Pasadena City Hall, completed in 1927, serves as the central location for city government in the City of Pasadena, California and is a significant architectural example of the

City Beautiful The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of the ...

movement of the 1920s.

History

In 1923, the people of

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

approved a bond measure issuing $3.5 million towards the development of a civic center. City Hall was to be the central element of this center. The

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

architecture firm of

Bakewell and Brown Arthur Brown Jr. (1874–1957) was an American architect, based in San Francisco and designer of many of its landmarks. He is known for his work with John Bakewell Jr. as Bakewell and Brown, along with later works after the partnership dissolved ...

designed City Hall, which has elements of both

Mediterranean Revival Style Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

and

Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

. It was completed on December 27, 1927 at a cost of $1.3 million. It measures by , and rises 6 stories. There are over 235 rooms and passageways that cover over . The defining dome, located above the west entrance, is tall and in diameter. On July 28, 1980 the Civic Center District, including Pasadena City Hall, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as listing #80000813.

Seismic retrofit

From a distance, Pasadena City Hall has always looked as though it has withstood the test of time. However, the building was showing signs of age by the late 20th century. The 1920s building did not meet modern building codes, and studies indicated that a major earthquake could destroy several parts of the building and likely result in a loss of life. The concrete walls had many deep cracks, and two of the stairway towers had considerable damage. There was also water damage from years of storms with little to no repair and maintenance. An effort to rehabilitate the aging building began in the late 1990s, led by

Architectural Resources Group Architectural Resources Group (or ARG; also known as Architects, Planners & Conservators, Inc.) is a firm that was founded in 1980 by Bruce Judd and Steve Farneth in San Francisco, CA. It began by providing professional services in the fields of ...

of San Francisco, California. In July 2004, the building was vacated in order to allow for a complete overhaul of the structure. Over the course of three years, all offices and council chambers were renovated, the facade was restored, the building was adapted to meet ADA standards,

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

systems were replaced and modernized, and new landscaping and architectural lighting was installed. To help ensure it would withstand future earthquake activity, the building was lifted off its foundation, equipped with structural base isolators and given a new foundation. The renovation of Pasadena City Hall earned a

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Gold certification. Following construction, staff moved back starting in April 2007 and City Hall was fully operational again by July. At the time, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' noted: "In a city where historic preservation is much like a civic obsession, City Hall has long been among the crown jewels of Pasadena, along with the Colorado Street Bridge, the Rose Bowl and the Gamble House. Although the renovation has been among the costliest public works projects in Pasadena, totaling $117 million, city officials decided that they couldn't risk losing the landmark in another quake."

In popular culture

The City Hall has long been a favorite shooting location for filmmakers. The courtyard was used in the 1995 movie "A Walk in the Clouds" to portray a Napa Valley town square. The building is in also featured in the 2005 film “Rumor Has It” directed by Rob Reiner. It has also been used as an embassy in the "Mission: Impossible" television series, and a villa in

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

's Oscar-nominated 1940 film "The Great Dictator." The building also served as the city hall of fictional Pawnee, Indiana, in the television show ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

''. The dome is visible through the window of the main characters' apartment building in the television show ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

'', set in Pasadena. The building featured in the last episode of ''

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

''; it was used as the City Hall of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

. The building also appeared in the opening shots of ''

The Amazing Race 21 ''The Amazing Race 21'' is the twenty-first season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on September 30, 2012, and the tw ...

'' premiere. The City Hall was also filming location of the episode "The Confession" from the television series ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

''.

References

External links

City Hall retrofit projectProject Engineers' diagrams explaining the seismic retrofit of Pasadena City Hall
{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Pasadena, California Government of Pasadena, California City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in California Historic district contributing properties in California Tourist attractions in Pasadena, California Arthur Brown Jr. buildings Government buildings with domes Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California Mediterranean Revival architecture in California Mission Revival architecture in California Spanish Revival architecture in California Beaux-Arts architecture in California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California

History

Seismic retrofit

In popular culture

See also

References

External links