Shops in Pasadena

A family-run shop open on Colorado Boulevard since 1956, still carrying CDs and 45s alongside the vinyl and still stocking classical and jazz in depth rather than as a gesture. The back wall runs to DVDs and Blu-rays. The hours are short and the shop closes at five most days, which is the one thing to know before walking over.

Mon to Thu, 11am to 5pm. Fri and Sat, 10:30am to 7:30pm. Sun, 11am to 5pm

Adam Clark Vroman opened this in 1894 and it has been on Colorado Boulevard ever since, now across two floors with a newsstand, a stationery counter and a café upstairs. Author events run most weeks and they are free to walk into. It is five minutes from the Pasadena Playhouse stage door, which makes it the default place to kill forty minutes in the Playhouse District.

Mon to Sat, 10am to 9pm. Sun, 10am to 7pm