January 9, 2019 - Today we were in Pasadena to see the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals. Apparently federal courts are still open during the current "shutdown," but they may close as of January 11, 2019, when their reserve funds run out. The Chambers Courthouse is an historic building originally constructed as a Spanish Colonial Revival style resort known as the Vista del Arroyo Hotel and Bungalows. The main building was constructed in two sections; the two-story north wing in 1920 and the six-story bell tower with flanking wings in 1930. The building now serves as the southern seat of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Entering the building has the same level of security as boarding a commercial airline flight. In addition, no photography is allowed in the building interior and no cameras are even allowed in the building.
We were only allowed access to the rooms on the first floor, and they all are beautiful. It certainly looks more like a hotel than a courthouse, with marble floors, sculpted ceilings, and elaborate woodwork. These two pictures are from the Yelp website showing the law library.
This picture of the central hallway off the main lobby is from U.S. GSA website.
After we left the building we drove down underneath the iconic Colorado Street Bridge to see the back of the building.
After touring the courthouse it was time for lunch, so we went back to one of our favorite spots in Pasadena, Lucky Baldwin's Pub.
We both had their delicious fish and chips.
For dessert we split their treacle pudding. A treacle sponge pudding is a traditional British dessert dish consisting of a steamed sponge cake with treacle (uncrystalized syrup) cooked on top of it and served with hot custard. We had a choice of two sponge cakes today; spotted dick or sticky toffee. We went with the sticky toffee. You have to love the silly names of the British, they have a million of them.
