Emergency hospital facilities, part of the city’s civilian defense control center located in City Hall in 1943. According to an August 8, 1942, story in the Los Angeles Times, staff had moved into the still-under-construction building as a precaution “because of the possibility of [air] raid casualties.” Burbank’s City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi in the Streamline Moderne style, a type of Art Deco architecture (also sometimes described as “WPA Moderne”) that became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Ground was broken across the street from the old city hall in 1941 and construction was completed in 1943. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Note on rear of photo: “City Hall - basement. Emergency Hospital 1943.”
Interior view of the Engineering Department at City Hall in 1943. Burbank’s City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi in the Streamline Moderne style, a type of Art Deco architecture (also sometimes described as “WPA Moderne”) that became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Ground was broken across the street from the old city hall in 1941 and construction was completed in 1943. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Notes on rear of photo: “4534-2. 0353. Engineering City of Burbank 1943."
Burbank’s City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi in the Streamline Moderne style, a type of Art Deco architecture (also sometimes described as “WPA Moderne”) that became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Ground was broken across the street from the old city hall in 1941 and construction was completed in 1943. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
View of City Hall from the corner of Olive Ave. and Thrid St. in the 1950s. Burbank’s City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi in a Streamline Moderne style, a type of Art Deco architecture (also sometimes described as “WPA Moderne”) that became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Ground was broken on Olive Avenue, across the street from the old city hall, in 1941 and construction was completed in 1943. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
View of City Hall from the corner of Olive Ave. and Thrid St. in the 1950s. Burbank’s City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi in a Streamline Moderne style, a type of Art Deco architecture (also sometimes described as “WPA Moderne”) that became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Ground was broken on Olive Avenue, across the street from the old city hall, in 1941 and construction was completed in 1943. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
Interior of the Burbank City Council Chamber featuring the “Four Freedoms” mural by artist Hugo Ballin on the wall behind the council seats. Measuring 11 by 12 feet, the mural was inspired by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union Speech, in which he proposed four freedoms that everyone should enjoy: Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. A 1978 renovation of the chambers removed the wooden pew seating, replacing it with padded theater-style seats, and removal of the tile floor and the laying down of carpet.
Interior view of the first second floor landing and light fixture at City Hall. Burbank’s City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi in the Streamline Moderne style, a type of Art Deco architecture (also sometimes described as “WPA Moderne”) that became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Ground was broken across the street from the old city hall in 1941 and construction was completed in 1943. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
A view of two jail cells in the basement of City Hall in the 1950s. When the building opened in 1943, it increased the number of cells from one in the old city hall to nine in the new, along with two “tanks,” allowing for the separation of “youths, felony cases, and inebriates,” according to a September 12, 1942, story in the Los Angeles Times.
View inside the Mayor’s office at City Hall in March 1953. The nameplate on the desk reads “W.W. Mansfield, Mayor.” Burbank’s City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi in the Streamline Moderne style, a type of Art Deco architecture (also sometimes described as “WPA Moderne”) that became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Ground was broken across the street from the old city hall in 1941 and construction was completed in 1943. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. “City of Burbank, California. Official Photograph No. 170. Title: Open House – City Hall. Place: Mayor’s Office. Date: March 1953. Photo taken by: Paul E. Wolfe.”--back of photo.
Burbank's original city hall, built in 1916 on the southwest corner of Olive and 3rd St., once housed the Burbank Fire Department and was later home to a number of police department offices after the newer city hall opened across Olive in 1943. The old building was razed in late 1959 to make way for a new City Hall Annex, part of the city's 10 Year Capital Improvement Program, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Construction for the new Annex began on January 11, 1960. The new Annex opened February 24, 1961 and housed the Burbank Police Department, the city jail, and the city's civil defense headquarters. A tunnel was dug below 3rd St., linking the Annex with the County Courts building and was used to transport prisoners for court appearances. A fortified basement was built to withstand a "zero-zone bomb blast" and a deep well was dug beneath the building to provide independent water "in case of attack."
This photo was taken from the steps of the new city hall, looking across Olive Ave.
