If you are looking for beautiful structures to use as a backdrop for weddings and special occasions I definitely recommend this place. Be warned that if you come here peak season (weddings, graduations... which is usually May - August ) you will need to pack your patience. You will be constantly waiting for people to pass by and move so they will not be in your background or in front of the shot. To avoid all this come right when they open or later during the day when the crowds are slowly diminishing. It has an old mission feel to it and looking at the design reminds me of an antique surface. The main colors scheme of this structure are: all shades of brown, cream, dark red (red bricks from the ground), and turquoise (the look alike bell towers). The colors are not bright but has a dark & dull tones to it. Every sides and corner of this building can be used for photographing. It does not matter where you take the picture because as long as you stand far enough to take a shot - there will always be a few pillars and bell towers in the background. This is a high building and in return you will always have a nice background no matter your angle. When walking around the building, you will be walking on red bricks as part of the flooring. With these dark red bricks it adds a nice touch to the photos as you are not standing on plain floor cement. There are certain spots that people love and there is a wait to get in front of it. Our photographer had to ask a few times to other photographers if they are done using the background so we could take our pictures next. There is a flower garden with light wood benches to use as well if you want to switch the scenery from the building structures. During the Spring/Summer season the flowers are in bloom and there are more greenery in the leaves and plants. If you are planning to take pictures the day after it rains (or a few days after) the ground does get muddy. They have an open garden area where the ground is all dirt and after raining everything turns to mud and mush that it is impossible to walk in it if you have heels (ladies - you might want to take tennis shoes to walk around in and change for picture time) because the heels will get stuck to the dried mud. There are also beautiful structures from the ceiling that when looking at the photo you will not be able to tell the background is taken from a ceiling. They have a few antique looking clocks that are displayed throughout the building. For parking - there is a small parking structure in front of the building that is in a circle shape. These spaces fill up quickly all time of the day. There is a parking ticket stand next to the parking structure and you pay for your ticket to specifically park in that area. If those areas are full there are parking around the building but it is street parking (those require parking tickets as well). I think Sunday is the only day that parking is free. read more

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Pasadena City Hall is like the most attractive person in a room that most are unaware of, because it's sitting way off in the corner of a dimly lit area that no one would ever think to look towards. When it comes to sightseeing many get caught up on glamorous famous spots, but Pasadena City Hall is a strong architectural gem that has character and is worthwhile checking out. Located within walking distance of Paseo Colorado, it's definitely a diversion that offers a strong contrast from the conventional. You can walk around the garden area, check out the fountain, sit on the benches, go upstairs to get a better scenic view, and almost tour it as if you're at a museum. Many visit to take pics of the building, my main tip is to try to do that at night (or near sunset) as they turn out way better (take a look at those posted). You can post 'em and trick your friends and family into thinking you're in front of a building in a foreign country! read more

A truly remarkable, landmark City hall. It show the historical side of Pasadena from its hay day. read more

Pasadena City Hall - Pasadena City Hall - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

I am a Pasadena native and wanted to get married locally since it is easier to plan. I knew that the city hall had gone through a 3 year $117 million dollar renovation. The landscape architecture, the lighting, the restrooms, the fountain are all completely different and revamped. Mostly, the renovation was for earthquake resistant walls. Anyway, I think I may be one of the last couples who spent about $2000 total for the venue...which in CA is a great deal. They nickel and dime you. For example, since I had my wedding on a weekend, I had to pay extra for water to flow in the fountain. Also, you have to pay hourly ridiculous rates for sound monitors, alcohol monitors and security gaurds who still let in unknown off the street people. The guards are a waste of money, but are required by the city. Even though the city makes you do the runaround in order to get the permits, it is very worthwhile at the end. The location was central to the hotel where 90% of our guests from out of town were staying (80% of our total guestlist were from out of town). Paseo is across the street so the guests weren't bored up until the wedding. The city hall is perfect because you are able to have both the reception in the courtyard and the ceremony in either the rotunda or the courtyard. I decided to have it in the rotunda so the catering company could get the majority of the work done before the ceremony. The people working for the city are jaded and it's difficult to obtain the permit, but overall it was an awesome location and everyone was so impressed that this was a city building. My husband was so bummed when I first told him about our location as he is from St. Louis. But he was impressed once he saw it. read more

