Cover Story: Save The Central Library

On Monday, the City Council voted 6-2 to send a $195 million bond measure to the voters to help fund the seismic retrofit for the City’s Central Library. 

The money will be used to fund a comprehensive earthquake retrofit, repair, and update of the Central Library, including enhanced seismic resilience and modernization of facilities.

The bond could lead to an average annual tax rate increase of $19.60 per $100,000 of assessed property valuation, with a maximum estimated rate of $28.90 per $100,000 according to financial projections. 

The bonds’ fiscal impact primarily includes issuance costs and debt service payments. They aim to secure necessary funding while responsibly managing taxpayer burdens.

According to City Manager Miguel Márquez, the bond will have two levels of oversight. The City Council will receive a report annually. If Proposition 5 passes, a citizens’ oversight commission will be established.  

“I am with those that believe this is something we should not be ambiguous about,” said Vice Mayor Steve Madison. “Especially as we go out to voters and ask them to make very hard choices.”

The Past is Present

The Library was constructed as part of the Bennett Plan. 

Developed by the Chicago architecture firm of Bennett, Parsons and Frost, the plan centralized the city’s civic institutions within a single district where streets terminate at the most important buildings with City Hall to the east, the civic center to the south, behind the mall, and the library to the north. 

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

On Monday Madison pointed out that two of the buildings have already been restored. 

The Civic Auditorium and the Convention Center were rebuilt and retrofitted to spur economic development and City Hall underwent its own seismic retrofit that was completed in 2007.

The $118 million seismic retrofit of Pasadena City Hall, which included the installation of 80 shock-absorbing base isolators at its foundation to allow the building to sway rather than shake.

That was put to the test one year later when a 5.2 tremblor shook Pasadena. 

Then-Interim City Manager Bernard Melekian said the building performed as expected.

Melekian said he stood on City Hall’s east bridge and watched the City Hall dome sway back and forth. 

Thirteen years later, another building in the City’s Civic Center would be shut down for seismic repairs.

The Morning After 

The library was ordered closed on May 3, 2021, but the closure was not made public until the following day. 

“This is devastating news for us all. Central Library is more than just a building; it’s where generations of families have grown up, and an iconic building that completes our Civic Center as one of Pasadena’s treasures,” said then-City Manager Steve Mermell. “We intend to do everything in our power to assess the severity of the problem and to work toward its resolution. This library cannot remain vacant, and we need to conserve it for another century of use.”

The city has been planning to upgrade the building.

In March Pasadena Now reported that $30 million would be spent on building system upgrades and replacements at the Central Library including a fire alarm system and a new fire sprinkler system; roof replacement; replacement of domestic, sanitary, and stormwater piping systems, replacement of mechanical heating and cooling systems, including ductwork, electrical upgrades, seismic structural upgrades, and improvements to the exterior courtyard.

“The Central Library is a hub for our youngest and oldest in our City,” said Councilmember Justin Jones, who attended Monday’s meeting remotely. “And it’s been a great resource for myself. Even growing up in Pasadena I remember spending countless nights in there reading and studying.”

But everybody is not on board: Councilmembers Jess Rivas and Jason Lyon opposed the motion.

“I have never been satisfied with the process we used to get to this,” Lyon said. “We started from the presumption that we were going to save the building in the exact form that the building is, without looking at whether we could preserve the spirit of the Bennett Plan with a different kind of preservation.”

Lyon admitted he was torn on the item and said it was painful for him to vote no. Rivas also admitted she wrestled with the topic. 

“The library’s role as a communal hub cannot be overstated: a safe, welcoming environment where individuals, families, civic groups, and others come together to learn, explore, and connect,” said District 7 Resident Theresa Doran in correspondence to the City Council. “Whether through educational programs, cultural events, or as a space for quiet study and reflection, the Central Library offers invaluable opportunities for personal and communal growth.”

Third Location

The current Central Library is the third of three buildings to house the library.

According to the City’s website, four years before the City’s incorporation in 1886, the library opened as “Pasadena Library and Village Improvement Society,” a private subscription library on Dec. 26, 1882. 

That library was first located on Central School grounds, on the south side of Colorado Street between Raymond Street and the Santa Fe railroad tracks, and opened on Feb. 26, 1884. 

The library was moved to 42 W. Dayton St. in 1886, but there is no plaque commemorating it there. 

The library next was relocated four years later at the southeast corner of Walnut Street at Raymond Avenue in what is now known as Memorial Park and eventually outgrew the space. 

And later it occupied its current space as the Bennett Plan came to fruition. 

Construction began May 19, 1925 and the year 1925 was carved in Roman numerals over the front entrance of the building.

The library, the first building in Pasadena’s now famous Civic Center, was dedicated on Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, 1927. 

The Central Library, as well as the entire Civic Center, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

After the building was closed, the City of Pasadena quickly requested Assemblyman Chris Holden’s assistance. Holden came through with a $4 million check after the State of California approved the funds in its budget to be used for the design and drawings for the seismic upgrades of the Pasadena Central Library.

“Having served on this Council, I understand first-hand how important this library is to the community,” Holden said at the September City Council meeting when he presented the check to the City.