Jewel in the rough
Pawn shop renovation reveals work of historic architects Greene & Greene
By André Coleman 08/26/2010
When the city began spending redevelopment dollars on Old Pasadena, first in the 1980s and again 10 years later, Crown City Jewelry and Loan was one of the buildings from those skid row days to survive the wrecking ball.
What makes that fact somewhat remarkable is the local pawn shop never quite fit in with the family friendly and corporate remake of this once depressed area. In fact, that business — along with the sex arcade a few doors west on Colorado Boulevard and a bar located across the street, Freddie’s 35er, annually voted Best Dive Bar in Pasadena by readers of this newspaper — has long been viewed with disdain by some property owners seeking a wealthier clientele.
The pawn, the porn and the pub, as the triumvirate is sometimes referred to by area business owners.
But today, the business is being viewed by some not in the light of what it does but where it actually sits, and that is in a 114-year-old building at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Raymond Avenue that is the last standing commercial structure built by renowned architects Charles and Henry Greene.
“We knew it [was a Greene and Greene] all along,” said owner Doug Robinson, who bought the pawn shop in 1989. “It’s a great building. We always planned to do the renovation, but we kept putting it off and putting if off and finally agreed to go through with it because of the city’s Storefront Improvement Program, which allows the city to participate financially, which is a big plus for us.”
Under the Storefront Improvement Program, the city matches 50 percent of the owner’s renovation funds up to $25,000.
The plans call for restoration of its 1920s Art Deco façade. The original façade was destroyed when the city cut back part of the building in the 1920s.
“We’re pleased that it is being returned to an earlier look,” said Pasadena Heritage Society Preservation Director Jenna Kachour. “But they can’t restore it to the original Victorian façade of the 1890s, because those were removed from all the buildings on Colorado Boulevard in the 1920s and replaced with different ones when they widened the street. That’s why it is going back to a 1920s look.”
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