Pasadena City Hall , Pasadena, Przewodnik dla zwiedzających i co robić w okolicy

Pasadena City Hall is the domed civic building at 100 N Garfield Avenue in Pasadena, California, completed in 1927 and designed by the San Francisco firm Bakewell and Brown. It is a showpiece of Mediterranean and Spanish Colonial Revival style, and one of the best-loved buildings in Southern California. It is also known to TV fans as the city hall of Pawnee in Parks and Recreation.

The story behind it

Pasadena voters approved a bond in 1923 to build a grand new civic centre, and architects competed to design its centrepiece. John Bakewell and Arthur Brown, who also designed San Francisco City Hall, won the commission. The new building was finished in late 1927 at a cost of about $1.3 million, with hundreds of rooms and passageways arranged around its courtyard and crowned by the dome.

By the late twentieth century the concrete walls were cracked and engineers warned that a major earthquake could damage it badly. In 2004 the building was emptied, then lifted off its foundation and set on base isolators, which let the ground move beneath it. Staff returned in 2007. Across the street, the Pasadena Robinson Memorial, dedicated in 1997, honours two brothers raised in the city, Jackie and Mack Robinson.

What to look for

• The dome rising above the entrance is the building's signature feature, and it looks especially fine in the warm light of late afternoon.
• The arched openings, balconies and ornamental details give the facade a Mediterranean look that suits the Southern California climate.
• The courtyard garden layout shows how the building was planned as a civic space as well as an office.
• Across Garfield Avenue at Holly Street, the two large bronze heads of the Robinson Memorial face toward City Hall.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 30 minutes to walk around the exterior and the memorial, longer if you like photography.
• City Hall is a working government building, so check current opening hours and access before planning to go inside.
• Late afternoon and dusk give the best light on the dome and the facade.
• The building sits in the Civic Center area, so it is easy to combine with a walk through Old Pasadena and the streets nearby.

See it on a quest

Pasadena: Stop the Bomb is a self-guided quest through the area. You reach the landmarks on foot as stops on a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Prefer a mystery? Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Downtown, Pasadena takes you through downtown streets with the app telling you about each place and setting puzzles in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Ghost Hunt in Pasadena suits anyone who likes their sightseeing with a spooky theme. You walk from stop to stop at your own pace, hear about each place as you get there and solve a puzzle at each one. One ticket covers the whole group.