Council Votes to Name City Hall Courtyard After Former Mayor Bill Bogaard, Wife Claire

Bill and Claire Bogaard pictured in a photo taken to report the couple’s William J. & Claire W. Bogaard Endowment, that supports the Pasadena Community Foundation’s grantmaking in the areas of environmental and historic preservation. [Photo courtesy of the Pasadena Community Foundation]

Former Mayor Bill Bogaard and his wife Claire received another tribute on Monday for their years of commitment to Pasadena when the City Council voted to name the City Hall courtyard in their honor.

“We have been blessed in this city to have many great leaders. some in government and some in other endeavors and we look for opportunities to honor those folks,” said Councilmember Steve Madison. “I have said for a long time that if there was a hall of fame many people would reside there, but if there is a pantheon. Bill and Claire Bogaard would rightfully claim a place there.”

Madison initially proposed renaming Centennial Square after the Bogaards, but the City Manager came back with the idea for the courtyard.

In 1999, Bogaard became the city’s first elected Mayor in modern times and served in that role until 2015.

Previously he had served on the Pasadena Board of Directors from 1978-1986, during which time he served as rotating Mayor from 1984-1986.

The couple continues to support the community since leaving through a number of appointments to advisory boards, task forces, and nonprofits.

“During his tenure, the city ushered in the arrival of the Gold Line Light Rail Transit System, made significant new investment in housing, completed the construction of the new convention center, and invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the city’s neighborhoods to create better roads, bridges, schools, parks and city services which enriched the lives of Pasadenans,” according to a city staff report.

Claire Bogaard made her own mark on the city through her passion for historic preservation.

A founding member of Pasadena Heritage, a community-based historic preservation association, she and her colleagues were instrumental in preserving Pasadena’s historic downtown at a time when it was contemplated that it be razed and replaced with high-rise development.

She also served on the board of the City’s oldest and largest neighborhood association, the West Pasadena Residents Association, as well as acting as an advisor to the National Trust of Historic Preservation, California State Historic Commission, and other City commissions and advisory committees, including the Committee for the Restoration of Pasadena City Hall.

The Bogaards moved to Pasadena in the early 1970s. Shortly after their arrival to the city, Bill launched a successful bid to represent District 6 on the Pasadena Board of Directors, which was eventually renamed the City Council.