Beautiful building! I saw it during dusk and the evening, when it's lit up. Would love to tour the inside at some point. There is a big square in front of it, so great for taking beautiful far away and close-up photos. It's also conveniently located right next to Old Town Pasadena, so you can park and experience everything at once. read more

Pasadena City Hall - Movie night! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

Pasadena City Hall is absolutely gorgeous. It's a great place to take pictures and enjoy the architecture. I visited on a Friday and there were a few groups there to take wedding photos. The brides in their dresses made everything even more beautiful. My friend and I leisurely wandered around the building. It was very relaxing after being amidst the hustle and bustle of the Old Town. read more

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Tuesday night went over to visit my family's new place in Pasadena, parked my vehicle right accross from their home and made sure to check the parking signs so I wouldn't come back to any parking tickets. The signs there stated no parking every second and fourth Monday of the month from 8am-12pm. So I ended up spending the night woke up around 7am the next day and returned to my vehicle with a parking ticket on the dash. Ticket violation read"No Overnight Parking" I drove around the whole block right after and saw not one No Overnight Parking sign. Any place parking space/area is required to state allotted times and or No Parking signs. Later that day I found out Pasadena enforces the overnight parking sanction in order to prevent crimes,abandoned vehicles, etc. I checked other cities that allow overnight parking such as the City of El Monte and they have a noticeably much safer and lower crime rate than that of the city of Pasadena. I requested to contest the ticket and received a reply stating my ticket will be upheld. Reason being that there are signs at every freeway exit stating no overnight parking from 2am-6am. Visitors that do not know about this sanction in Pasadena beware. read more

Pasadena City Hall - No Overnight Parking signs here or in the near vicinity. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

Beautifully retrofitted and a must see, especially early evening when your in the area....... read more

Pasadena City Hall - City Hall at night... - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

Awesome photo location, but be forewarned that after Pasadena's pulled their permit requirement, there are zillions of photographers / weddings/ engagement shoots going on. There were literally 15+ shoots going on the day we were there. For filming permits ... they get first dibs, so if you get approached by the guards about not intruding on so and so's space - respect it because they paid for usage of the grounds. ** note .. no public restrooms, you might get lucky if people at California Pizza Kitchen let you use it** read more

HOW MANY TIMES do i have to say I HATE City Hall before yall understand Parking is FUCKING WEAK here. Came here to purchase my Parking Permit Waited 5 mins before I was helped ( and there wasn't another customer there just me). The lady said they no longer handle parking permits there a building sown the street in walking diastase. -_- DA FUCK I was here not even a month ago no one told me These city workers are fucking scum. They need not get paid to sit on their arses and do shit. FAT HOES By the time I walk to the new locating and back I had a tix on my car -__-!!!!!! 2 mins over the time... FML!!!!!! REALLY REALLY REALLY ???? PIECE OF SHIT PASADENA But gotta go through the motions. Thanks Pasadena for fucking me in the ass for the 100th time. Its pretty loose now so the next raping shldnt be that bad -_-! read more

The place is gorgeous, the staff are friendly and responsive, there are public restrooms, the place is GORGEOUS, but one thing it's lacking - great sight lines. If you've been downtown in LA recently, you might have seen the newly opened Grand Park. It stretches from City Hall down to some public works building I can't remember the name of and can't be bothered to look up but is across the street from the Mark Taper and Dorothy Chandler. Fantastic sight lines. From any place in the park you can look all the way to wither end and at night, it's really quite pretty. Pasadena's City Hall doesn't have that. Although the building itself was well-designed, it wasn't part of a well-thought out, overarching civic center plan. And so, although the area is nice and fantastic to walk around, it lacks the overall cohesiveness that would make this city hall, the best, instead of, one of the best, in California. You can, and should, read more about the architecture and history here: http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/cityhall/history.asp read more

Whenever there is free time, Pasadena City Hall is the perfect place to have a picnic lunch. The back drop is just gorgeous, both on a sunny summer day and right before the clouds roll in on an unlikely rainy day. There are park benches surrounding City Hall to just relax and enjoy the day. City Hall is often quiet but when there is an event, it's full of life and well-organized. One star was taken away because the directional signage is a little confusing. read more

