The Eye of the Beholder

One day last week I saw a man with paints and easel in the courtyard at Pasadena City Hall. He was painting his interpretation of the east side of the grand entrance looking through to Holly Street.


There's not a bad view of City Hall anywhere, which is why artists, photographers and film production companies flock to this place.

Mystery History -- Solved!

I stumped everyone this week.

In the photo above, an unidentified man stands on the beginnings of the foundation of Pasadena City Hall. Construction began in 1926 and the building opened for business in 1927.

The original photo is in the Holtzman album of City Hall construction photos in the Centennial Room at Pasadena Central Library.

Here's a photo of Wilfred Holtzman and his wife Ina. Holtzman was the contractor who oversaw the construction of Pasadena City Hall.


I've posted photos of City Hall under construction in the past.

I think it's time for a reminder that the first dedicated Pasadena City Hall was at the northeast corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Union Street. It was built in 1903 and served its purpose until 1927:


The building was demolished decades ago. That corner is now the site of the Container Store. I like to think it was designed with a nod to that early City Hall, but I don't know.


Where was city business conducted before 1903? Find out here.


Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library. The photo of the Container Store was shot by the mighty Zack Stromberg of the Public Affairs Office.

Don't Breathe the Fumes!

Today the information booth in the grand entrance of Pasadena City Hall is being refurbished from stem to stern, including paint, wood varnish, etc.

We don't have any volunteers in the booth today for obvious reasons, so if you come to City Hall and don't know where a particular office is, there's a directory nearby or you can call the Public Affairs Office at (626) 744-4755 and get directions. That's the office I manage, and Linda Centell does a great job overseeing booth operations as well as training and nurturing our dedicated volunteers.


Chris Mathis (left), our cheery master carpenter who built the booth, was there this morning to check things out and stopped a moment to talk to one of our painters who touch up the enormous amount of outdoor wall and column areas at City Hall.

Pasadena City Hall Tour for Local Bloggers -- Saturday, May 8

There have been many requests for tours of Pasadena City Hall by local bloggers over the years, so now's your chance!

Join me for a behind-the-scenes tour of the 1920s-era building, including background about the history and architecture of Pasadena's most famous landmark.


We'll meet in the courtyard at noon, then go along corridors, into stairwells, all around the courtyard, up to the council chamber, into the Hall of Mayors, and every other little nook and cranny (with the exception of the tower, which is off-limits on tours).


Don't forget your camera!

After the tour, we'll head over to California Pizza Kitchen across the street at Plaza Las Fuentes for food and those all-important beverages.

Parking: My best advice is to leave your car behind and take the Metro Gold Line to the Memorial Park Station, then walk a short block and a half to City Hall. If you're totally tied to your vehicle, the first 90 minutes are free under Paseo Colorado just a block away; there are also a couple of surface parking lots in the area. Please note I cannot provide parking validations.


For more information e-mail me at aerdman@cityofpasadena.net or call me at (626) 744-4755.

Please note this is not a "y'all come" community tour -- I can't accommodate a cast of thousands! For all you bloggers, I hope you can make it!

All of the photos above were shot by Tavo Olmos; I commissioned the black and white photos in 1991.

Mystery History -- Solved

I stumped everybody again this week. It was hardly fair, actually, because as I mentioned in the original post, looks can be deceiving.

In the photo above, shot November 20, 1951, U.S. Marine T/Sgt. James B. Nash Jr. visits with Pete Meston, 13, of the Wilson Junior High School Band.

I told you this one would probably throw you. Here's why.

Nash wasn't a Pasadenan; he was from Durham, North Carolina, and had been awarded the Silver Star while fighting in the Korean War.

He was at Pasadena City Hall along with 23 soldiers from 18 nations who traveled around the country on a United Nations tour to bring attention to the importance of donating blood and purchasing defense bonds.

The GIs were from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, England, France, Greece, India, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, New Zealand and the United States of America.

Mayor Alson Abernethy greeted each one personally.




Here's an excerpt from the Pasadena Star-News:

The flags of 18 nations flew in the City Hall plaza today when 23 decorated soldiers of the United Nations fresh from the fighting in Korea stopped in Pasadena on a nationwide tour.

They came to the Crown City, a living demonstration of United Nations' unity, as part of a coast-to-coast drive to stimulate contributions to the Red Cross blood bank and the sale of defense bonds.

Police cars escorted the cavalcade of automobiles into the plaza while the Wilson Junior High School band serenaded from the City Hall steps. Each car bore the name and nation of its occupant on its doors, from the front left fender of each car flew the U.N. flag and from the front right fender flew the national colors of each soldier.

Mayor Alson E. Abernethy termed the visitors "veteran heroes of Korea" in his welcoming remarks.

