Pasadena Public Library 1890

Pasadena, California is being mentioned quite often here in Wisconsin because the University of Wisconsin football team will be playing in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. The photograph above which is part of my collection shows the Pasadena Public Library building that opened on September 9, 1890.  This was the same year that the first Tournament of the Rose took place in Pasadena. This building was replaced in 1927 by a new building that was part of a civic center and which continues as the Central Library of the Pasadena Public Library. The 1890 building was declared unsafe in 1933 and was razed (except for the entrance arch) in 1954.  In 1955 the entrance arch was restored but it was severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The photograph above was part of a collection of photographs of Pasadena and surrounding areas taken by the Jarvis Gallery. A brief history of the Pasadena Public Library can be found HERE.