I sat in one of the benches by the parking lot in front of the building while waiting for someone. Behold this magnificent structure change color as the dusk set in... it was amazing, I couldn't help but contemplate all sorts of things in my life. That was truly unexpected. read more

Pasadena City Hall - 7/21/14 8PM - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

I like come here to practice my photography. It is an interesting city hall with many different places to have shoot. You can achieve many different looks here. it is a very popular place for other photographers, like portrait, wedding and student photographers. The security guards here are pretty relaxed about photographers here. I see people bring light equipment and small softboxes here. So far i have met many interesting people here. Many artsy types like to hang at the Spanish courtyard. It is also a nice place to take your kids to just walk about. it isn't a very big place, but it has a very relaxed feeling to this place. Parking can be harasses with paid meters and the one hour limit during normal business hours. But after 5, it is free and there is no long for time. Just in case, i am wrong about the 5 pm, Check the signs for the most up to date information. read more

This city hall is beautiful. The structure, the hallway, the lightings at night. This is a public building and I have the right to come here anytime I want. Our tax dollar at work. If you are a photographer, come here and take some romantic shots! Parking is not free. Don't forget to feed the street parking meter. Otherwise, the meter mate will leave you a piece of expensive paper on your windshield. read more

This building is just gorgeous and I love walking here at night when it's all lit up. It's not unusual to see movies being filmed here or photoshoots. Yes, the parking is terrible and it can be confusing if you're trying to find specific departments. However, the architecture, alone, is stunning. read more

Gorgeous building that looks great for weddings, engagement photos, bridal photos, etc. In fact, while wondering the grounds last Saturday, I saw one bridal photo shoot and one wedding party shoot. Beautiful grounds, btw. The architecture of the building is great. Lots of details that modern building do not have. I'm glad the City of Pasadena is doing renovations on this building. We need more City Hall-type buildings and fewer skyscrapers. Also, Pawnee, Indiana! This is the building used for the external shots of Pawnee City Hall in Parks and Recreation. I can just picture Ron Swanson sitting in his office and Leslie Knope marching down the hallways to find a council person. Love it. read more

My favorite structure in Pasadena! I make it a point to work this beauty into my morning run route at least 3 days a week...something about seeing the sunrising behind this masterpiece makes me happy to be a Pasadenian. read more

Pasadena City Hall - Christmas time! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Iconic landmark of Pasadena, one of the oldest cities in California. Beautiful spanish architecture. Charming courtyard and fountain in the middle. The city hall and a short walk to the central library and the civic auditorium is worth looking for. read more

Pasadena City Hall - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

A good place to have photoshoots for special occasions. Very nice ambiance and gorgeous architecture read more

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This place is absolutely gorgeous. From the architecture to the weather...to the grounds...to even just being around tons of photographers and videographers...it's just a lovely place to be. read more

Pasadena City Hall - A beautiful place to create more beauty - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

Pasadena City Hall is absolutely beautiful. I love the architecture and was completely blown away the first time I saw it. It looks like it's from another country and time period. It has a nice rose garden and fountain in the courtyard. It's even more gorgeous at night when it's lit up. I love walking around and taking pictures. I've seen a lot of people take engagement and wedding photos at this location. It's definitely worth checking out if you live in the area. It's free to walk around. The TV show Parks and Recreation often films here. It's my goal to see them filming one day. There is parking at City Hall as well as in neighboring streets. There is also wheelchair accessible parking at City Hall and on the surrounding streets. read more

Beautiful place! I took my engagement pictures here and they're just stunning....the structure of the building is very elegant and beautiful. Love this place! read more

Right, call me a "hater" - I don't care. Yes, this building is worth looking at, and I'm sure (with the retro-fitting) it is very safe to work in. However, I have a grudge: This building cost too bloody much for what it's worth and stands for. There is FAR TOO MUCH BUILDING for the available utility space and the message I get from it is "Just another orgasm for colonialist ego-centric maniacs" All the interesting spaces are off-limits to the public, and if you did wish to make yourself comfortable there - to be surrounded by architectural madness - you'd get arrested. So, with that said, I give it two-Stars for looks. read more

