Monday, May 11, 2026

School Board Member Says Community Engagement Will Take Place on Eliot Tower

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Iconic tower at Elliot Arts Magnet Academy could face demolition. [Eddie Rivera/Pasadena Now]

“The evaluations so far by DSA (Division of the State Architect) and structural engineers have determined that the tower is not stable or safe,” said Board Member Jennifer Hall Lee. “Additional assessments of the tower will be conducted. There will be full engagement of the community before any actions are taken. As an Altadenan I understand the devastation of our community and that Eliot is Altadena’s iconic building.”

According to media reports, Altadena Town Council Vice Chair Milissa Marona said Blanco told a land use committee the school district had consulted insurance and engineering firms and believed the tower could not safely remain.

According to those reports, Marona said future plans did not include Building A or the tower, and that no timeline or promise of a future replacement tower had been given.

The announcement touched off an immediate backlash in a community still rebuilding after the Eaton Fire, with residents saying the tower has become both a landmark and a symbol of continuity after widespread loss.

The campus, heavily damaged in the Eaton Fire, has remained closed for months while district officials evaluate the future of the historic property.

The Eaton Fire devastated Altadena, killing 19 people and destroying nearly 10,000 structures. More than 14,000 acres were scorched by the fire.

The fire destroyed the school’s auditorium, which was renovated in 2013.

Last week local residents described the tower as iconic and the heart of Altadena.

The Eliot tower has long served as one of Altadena’s most recognizable landmarks. According to oral history preserved by the Altadena Historical Society, students in 1930 were given a choice between building a swimming pool or a tower at the new junior high school campus along North Lake Avenue. They chose the tower, a decision that would shape the community skyline for generations.

Originally named Charles W. Eliot Junior High School, the campus opened in 1931 and was designed by noted Pasadena architects Marston and Maybury, whose work also included other prominent schools and civic buildings across the region. The school was constructed during the Great Depression and was intended to serve not only as an educational facility but also as a civic centerpiece for Altadena.

Historians say the tower was deliberately designed as a visual marker for the community. Its vertical design and prominent placement along Lake Avenue made it an identifying symbol for residents and visitors entering Altadena. National architectural publications later featured the campus, and the American Institute of Architects awarded the school an Honor Award in 1933.

The campus blended Spanish-style architecture with emerging streamline moderne influences, a combination preservation advocates say made the school architecturally unique. Over the decades, the school also appeared in films and television productions, including “Halloween,” “Apt Pupil” and “The Mentalist.”