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 January 2007 The Pasadena Community Foundation will accept donations for the restoration of Pasadena’s City Hall. This article appears in the January/ February 2007 issue of Pasadena In Focus magazine. CITY HALL WILL REOPEN THIS SPRING! The countdown is on for the grand reopening of Pasadena City Hall! The building has been closed for a major seismic retrofit and historic restoration since summer 2004. City offices will begin moving back between April and June 2007. With the exception of the Transportation Department and the Housing Division, all city offices that previously were located at Pasadena City Hall will move back in. Community celebrations are being planned for this summer, including public tours, a free concert and more! Event dates will be announced in future issues of Pasadena In Focus, at www.cityofpasadena.net and in local newspapers. A little history The City of Pasadena was incorporated in 1886. The first Pasadena City Hall was built at the northeast corner of Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue. Later, city offices shared space in a mercantile establishment. There were no seismic building codes in the 1920s, and even the greatest engineers of the day did not possess the technical knowledge available today regarding the reaction of large buildings to earthquakes. Though incredibly well built for its time, Pasadena City Hall suffered serious damage in the 1991 Sierra Madre and 1994 Northridge earthquakes, and city officials learned it would not survive another major quake without partial or total destruction and serious injury and/or loss of life. Base Isolators After a thorough analysis of seismic strengthening options, their relative cost and long-term protection of the building and its occupants, a state-of-the-art technology known as base isolation was chosen to safeguard Pasadena City Hall. Base isolators installed beneath the building will serve as shock absorbers during future earthquakes. The isolators will work in tandem with a moat that will encircle the building and enable it to “float” a few feet in any direction during an earthquake with its structure intact, producing gentle lateral rolling instead of the violent reactions the building experienced in the past. Infrastructure Improvements In addition to seismic issues, there are infrastructure realities: Pasadena City Hall was designed long before anyone could have predicted the future demands of air conditioners, computers and other modern technology. The retrofit project includes:
Architectural Elements Visitors experience a purposeful progression of exterior spaces as they enter Pasadena Hall from Garfield Avenue, walk through the magnificent grand entrance with its barrel-vaulted ceiling and are embraced by the natural beauty of the courtyard. For 80 years residents, architects and preservationists have stood in awe of Pasadena City Hall’s magnificence. No other building characterizes Pasadena’s pride in the same way. The architecture is significant not only to this community but to Southern California and the nation. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In a 2004 poll conducted by Pasadena Heritage, Pasadena City Hall was identified by visitors and residents as their favorite historic building in this community. Not surprisingly, the exquisite architectural elements of the building’s interior and exterior have deteriorated and suffered damage over time. To the casual observer, the building appeared to be aging gracefully; but 80 years of wear and tear, weathering, earthquake activity and lack of consistent maintenance took a serious toll. Plaster was cracked and decorative elements needed to be cleaned, repaired and resecured. Architectural features including the lanterns atop the historic dome and two east stair towers, and the massive medallion at the front building entry needed urgent repair. The Budget Challenge In autumn 2004, when the construction project went out to bid, a sharp escalation in building material costs forced the Pasadena City Council to streamline the project and move many of the finishing touches and high-level restoration work onto a list of unfunded priorities. When the city council approved the funding plan, about $7.5 million was left unfunded. Every effort is being made to raise these funds through grants and individual community donors. Project funds have been secured through a combination of local tax revenues, the sale of bonds and an increase in the percentage of electricity revenues that are annually transferred from the city's light and power fund to the general fund. The project is supplemented with grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the State of California, and contributions from individuals and foundations. The total budget is $117,594,083. Of that amount, $82,046,786 has been allocated for construction. The remainder is for other costs including:
Specific elements that remain in the project but are part of the unfunded balance include:
About $4 million in additional grant funding has been secured to date for these unfunded priorities. A local philanthropic resource The city council recently selected the Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) as the sole receiver of local donations. A fund has been established to which Pasadena residents and others may contribute to the restoration of Pasadena City Hall. With a goal of restoring the interior courtyard and providing peripheral landscaping, a citizens committee was formed to solicit donations and direct them toward PCF. Every donation to the PCF City Hall Fund is welcomed and appreciated. Those who donate $999 or less receive commemorative Pasadena City Hall gifts; donors who contribute $1,000 or more will be recognized on a distinctive plaque in the grand entrance of City Hall. Whether you can give $25 or $250,000, please be assured that the combination of large and small donations will restore Pasadena City Hall to its preeminent reputation as one of our nation’s most beautiful architectural monuments. Donations to the Pasadena Community Foundation City Hall Fund can be made in a variety of ways:
For more information or inquiries, please call 796-2097 or email jdevoll@pasadenacf.org. Souvenirs help pave the way From postcards and key chains to t-shirts and cloisonné pins, all profits from official city souvenirs help fund the city hall project. See the entire line at www.cityofpasadena.net/cityhall (click on fund-raising activities), drop by 117 E. Colorado Blvd., sixth floor, during regular business hours or call 744-4755. For more information about the Pasadena City Hall retrofit and restoration project, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/cityhall or call 744-7073. # # # |