For Julia's sake
Tribute to pioneering architect Julia Morgan precedes city’s seizure of her famous YWCA building
By Sara Cardine 01/19/2012
When noted California architect Julia Morgan drafted plans in 1920 for a three-story, Mediterranean-style building for use by the Pasadena YWCA, she made no specific accommodation for makeshift transient camps, pigeons or their attendant droppings.
But perhaps she should have — today, the historic building, located at the corner of Marengo Avenue and Union Street, stands shuttered and neglected. Having had no “official” occupants for nearly two decades, it’s become a bit of a blemish on the face of Pasadena’s pristine Civic Center.
Whether or not the city of Pasadena will assume ownership of the building from its current absentee owner will be determined on Feb. 22, when a valuation trial jury decides the property’s value and sets it as the amount the city will have to pay to seize it through eminent domain.
To drum up public interest in the historic and architectural significance of the site in the weeks leading up to the court date, members of the local historic preservation group Pasadena Heritage will present on Saturday “A Tribute to Julia Morgan, Architect” at First Baptist Church, Pasadena. The program will feature a panel discussion by architects, designers and local historians on Morgan’s historical significance, the history of the Pasadena YWCA and an update on the building’s current condition.
“We felt it was important to take this time, while the matter is being worked out between the property owner and the city, to think about and discuss the building’s history as a sort of primer before moving on to envision the building’s future,” said Jenna Kachour, preservation director for Pasadena Heritage and an organizer of the event.
The case
The upcoming court hearing will likely bring closure to a years-long dispute between the city of Pasadena and Trove Investment, Corp., helmed by absentee owner Angela Chen-Sabella. Trove purchased the property in 1996 for a reported $1.8 million and had plans to partner with a developer to open a boutique hotel. As that plan, and others like it, failed to materialize, the property continued to deteriorate.
Pasadena cited Trove with multiple code violations for failing to provide basic maintenance and upkeep on the property. Each time, the owner did the minimum amount of work required by the citation, according to Redevelopment Manager Dave Klug.
“The property owner, I think, has had ample time to do something, and they haven’t,” Klug added.
Since 2003, the city has tried to broker a deal for purchase through several negotiations, but to no avail. In October 2009, city officials wrote a letter offering $6.43 million to purchase the property for the sake of preserving the building’s historic integrity. At the time, the owner still nursed hopes of finding a developer who would partner in a new business venture, and made a counter-offer of $12 million, according to a 2010 story that appeared in the Pasadena Weekly.
In November 2010, officials took a different tack to acquire the property, bidding to gain possession of the site through eminent domain, a process in which a public entity may seize a privately held property for what is deemed to be the larger public good.
The decision followed a city study that found significant water damage throughout the structure, which posed a threat to the structural integrity of the property.
“There is extensive water damage in the ceilings, walls and floors, standing water on the second floor, [the] finishes are in extremely poor condition, plumbing, wiring, lighting and doorknobs have been removed and several skylights are broken out,” read a statement posted on the city’s Web site in April 2010. “It has become obvious that repair and historic restoration of the property will not happen unless the city steps in and takes this action.”
Historical import
Given that the YWCA building has occupied a spot on the National Register of Historic Places since Pasadena Heritage members lobbied for its inclusion in 1980 as a contributing building within the Civic Center Historic District, the current state of the property directly due west from the entrance of the City Hall building “is a crying shame,” according to the group’s executive director, Sue Mossman. “Its continuing deterioration has just become more and more troubling and worrisome. It’s been a downward spiral for everybody.”
A Feb. 18 study last year by Architectural Resources Group, a San Francisco-based firm that specializes in historic preservation and has a Pasadena office, prepared an assessment on the building’s condition for the city’s Planning and Development Department. Christopher Smith, an associate with the firm, will give a presentation on Saturday about the study’s findings. In an interview Friday, Smith said parts of the YWCA building’s interior had deteriorated due to water intrusion but the gymnasium and other areas were well intact and savable.
Most agree that, despite the wear and tear, the building’s got good bones. Consider it a trademark of Morgan herself, who designed the main building and guest houses at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, downtown LA’s Herald-Examiner building and numerous civic and residential buildings throughout the state, according to local historian and author Ann Scheid.
“It is an honor to have one of her buildings in Pasadena,” said Scheid, who will speak Saturday on the history of the city’s Civic Center. “Pasadena has a legacy of great architecture, and having a building by Julia Morgan is part of that legacy.”
Next week’s tribute to Morgan is the first of a pair, the second of which will be held later this year, likely to coincide with the California Cultural and Historical Endowment’s “Julia Morgan 2012” initiative, a six-week festival honoring Morgan planned for this fall, according to Kachour. That event will include a participatory session in which members of the public will be asked for their input on the future of the YWCA building.
Uncertain Fate
In preparation for the Feb. 22 trial, both parties have presented their own appraisals of the combined worth of the land and the structure. Tarzana attorney Greg Perry, representing Chen-Sabella and Trove Investments, said Friday he did not know if his client would attend the verdict, but said an assessment of the property had been made.
“We did obtain an appraisal of the property, and the appraised amount is the amount we will assert is what it’s worth during the trial,” Perry said. “I can’t say what that [amount] is.”
Klug said the professional appraisal amount obtained by the city was not out of line with past negotiation figures but was also unwilling to state a specific dollar amount before the trial. Still, he said he was optimistic about the outcome of the trial.
“It would be a big win for everyone involved who has an interest in seeing the heritage of Julia Morgan preserved,” Klug said. “I can’t think of anybody who wouldn’t want that.”
Although the verdict could put an end to nearly a decade of negotiations, the future use of the building and who will fund the renovation efforts remain to be seen.
Past proposals included a plan to move Pasadena Water and Power Department’s main office to the structure, where citizens would still be able to engage in the architecture, but a recent decision by Gov. Jerry Brown dismantling city redevelopment agencies statewide could force Pasadena officials to search for a private sector developer or partner to pay for the project once it’s assumed ownership of the building.
“The future of the building is a huge question mark, because we don’t know what’s going to happen with the city,” Mossman said of potential redevelopment reductions. “There needs to be a plan. It might be some sort of partnership, or it might take a miracle or some fairy godperson. Maybe if I win the lottery …”
“A Tribute to Julia Morgan, Architect” takes place Saturday at First Baptist Church, 75 N. Marengo Ave., Pasadena, from 1 to 4 p.m. with refreshments at 12:30 p.m. Admission is $18, $15 for Pasadena Heritage members. For reservations, call (626) 441-6333 or visit pasadenaheritage.org.
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