Library Commission to Receive Report on Closure of Central Library

Michelle Perera, Pasadena’s director of Libraries and Information Services, and Public Works Director Ara Maloyan will update the Library Commission at 6 p.m. Wednesday on the recent closure of the city’s Central Library due to seismic safety concerns.

Central Library at 285 E. Walnut St. on Monday was ordered to closed until further notice due to its construction with unreinforced masonry.

A report was not contained in the Library Commission’s agenda which was released Thursday. The agenda, however, did contain a copy of the city building officer’s order that forced officials to close the building.

“The purpose of this notice is to make you aware of the dangerous condition present therein,” wrote city Building Official Sarkis Nazerian in his ‘Not To Occupy Building’ order.

A placard placed on the structure states “Earthquake warning: This is an unreinforced masonry building. You may not be safe inside or near an unreinforced masonry building during an earthquake.”

The city is in the process of developing plans to repair the historic structure.

Due to unreinforced masonry, occupancy of the building has been banned to eliminate the “iminent life safety hazard,” the order reads.

“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 City Manager Steve Mermell.

The structure was designed by renowned architect Myron Hunt in 1924, and 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, the library serves as an educational and community cornerstone for all to gather, learn, explore ideas, and connect with people and resources.

The recent structural assessment conducted as part of the scope of work for the Central Library Building Systems and Structural Assessment Capital Improvement Project revealed that most of the building is comprised of unreinforced masonry (URM) bearing walls that support concrete floors and walls.

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 the city.

But now that it has been identified, it is clear Central Library is not in conformance with the city’s URM Ordinance.

Additionally, the results of the review provided to the city indicate that Central Library does not meet current seismic standards recommended by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“We intend to do everything in our power to assess the severity of the problem and to work toward its resolution,” Mermell said. “This library cannot remain vacant, and we need to conserve it for another century of use.”