One of the beautiful places to have your photo shoot. With the city hall's architectural style, you just can't help but take photos at the location. However, plan your trip wisely as it get very crowded at time read more

I love pasadena. I needed to come here to the courthouse to take care of my business license. I haven't been here in years. Parking is decent. Employees are still friendly and the building remains beaitful ... read more

Pasadena City Hall - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

Pasadena PD needs to get on those security cameras that are located over los robles ave and maple st. To find where the owner of the white VW that hit the bicyclist and left their car along our street. Now we have 2 white cars on los robles with busted windshields. All i know is they needed towed so law biding citizens can park. read more

Pasadena City Hall - Another abandoned white vehicle that struck cyclist, other one is 75 yards behind it - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

Gorgeous architecture, and I might hazard to say, quite possibly the prettiest City Hall in the Los Angeles area. The biggest downside is that the place is overrun with huge wedding parties (bridesmaids and groomsmen) and there are lots of engagement shoots going on as well. Overall, a very scenic location, well worth a visit if you're in the old town Pasadena area! read more

Very beautiful place! Definitely recommend it! I really enjoyed exploring this place! read more

Pasadena City Hall - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Pasadena, California

As heavy Parks and Rec fans, my husband and I were in shock to see that the Parks and Rec city hall is actually Pasadena city hall! We came to Pasadena as a mini day trip, exploring Old Town, going on a short hike and visiting the city hall. Little to our knowledge, Pasadena city hall is Pawnees city hall! I think we snapped about 200 pictures and constantly annoyed different strangers to take our photos around it. There were 3 different wedding and engagement photographers over there taking photos of their subject...and for good reason! this place is gorgeous! read more

Unbelievable! I got married on 10/10/10 and I had requested Pasadena City Hall to give me a permit to take my wedding pictures. Here is how I was treated and how it all went! I gave them a call and the person who answered my phone call was VERY unprofessional; she didn't have answers to any of my questions and every time had to ask the person next to her and repeat her answers to me. I'd hear them both laugh in the background. She told me to fill out the application that's online and fax it back to them and I will be done. After faxing, I called her back to make sure she had received it, she didn't have the fax and I had to fax it again and call her back to confirm she had received the fax. 2nd time faxing the form she said she got it, then she tells me, we also need a copy of your Photographer's License! I give my photo guy a call and have him fax it to her, call her back to make sure she has it, then she tells me, we also need a copy of the drivers license of the photographer, which ON the application it says it's only needed IF the photographer is a friend of the bride/groom. I tell her this, and she says, sorry can not issue you the permit unless we have it. So I call my Photo guy again and have him fax it. I give her a call back to make sure she has it, she said she got it, then asks me to fax her a copy of my wedding invitation or else she can't issue me the permit, which on the form it says it's NOT mandatory! I tell her that, and she says sorry, can not process unless we have it. My question was WHY the heck did she not tell me she needed ALL of this when I first called her, so that I could fax them all together and at the same time? Wait, it gets even better! So there I fax my wedding invitation to her, give her a call back to make sue she has everything and to issue me the permit, she then tells me that she can't issue the permit and that it has to be 2 days prior to my event and that it's not even guaranteed I will be able to take my pictures there at that date If someone decides to have a wedding there on my wedding day ...she said in that case, "your permit will be voided" The best part of it all... I wait until two days before my wedding day, it's Friday, 9am, I give them a call, only to hear the recording that "Pasadena City Hall IS CLOSED THIS FRIDAY!" Apparently they are closed every other Friday and the bitch didn't tell me that they are closed on that Friday before my wedding. She should've given me a call on that Thursday to process my permit. I was SO PISSED, only two days before my wedding and I had to find a new location for my pictures, one that would give it to me in such last min and had opening. So ALL that back and forth with the stupid chick was a waste of my time! And I'll never forget all the laughing and giggling in the background - so unprofessional. They clearly are not working and need to be reminded of why they go to work and what they get paid for. Sad! They don't deserve my 1 star, they deserve a -10!! I ended up calling Caltech University and the guy was very nice and professional, he helped me all the way and even went out of his way to make my day since I explained to him what Pasadena City Hall workers did to me. I must admit, I am glad I didn't end up with Pasadena City Hall, because Caltech is much, much prettier and bigger, and has so many beautiful places for pictures. My pictures turned out to be AMAIZINGLY beautiful~ So, save yourself from headaches and stress and do not book anything with this place, unless you want to worry, and stress before your wedding ... if you are a bride, you know that stress is the last thing you need, especially this kind of a stress! read more

