Pasadena Central Library Shuttered Due To Seismic Threat

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

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PASADENA – A recent structural analysis unveiled a potentially-deadly scenario should the earth shake beneath our feet.

The City of Pasadena ordered the Pasadena Central Library, 285 E. Walnut Ave., closed May 3 after a structural assessment deemed the historic structure unsound due to its mostly unreinforced masonry bearing walls, according to the City of Pasadena.

The Pasadena Central Library’s safety issues were discovered during an assessment that was part of the city’s Central Library Building Systems and Structural Assessment Capital Improvement Project. The building does not meet seismic standards outlined under the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“URM buildings have been widely recognized as a hazard to life safety due to their potential to collapse during an earthquake. While Pasadena passed an ordinance in 1993 mandating all URM buildings to be retrofitted, vacated or demolished, no record has been found as to why Central Library was not identified and addressed as a URM building,” according to city officials in a written statement. “Now that it has been identified, it is clear that Central Library is not in conformance with the City’s URM Ordinance.”

In-person library services recently resumed after Covid-19 restrictions were implemented.

“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 Pasadena 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.”

City and library staff are working on interim solutions to ensure that services offered at the Central Library are continued at the city’s other libraries.

Designed by Myron Hunt in 1924, Central Library was the first building completed in Pasadena’s historic Civic Center Plan. The library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Averaging 1,000 daily visitors, city officials said in a written statement.