Vista del Arroyo Hotel by Marion Eisenmann, July 31, 2009

Marion drew this sketch from a small bridge over the concrete river
channel just south of the Rose Bowl, where joggers, bicyclists and
people walking their dogs circle the stadium.

She says: "I liked the contrast of that fallow
concrete river overgrown by a variety of plants framing the building,
which is always higher up than its viewer no matter from which
direction you look at it. That spot is one of my favorites to look at
it, but there are a few others, more hidden."

Begun by Emma C. Bangs in the 1880s as a wood-frame building, the hotel was repeatedly expanded, renovated and transformed,
most notably in the 1920s and '30s. In 1943, armed with a court order,
the Army took over the hotel and evicted the guests, quickly converting
the building to McCornack General Hospital. 

Defense Secretary
James Forrestal closed the hospital in 1949, but the U.S. refused to
release the property to private hands, using it for a variety of
purposes while allowing it to decay despite the city of Pasadena's
continuing attempts to wrest it from government control. For a brief
time, it looked like the hotel would be sold to nearby Ambassador
College, which has since closed, but it in 1979, the government decided
to renovate the building for the 9th Circuit. The building has been
named the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals in honor of the
judge who helped lead the campaign for preservation.

Note: In
case you just tuned in, Marion and I are visiting local landmarks in a
project inspired by what Charles Owens and Joe Seewerker did in Nuestro Pueblo. Check back next week for another page from Marion's notebook. In the meantime, you can contact Marion here.