Pasadena Public Library Construction

Construction on the Pasadena Public Library began on May 19, 1925. Myron Hunt and H.C. Chamber's designs for the library were chosen during a 1924 competition between nine architects vying for the commission. Competition judges included Dr. George E. Hale and artist Ernest A. Batchelder.

Plans for the Pasadena Public Library submitted by Myron Hunt, 

Pasadena Digital History Collaboration

Reading newspaper accounts during the early months of 1925 (namely the Pasadena Post) there was much drama inflicted towards the contractor (William Crowell); there were cantankerous members of the board of city directors; there were ill-feelings of some about the influence of Chicagoans in Pasadena's architectural plans (e.g the influence of the City Beautiful Movement and Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, plus Myron Hunt had gone to school in Chicago but moved to Southern California in 1903); and, according to the Pasadena Post, the architects appeared to disagree on the size of sand grain that should be used in the concrete (Hunt voted for fine grain while Chambers preferred coarse grain). Did I mention it rained the day they started construction?

Pasadena Evening Post [May 29, 1925]

The Pasadena Library did a wonderful job putting together Central Library's history and architecture on their website. 

Sadly, the Central Library is closed until further notice due to seismic safety issues. Looking forward to visiting it when it can reopen.

View of the Pasadena Public Library from the parking lot across the street (1930), 

Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives, Huntington Digital Library

Los Angeles Library Tour - Pasadena Central Library

This weekend we visited the Pasadena Central Library, the first of three stops we had planned for Saturday. The other two being the Scenic View Ahead: The Westways Cover Art Program, 1928-1981 exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of California Art and the China Modern: Designing Popular Culture 1910-1970 exhibit at the Pacific Asia Museum. Both are walking distance from the library!

In 1927, the firm of Myron Hunt and H.C. Chambers completed the Central Library which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is grand and spectacular to look at, yet completely warm and functional inside. We parked in the large (free) lot and entered through the north entrance, which was once the service entrance. From here, the library seems like a crazy maze of display cases, shelves, books, and stairways. By contrast, the entrance through the front courtyard into the main hall (off Walnut Street), feels as though you’ve walked into a dark wood-paneled library from a hundred years ago. Maybe that’s why location scouts have frequently cast the Pasadena Central Library as Library #1. (My favorite being the ‘San Francisco’ library Goldie Hawn works at in “Foul Play”.) The Main Hall acts as the heart of the library. Not only does it contain the check out and reference desks, it leads you to the children’s wing, the business wing, the humanities wing, the centennial room (which includes a great Californiana collection), and the four levels of circulating book stacks. The staff was extremely helpful - I loved the addition of someone with a headset and a giant pin that said 'Ask Me' wandering the stacks.

I urge you to visit the library’s website. It gives a detailed description of the architecture and interior accents that make the library so unique. Next time we visit, a guided tour is in order!

The library went through a major restoration in the late 1980’s. Great care went into bringing the library into the computer age without destroying the look and feel. Computers were imbedded into walls and desks while maintaining the dark oak wainscoting.

The Metro Rail Gold Line has a stop at Memorial Park, just southwest of the library. Old town Pasadena is walking distance, as are a bunch of great restaurants, like Russell’s (‘famous since 1930’ -definitely try their hamburgers) and the ever popular breakfast destination Marstons.