He told them of another Korea veteran, Marine Cpl. Bob Gray, who was grand marshal of last January's Tournament of Roses parade.

"He not only won the hearts of 1,500,000 people, but he won the heart of one of our fairest princesses," Mayor Abernethy said, referring to Corporal Gray's marriage to Rose Princess Betsy Josi.

"If you could stay longer maybe we could fix you up, too," he said.

The mayor said he knew the veterans would "be bombarded by more mayors than they were by shells in Korea" during their tour, so he ended his brief remarks with a simple reminder that "the mission you are on now is as important as any you have had in the past."

All of the 23 sailors, soldiers and airmen in the group, sponsored by the Defense Department, were recipients of medals in the Korea war...

Cpl. Robert S. Gray was the grand marshal of the parade on Jan. 1, 1951, after Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president of Columbia University, had to bow out when he returned suddenly to military duty to assume command over NATO forces. As a last-minute replacement, Eisenhower and the president of the Tournament of Roses Association wanted to pick an active duty U.S. military man who had been wounded in service to his country. What a great honor for this young Marine, who represented all of the armed forces in Korea as he waved to the crowds.


And here's the Rose Queen and her Royal Court. I don't know know which one is Betsy Josi. I do know it was a whirlwind romance: They were married March 30, 1951.



In keeping with my tradition, here's the portrait of Mayor Abernethy from the Hall of Mayors:





Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library and Tournament of Roses Association.

Mystery History -- Solved

A lot of great guesses but I stumped everyone this time!

In the photo above, people flock to a helicopter that has landed in front of Pasadena City Hall on July 8, 1946.

This was during the first week of an experimental program by which airmail flown by plane from all over the world to the Los Angeles Municipal Airport would be delivered by helicopter to several cities throughout L.A. County, including Pasadena, Pomona, Santa Monica and Long Beach.

Intended to save time, the L.A. County program was the first of its kind in the nation.

Pasadena Star-News -- July 4, 1946:

Owing to the holiday and final adjustments to the required equipment, the inauguration of helicopter mail service in and out of Pasadena has been postponed from Saturday to Monday, when service is expected to go into effect sometime in the early afternoon.

Particulars regarding address and rates may be obtained by calling the information clerk at the main post office.

Here's an envelope from 1948, flown by helicopter to Los Angeles Municipal Airport and then on to Cleveland.


Many thanks to Pasadena Museum of History and Pasadena Public Library.

Mystery History -- Almost Solved

Well, I have some of the answer but not the full answer!

Here's what I know for sure: In the photo above, a horse is receiving an award for heroism in 1930 at Pasadena City Hall. (I know this from the caption on the photo.)

Here's an excerpt from a local newspaper article from 1930 titled "Celebration Honors City Pet Heroes":

A beautiful brown horse that mounted the city hall steps to receive an honor ribbon for his now dead rescuer aroused great interest. Billy Watkins is the steed's name, and his loving mistress, 10-year-old Marcia Luckie, was represented at the ceremony by Mrs. W.A. Boucher, widow of the Pasadena veterinarian and former owner of Skeezicks, Billy Watkins' rescuer.

The question is: Does the article correlate directly to the photo? And what were the circumstances of the rescue?

Or is the horse in the photo named Wolf?

Here's another article from 1930:

"Clue" Chivvis, former cowboy, who resides in La Canada, narrowly escaped death today when a pack mule, which had been tied to the pummel of the saddle of Chivvis's horse, stumbled on a mountain trail and dragged horse and rider over a fifty-foot precipice.

"The mule was walking behind," related Chivvas, "and he either stumbled or else the outer edge of the trail caved in. The pack animal shot out into space and the jerk on my saddle caused the horse to rear backward into the canyon. I was thrown into space also but my fall was broken when I landed on the horse's belly."

The horse and mule escaped serious injury due to he fact that their backs were protected by the saddle and pack. "Wolf," the horse, was cited for bravery in an animal-hero contest last summer. The citation was based on Wolf's heroism in bearing victims of the St. Francis Dam disaster to safety.

Today's accident took place on the trail from Pine Flats to Mt. Wilson.

So the mystery continues. Our research team at Pasadena Public Library is working on getting more detailed background. I'll be sure to post it here.

In the meantime, I promise I'll never post a historic photo again without knowing the full story behind it in advance!

Trivia Answers

The person who signs in as TAMMY wins, but never leaves any contact information, So
TAMMY please email me at aerdman@cityofpasadena.net and I'll tell you what you won!


1. Which came first: Pasadena, California? Or Pasadena, Texas?

The answer is Pasadena, California. The Texas city was named for the California city.


2. What level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification did City Hall receive after the retrofit project?

