Photography

February 2009

Pasadena City Hall – 100 North Garfield Avenue, Pasadena, designed by John Bakewell and Arthur Brown in the early Renaissance style of 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio. Construction was completed on December 27, 1927. 

The history –

In 1923, the people of Pasadena approved a bond measure issuing $3.5 million towards the development of a civic center. City Hall was to be the central element of this center. The San Francisco architecture firm of Bennet, Parsons, and Frost designed the City Beautiful and California Mediterranean influenced City Hall. It was completed on December 27, 1927 at a cost of $1.3 million. It measures 361 feet (110 m) by 242 feet (74 m), and rises 6 stores. There are over 235 rooms and passageways that cover over 170,000 square feet (16,000 m2). The defining dome, located above the west entrance, is 26 feet (7.9 m) tall and 54 feet (16 m) in diameter. On July 28, 1980, Pasadena City Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Listing # 80-000813)

The City Hall has long been a favorite shooting location for filmmakers. The courtyard was used in the 1995 movie "A Walk in the Clouds" to portray a Napa Valley town square. It has also been used as an embassy in the "Mission: Impossible" television series, the Beverly Hills police station in all the "Beverly Hills Cop" movies, and a villa in Charlie Chaplin's Oscar-nominated 1940 film "The Great Dictator." 

In July 2004, the building was vacated to allow for a complete overhaul of the structure – the required seismic retrofit and a complete restoration. Staff moved back in starting in April 2007.

If you wish to use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me. And should you choose to download any of these images and use them invoking the "fair use" provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, please provide credit, and, on the web, a link back to this site.

Technical Note:

These photographs were taken with a Nikon D200 – the lenses used were AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or AF Nikkor 70-300 mm telephoto.  The high-resolution photography here was modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 software.