Architecture Field Trip - 3 City Halls in the San Gabriel Valley

If you’re a fan of civic architecture, here are 3 city halls to visit in the San Gabriel Valley, each expressed in a different architecture style!

West Covina City Hall Architect: Neptune and Thomas, 1969

The West Covina City Hall is a marvel of brutalist design!

From the Los Angeles Conservancy website:

It is lightened by its shape, which is narrower at the base and wider at the top to decrease the structure's ground mass and open the first floor up to the public plaza outside. Horizontal bands of windows serve to further lighten the large building, and a series of open balconies and decks around the perimeter make the effect much more open and welcoming than that of most Brutalist designs. Whimsical globe light fixtures hang from freestanding poles around the courtyard and building entries. West Covina's City Hall is a success by both public service and architectural standards.

Alhambra City Hall Architect: William Allen, 1960

The Alhambra City Hall is in the architecture style of New Formalism. You can’t go wrong with viewing from 1st or 2nd St. - the building presents well from both elevations, breezeblock interest on all sides.

Temple City, City Hall

I had an appointment in Arcadia and decided to stop by the city hall in nearby Temple City. A couple years back, I had caught a glimpse of this mid-century civic building.

What used to be an Los Angeles County engineering building became the current city hall in 1985.

City hall used to be next door at 5938 Kauffman Avenue (see below). That building, built in 1957 and designed by Fickes and Fickes) is now the Civic Center. Previously, it was the public library.