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Important Update On Closure Of Pasadena's Central Library For Seismic Concerns
Pasadena's Central Library.
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Courtesy City of Pasadena
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The historic Central Library in Pasadena closed earlier this month because of seismic safety concerns.
Now City Manager Steve Mermell says it might take five years to reopen to the public. And that's if all goes well.
"Our engineers are continuing their work on developing what the appropriate retrofit plan would be," he said. "And then we will work on developing what type of funding plan would we need to manage that."
A recent structural assessment found that most of the library's load-bearing walls are made of unreinforced masonry. It's a type of material that according to a 1993 city ordinance must be retrofitted or demolished.
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Right now, the city is looking to move the library's resources to other branches to keep them in circulation. Mermell says that also might take some time, but he's hopeful it will happen by the end of this year.
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