Pasadena City Hall is one of the finest examples of the California Mediterranean style.  Since it's opening in 1927, it has remained one of the most distinctive public buildings in the United States and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980.  It's a building of striking beauty, massive yet graceful, and well suited to a land of flowers and sunshine.

Architects John R. Bakewell and Arthur Brown won Pasadena's architectural design contest, and based their design on the style of the 16th century architect Palladio.  They thought of their design as "sun warmed buff against blue skies and greenery with an accent of red tiles and shady, cloistered walks, a garden and splashing fountain".  They also planned for all the rooms that would be needed by a busy city administration for many years to come.  The 235 rooms cover 170,000 square feet in a rectangular building outlining a spacious court.  There are small towers at each corner of the inner garden court.

The dome is solid and commanding, yet graceful and airy in appearance.  It rises perpendicularly for six stories.  The highest point is 206 feet above the ground.  The courtyard has a strong Spanish Colonial atmosphere.  The focal point is the cast stone Baroque fountain in the center.

After an 80 million dollar seismic retrofit and restoration, completed in June 2007, which came in on budget and on time, the 80 year old Pasadena City Hall looks just like it did when it was completed in 1927.

City Hall owes some of its fame to the California movie industry.  It is featured frequently in movies and TV, whenever a substitute is needed for Italy, Spain, Mexico, and the Mediterranean area.