Pasadena City Hall was the perfect venue for my small intimate ceremony for my wedding. We only had our newly ordained friend, groomsmen, bridal party, and parents there at our ceremony. It was short and sweet and of course I cried liked a baby during it all. There architecture of the City Hall is beautiful with the high arches and detailed stonework. There is also a gorgeous fountain in the middle courtyard with lots of trees, roses and other greenery, to act as a beautiful back drop for a wedding or photo shoot. After our ceremony we were able to wonder the halls and staircases to find the perfect lightly for our wedding photos. It was just a wonderful and memorable day. It was just how I imagined for our ceremony Be warned there is a $71 dollar fee for a wedding photography permit. They also you life a bit harder because you cannot apply for the permit until 48 hours before your event, so have a back up location just in case this one falls through. This is why I took away one star. Not knowing where my ceremony was going to be for sure was very stressful in the wedding planning process. Although, I was fortunate enough to be able to drop off my application a day early because I happened to be in the area, and the person in the office said she would hold on to it and process it the first thing the next morning. To add to my luck, there was a filming scheduled for the day of my ceremony, but their permit ended an hour before mine so there was no conflict. Warning though you might have to deal with other people crashing your wedding for rehearsals or other visitors. We had another wedding's rehearsal happen during our allotted time frame, but we were done with our ceremony and just taking pictures so it was all good. Even if you don't have a wedding or photo shoot, it is still a beautiful place to visit if you are in the Pasadena area. Be warned there is only meter parking (quarters only) and they are quick to ticket (how else do you think they maintain such a beautiful building?) read more

If you're around downtown Pasadena, it's definitely worth passing by the city hall. I can't get over the architecture of the area. It's a nice area to take a short walk. There's typically someone get wedding pictures taken outside since it is such a beautiful area. Parking is also free on Sundays, so it's convenient to park near city hall, walk around, and pop into a shop or cafe on Colorado Blvd. read more

A nice place to take wedding pictures and it's very reasonably priced compared to others.

We didn't get a chance to go inside but we had to stop by for a quick selfie since it's Pawnee City Hall in Parks and Recreation. :D

Charming historic architecture with a small rose garden and a fountain in the courtyard. Couples striking cheesy poses for their engagement photography will almost certainly bring a smile to your face, even if you're just there to pay Pasadena's pesky parking fee. read more

Very nice place in the lovely old town, full of history and paths to the olden days. We had lots of fun here, took many beautiful memorable pictures with hilarious posts though, hope I have those photos here on my phone... we were basically making up a drama ... will share more later read more

My phone about to die and I'm still waiting (going on 25 mins) for building department worker to stop talking with their coworker and continue working... unbelievable. read more

This place is so pretty! In the daytime and at night time! Go walk through it! It's like a little jaw dropping quiet oasis in the middle of pasadena. read more

Went here to get my city parking permit. I went to the wrong building (that had CITY PERMIT all over it) at first, and they nicely advised me that I need to go to the building across the street (the big historical -looking one) to the Municipal Hall to get my parking permit. I was still confused of where to go exactly so I asked the lady at the Information Booth, and she too, nicely directed me to where I needed to be. I was expecting DMV service, but I totally got the opposite. The people at the windows were very nice and helpful. They told me exactly what I needed. I went back the next day to turn in my application for my parking permit with what they asked for and handed my temporary parking permit. They also made sure to tell me, to NOT wait until the expiration date of the temporary parking ticket, since the application can take weeks to process. They advised me to visit them again a week before it expired just to be safe. Most places wouldn't do this, unless you asked. Thanks for the great service! PS 1) Metered parking. 2) Near the police station. 3) So, be careful how you drive and make sure your meter is fed. Don't let it run out, 'cause you will get a ticket in a second. read more