La Pintoresca Library
Monk, a New Yorker, purchased most of the land in the area where the library and many homes are today. He felt this dry land was not worth much, so he sold it to Wentworth and Painter and they obtained water rights from the Arroyo Seco.
Erected in 1888 to encompass an entire block, the Painter Hotel built by Quaker John Hunt Painter included formal gardens, expansive orchards, and an arroyo stone retaining wall surrounding the property. Providing uninterrupted views of the San Gabriel Mountains across level terrain, the hotel was renamed La Pintoresca (Spanish for “picturesque”) following Painter’s death in 1892. The hotel burned in 1912, and the City of Pasadena purchased the property three years later for use as a park.
By 1930, the park was reduced to three acres by the construction of an electric substation and a Spanish Revival library, both designed by architects Cyril Bennett and Fitch Haskell. In the 1960s, the lighting and paths were renewed though Cornell’s alignment and placement was retained. https://www.tclf.org/landscapes/la-pintoresca-park
On November 1, 1908, the Pasadena Public Library established its first branch in North Pasadena, aptly named the North Pasadena Branch (or North Branch). The 1908 through 1914 directories has the North Branch listed under the People’s Grocery store at 1333 N. Fair Oaks Avenue.5
The idea of having a separate branch building started to emerge when the City bought the La Pintoresca Hotel lot in 1914, but it wasn’t until after a park was built there in 1925 that the idea became a real possibility when the City discussed adding a library next to it at some future time. The North Branch by this time had outgrown its current quarters and additional space was desperately needed.
The Washington Methodist Church hosted reading “bars” to as an alternative to the many salons in the areas. They sold food to raise money for the library and others groups also joined the effort. https://pasadena-library.net/from-the-archives/2018/04/11/la-pintoresca-branch/
Their plans called for a structure in the shape of a “Greek cross,” a design adapted from a scheme submitted by the branch librarian.7Construction promptly began in July 1930 and within five short months the new North Branch library was completed. It opened on December 30, 1930, as the La Pintoresca Branch Library. Its spacious and well-lit interior provides a welcoming atmosphere, and its location in La Pintoresca Park adds to the beauty of the North Pasadena landscape. From its red tile roof and white stucco walls to its decorative door surround, the La Pintoresca Branch’s Spanish Colonial Revival style is in keeping with California’s history and in particular Pasadena’s architectural style.
Today you can still see the steps from the original hotel as well as the stone wall that encircled it.