Pasadena skyscraper headed for demolition

The First Pasadena State Bank Buildingon Southmore Avenue in Pasadena is slated for demolition.

For decades, the north side of Pasadena served as the city’s heart — with convenient access to places like City Hall and the library and attractions like the Capitan theater and Pasadena Town Square Mall — and looming above them, since 1963 at least, was the Pasadena First State Bank building.

At the time of its construction the skyscraper was a symbol of growth, development and achievement — a metaphor for how far Pasadena had come since Texas 225 was a two-lane dirt road and there were strawberry fields as far as the eye could see — but that symbol slowly took on new meaning as the original owners shuttered its doors and residents watched its decline over the past 20 years. That decline is largely the reason the building’s life will soon come to its inevitable end, as it is slated for demolition, likely within 60 days.

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