About Us
HISTORY AND OUR STORY
PASADENA SYDNEY
Historic documents show the lively ballroom bustling with Saturday night big band dances, community fundraising and many social functions, with guests enjoying the spacious Spanish style architecture, spectacular location and panoramic Pittwater views.
The Pasadena was modified in the early 1960’s to resemble the current boutique style hotel with 13 guest-rooms and a luxury two bedroom apartment upstairs while downstairs is home to an ambient restaurant and multiple event spaces.
1930
Plans for the ‘Pasadena Roadhouse’, built in Spanish Revival style, are devised. The original two-storey building contains a post office, general store and boat shed, with a dance hall ballroom upstairs.
1935
Grand Opening. The post-Depression party starts with balls, dances, and illuminated boats ferrying guests around Pittwater.
1940 – 1945
World War II disrupts trade. Pasadena enlists as a training base for naval vessels, hosting mock battles to prepare Australian troops to defend our coastline.
1946 – 1960
‘The Grand Dame of Pittwater’ re-opens and fast earns a reputation across Sydney as a hub for high-profile weddings, rollicking parties, themed music nights, and frivolity around the outdoor swimming pool.
1963
The first-floor ballroom is replaced with 13 motel rooms and the building renamed ‘Pasadena Motel Lodge’.
2002
Now named ‘Pasadena on Pittwater’, the 72-year-old building is earmarked for demolition to make way for a unit block.
2012
After a five-year descent in decay, the building is sold to its current owner, Paul Peterkin and his family.
“I feel a great responsibility. It’s an honour to own something as special as Pasadena. To us, it’s much more than a beautiful building in a stunning location. It’s always been a place of celebration and joy. We all need that in our lives. I’m determined that it should not only live on, but be resurrected as a venue no first-time visitor will forget.” says Peterkin.
Using the original blueprint as their guide, they have referenced the 1930;s and 40’s to create a venue that definitely encourages guests to make Whoopee, which was the descriptive used to review the original opening party of the Pasadena.
