Architecture Field Trip - Pomona Civic Center
This was a bonus architecture sighting as I headed to the freeway from downtown Pomona after leaving the Anerican Museum of Ceramic Art. I caught sight of City Hall driving west on W Mission Blvd. (gallery above).
So, I decided to stop by and look around.
The detailed description below is condensed from the Los Angeles Conservancy website:
In the late 1960s, Pomona decided to revitalize its city center with a new Civic Center and a downtown pedestrian mall. It planned a complex of twelve buildings, but only six were actually built, meaning we will never get to see the auditorium, monorail station, heliport, or residential high-rises that might have been.
The six constructed buildings, completed by 1969, are notable in that they represent the largest concentration of Welton Becket and Associates-designed architecture in the nation.
Pomona's New Formalist Civic Center includes the City Hall, Council Chambers, Public Library, Police Department, Superior Court, and Public Health buildings.
City Hall is monumental, with two rectangular volumes joined by a central glass pavilion with a dramatic overhanging roof. The Council Chambers building is small and circular, like a miniature version of the Forum in Los Angeles.
City Hall as viewed from the plaza looks similar to he the street-side view, though the lighting was better in the image below.
A view of City Hall from the Plaza
Below, an image of the circular Council Chambers.
Circular Council Chamber
The courthouse has a pleasing fenestration. When I visited, the trees planted in front were in bloom in a vibrate shade of pink.
The library entrace is from the plaza. A side view of the library looking south on Main St. shows off the architecture nicely.
