Pasadena : La Casita Restoration Plans

Plans to restore La Casita del Arroyo, a popular meeting hall that was severely damaged by arson a year ago, have been completed by a citizens’ task force and will be presented to the Pasadena Board of City Directors in two weeks. If approved, the restoration plan will implement a number of fireproofing measures on the 53-year-old shell of a building that stands on the western edge of the Arroyo Seco. Among the measures recommended are fireproof shingles and an interior sprinkler system. Fire insurance will pay for most of the restoration work, city officials said.

La Casita del Arroyo has long been a favorite spot for weddings and meetings of community organizations. Designed in 1932 by Pasadena architect Myron Hunt, the meeting hall is owned by the city, which earned up to $150,000 a year in rental fees before last year’s fire gutted the structure. Under the proposed restoration plan, the building would reopen in the fall.