stage area be named for the entire Van Halen band and officials amended a recommendation on the name change to celebrate the group, which was formed in 1972 by local legends and brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen.
The adopted hometown of the brothers Van Halen, Pasadena honored Eddie last year with a memorial plaque on a wall outside of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, where Van Halen performed locally before the release of their groundbreaking 1978 self-titled debut album.
See also:
Wolfgang Van Halen streams new single from expanded Mammoth WVH reissue
David Lee Roth streams live studio version of Van Halen classic Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
Wolfgang Van Halen rocks Van Halen classics at Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert
David Lee Roth streams live studio version of Van Halen classic Panama
Search Van Halen at hennemusic