Project managers had the goal of achieving silver, but went on to win the gold!


3. What's the best way to dispose of a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) in Pasadena?

Pick up a special pouch at any number of locations listed in this link, then drop the broken or burned-out bulb at one of the locations. Don't throw CFLs in the trash!


4. Name one of the ways you can get an inspection report for a restaurant in Pasadena.

Visit www.cityofpasadena.net/publichealth and click on Environmental Health to enter the name of a restaurant into the online database. Or you can go to any restaurant in Pasadena and ask to see the most recent inspection report, which by law must be accessible to you.


5. What are the six types of MoveAbout Tours you can take between now and Sept. 27?

ARTS Bus and Walking Tour
Bicycle Tour
Driving Tour - East
Driving Tour - West
Gold Line Tour
Open Space Tour

See a complete guidebook, or download each individual tour, at www.cityofpasadena.net/generalplan. It's also available in Spanish.

A Little Trivia

I intended to post Woodrow Wilson's remarks to Pasadena today but am still waiting on a readable copy of the second page of that day's Pasadena Daily News. The copy I have is pretty fuzzy. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, how about a little trivia?


1. Which came first: Pasadena, California? Or Pasadena, Texas?


2. What level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification did City Hall receive after the retrofit project?


3. What's the best way to dispose of a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) in Pasadena?


4. Name one of the ways you can get an inspection report for a restaurant in Pasadena.


5. What are the six types of MoveAbout Tours you can take between now and Sept. 27?

The first person with all the right answers will get something far and away better than the fabulous prize for Mystery History!

Mystery History -- Solved

The person who signed in as TAMMY wins. A couple of people emailed me to remind me that I had not changed the file name of the photo to Mystery History but instead still had it named for what was happening. I could presume that TAMMY got the answer from the photo's first file name (before I changed it), or I could give her/him the benefit of the doubt.

Under the circumstances, I'm giving TAMMY the benefit of the doubt. Contact me, TAMMY, and I'll let you know about your fabulous prize!

In the photo above, R.L. Daugherty (center), chairman of Pasadena's Board of City Directors, presides over the opening of a time capsule in January 1931. (The others in the photo are not identified.)

In 1903 the time capsule had been cemented into the cornerstone of the first City Hall owned by the City of Pasadena. It was at the northeast corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Union Street and stood for 29 years before being demolished. (The Container Store is now at that corner.)

Here's a color-tinted postcard that is not dated, but note the horse and buggy and dirt streets.

HEY, WAIT A MINUTE -- HOLD YOUR HORSES!

If the City of Pasadena was incorporated in 1886 and this first City Hall was built in 1903, where was city business conducted all the years in between?

Just about everywhere, it seems!

The first municipal business was conducted from June to August 1886 in E.C. Webster's office over Stevens Hardware Store -- the building on the left in the photo below -- on the south side of Colorado Street between Raymond and Fair Oaks. Webster had been elected to the first board of trustees, which years later would become the city council.

Then it was on to more spacious quarters from August 1886 to Jan. 2, 1887, over A. Cruickshank's Dry Goods Store at the southwest corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Kansas Street (now Green Street). We couldn't find a photo of that building.

From Jan. 3 to March 20, 1887, municipal offices were back with E.C. Webster, this time in his Carlton Hotel on what was (and is) known as the Exchange Block on the north side of Colorado Street between Raymond and Fair Oaks.

Here's a color-tinted woodcut of the Carlton Hotel from the Pasadena City Directory of 1888:

And then the municipal government hit the relative big time when it occupied the entire Old Central School building from March 21, 1887, to Dec. 10, 1889.

The school had been built in 1878 on the south side of Colorado Street. It was moved to Raymond Avenue at Green Street and leased to the City of Pasadena to serve as the City Hall. There's no mention on the back of the photo below about who's who on the front steps of the building, but I presume they were the civic leaders at the time.


When that lease expired, the city leased a brick building owned by C.T. Hopkins on the northwest corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Union Street beginning Dec. 11, 1889. We have no photos of that building.

Then, on Feb. 27, 1893, the move was made to the other side of the street to the southwest corner of Fair Oaks and Union -- a brick building owned by George W. White. We couldn't find any photos of the building in that era, but here it is today:


Continuing the love affair with this intersection, the very first taxpayer-owned City Hall opened for business Nov. 3, 1903, at the northeast corner (note that in this later photo there are automobiles and the streets are smoother).


And of course, this architectural treasure opened for business on Dec. 27, 1927 (just in time to collect the fees for the Rose Parade, as the old joke goes). This photo pre-dates the opening by several weeks.

And here she is today.


