§ 16.52.470. The Security Pacific National Bank Building.

Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2.63 and with the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the City Council designates the following building as an historical landmark in the City: The Security Pacific National Bank Building.

A.

Location, description and reasons for designation. Located at 102-110 Pine Avenue in the City of Long Beach, the Security Pacific National Bank Building represents the financial and commercial growth of the City of Long Beach during the boom of the twenties. Originally called Security Trust and Savings Bank, it sprang from the 1921 merger of that institution with the earlier consolidation of National Bank of Long Beach and the Long Beach Trust and Savings Bank. P.E. Hatch, former cashier of the Bank of Long Beach and President of the National Bank of Long Beach, became vice-president and general manager of Security Bank's local activities. Offices above the bank housed prominent local law firms Clock McWhinney and Clock and Denio, Hart, Taubman and Simpson, and other important businesses.

Constructed in 1924, this is a classic Beaux Arts building of the twenties. Divided into three (3) parts of base, midsection, and attic, it is clad in contrasting light marble and dark red brick and crowned with a classical cornice. The three-story base has a recessed entryway behind giant Corinthian columns. The ornament is classically derived.

The Security Pacific National Bank Building was designed by prominent Los Angeles architects Curlett and Beelman, who had earlier designed the Farmers and Merchants Bank a few blocks away. Curlett and Beelman's distinguished career included the Pacific Coast Club, and notable buildings in Los Angeles, among them the Elks Building. It is a prominent visual feature of the downtown streetscape, due to its location on a prime corner, and to its striking and elegant architectural design.

B.

General guidelines and standards for any changes. The "Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings" prepared by the Secretary of the Interior (Revised, 1983), as amended, are incorporated by reference, and the following additional guidelines and standards as recommended by the Cultural Heritage Commission are adopted:

Any alterations, modifications or repair of the above structure shall be done so in keeping with its historic character, and any alteration, modifications or changes shall follow the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.

No environmental changes shall be permitted to the exterior of the building unless a Certificate of Appropriateness has been applied for and approved by the Cultural Heritage commission or by the City Planning Commission, upon appeal, authorizing such environmental changes. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to restrict internal modifications to the building not visible externally, except that the interior public space known as the lobby contains valuable historic design features and materials, and should be preserved, and any alterations, additions, or changes affecting the lobby shall require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Cultural Heritage Commission.

(Ord. C-6665 § 3, 1989)