Pasadena Civic Center District

Historic district in California, United States

United States historic place


Pasadena Civic Center District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district

Pasadena City Hall, 2008
Location	Pasadena, California
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
NRHP reference No.	80000813^[1]
Added to NRHP	July 28, 1980

The Pasadena Civic Center District is the civic center of and a historic district in Pasadena, California, United States. The district is roughly bounded by Walnut and Green Streets and Raymond and Euclid Avenues.

History

Construction on the buildings in the district was funded with a $3.5 million bond issuance in 1923. The plan was created by the Chicago firm of Bennett, Parsons and Frost. The elaborate designs of the buildings in the district were inspired by the City Beautiful movement of the 1920s.^[2]

The district was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[1]

Architecture

The Pasadena City Hall, Pasadena Central Library, and Pasadena Civic Auditorium serve as the centerpieces of the district.

The Beaux-Arts Mediterranean Revival City Hall building was designed by San Francisco architects Bakewell and Brown in the style of 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio. The building resembles three of Palladio's domed structures—the church of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice, the Hotel des Invalides in Paris and St Paul's Cathedral in London. Without being a direct imitation, Pasadena City Hall is related to them all.^[2]

The Pasadena Central Library was designed by Myron Hunt in 1924. The Central Library was dedicated on Lincoln's birthday (February 12), 1927, and was the first building completed of the new Civic Center Plan.^[3]

Part of the district prior to the 1920s are: the Pasadena Post Office, Turner and Stevens Company Building, YMCA, and the YWCA designed by Julia Morgan.

After the Civic Center was formally planned, additional buildings were constructed in the area. These buildings include the American Legion Hall, the First Baptist Church, the Southern California Gas Company building, the Hall of Justice, the County Courts, All Saints Episcopal Church), and the Maryland Hotel Apartments.^[2]

Memorial Park, the site of Pasadena's first public library, is also part of the district.^[2]

Gallery of images of Pasadena Civic Center

YMCA Building, aka Centennial Place
Pasadena Civic Auditorium
Pasadena Post Office
Pasadena City Hall
Pasadena Central Library
All Saints Episcopal Church, August 30, 2009

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hays, Catherine S. (September 15, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Pasadena Civic Center District". National Park Service. Retrieved August 6, 2013. Accompanied by photos.
^ CityofPasadena.net: Pasadena Central Library Architecture — "a brief history" Archived 2014-04-24 at the Wayback Machine . accessed 4.24.2014