To see construction photos of our current City Hall, click on any or all of the links below:

When City Hall was a Hole in the Ground

More Original City Hall Historic 1920s Construction Photos

Historic City Hall 1920s Construction Photos, Continued

By Popular Demand...

The Light through City Hall's Secret Windows

Many thanks to crackerjack reference librarian Dan McLaughlin for helping me with the research for today's post, and thanks to Pasadena Public Library and Pasadena Museum of History for use of some of the historic photos.

Mystery History -- Solved

Petrea wins! I have emailed her about her fabulous prize. (D5Rep is disqualified on a technicality -- she works on the inside!)

In the photo above, a drill is taking place in 1944 in the Civil Defense Center in the basement of Pasadena City Hall.

World War II was in full swing, and 1944 was a busy year.

Here's a photo of a sign being put up in front of City Hall identifying the building as a shelter site. Note the loudspeakers above it. These were serious times and everyone needed to be at the ready just in case.


Some additional World War II information:

Victory Park was dedicated as a living memorial to those who fell in World War II. Note that the rose garden is in the shape of a "V." Next time you're in the neighborhood, stop by and take a look around the memorial area, including the dedication plaque at the base of the flag pole. It's really quite nice. There's also a memorial to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joe Hayashi, the only Pasadena resident to be awarded the the Medal of Honor (posthumously by President Bill Clinton) for making the ultimate sacrifice during World War II. This photo was taken on Memorial Day so the flag was at half-staff.



The Vista del Arroyo Hotel was taken over by the federal government and converted to a U.S. military hospital during World War II. Today it is still owned by the federal government and serves as one of the locations for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.


Two of Pasadena's five sister cities -- Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Mishima, Japan -- were "adopted" post-war so Pasadena could help the cities' civilians get their lives and their communities back to normal.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, put the entire west coast of the U.S. on high alert, forcing the cancellation of the Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 1942, as a precaution. The Rose Bowl Game was moved to Duke University (score: Oregon 20, Duke 6). Anyone who has one of these tickets may be sitting on a gold mine because they were useless and had to be reprinted!



The astronomy program managed by Caltech came to a halt during part of the war because most of the engineers and scientists involved in the program were reassigned to war-related projects.

What will the next Mystery History photo be? You'll have to wait until next Tuesday to find out!

Only the Stump Remains

The mature oak tree that fell over a couple of weeks ago was first chopped up and then removed altogether.

Only the stump remains. It will be replaced by another tree in due time.



Sometimes the trunks of fallen city-owned trees have been recycled. An example: the wooden benches that grace the eastern banks of the Arroyo Seco.

I asked my go-to certified arborist in the Parks and Natural Resources Division of the Public Works Department what was to come of the fallen tree. She told me it would be turned into mulch, and that interested people can call her about it.

Here's her info:

Darya Barar
(626) 744-3846
dbarar@cityofpasadena.net

We Love Open Space!

Pasadena residents and visitors have enjoyed the great outdoors for well over a century, and the conservation of our natural resources has been equally high on the priority list.



On Saturday, Feb. 28, come to Pasadena City Hall for a very special event in the courtyard (or in the grand entrance if it's drizzling) from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This is the kick-off the update of the Open Space and Conservation Element of the General Plan, which will set goals and priorities for the future of our natural resources.

You’ll examine maps and exhibits, meet one-on-one with city leaders and visit with like-minded residents.

Will Rogers, president of The Trust for Public Land, will be the guest speaker, and there will be exhibits and children’s activities.

Visit www.cityofpasadena.net/openspace to find the Open Space and Conservation Committee's agendas, minutes and backup materials as well as draft maps, a work plan and other important documents. You’ll also find links to other cities and organizations that are doing inspiring work in this field.

The Cleanup of the Mighty Oak

Our hearts remain sad over the unfortunate demise of one of our 80-year-old oak trees in the City Hall courtyard.

Today it was cut up into pieces so it can be hauled away. It will be turned into mulch to help our parklands thrive.

The Pasadena Star-News ran an article this morning.

The Mighty Oak Has Fallen

The mightiest of our mighty oaks in the City Hall courtyard met with a tragic end overnight on Sunday/Monday.


One of the original oaks planted at City Hall in the 1920s, it was already in a precarious condition when independent arborists determined the trees' health during the retrofit and restoration project more than two years ago. It was decided at the time that the root system was not in good shape. We hoped it would be OK with a lot of TLC, but the saturating rains the other night made it very heavy and the high winds blew it over.

Thank goodness nobody was sitting on this bench at the time.

A crew from the Parks and Natural Resources Division of the Public Works Department will cut the tree up in the next day or two, and it will eventually be replaced with a young oak that will have plenty of spunk for the long haul.

Life goes on.