Old City Hall on Citrus

Another rare view of downtown Covina, this one from December, 1924-January, 1925. The vantage point is the roof of the Finch Building at 113 N. Citrus, looking northeast. Easy to tell it's wintertime, with new snow in the mountains. The date range can be deduced by the car license plates: about half of which are in the style of 1925 and the other half appear to be 1924, so it's probably close to the end of the year when plates would be in transition. It's also likely a weekday, as a customer can be seen exiting the First National Bank building on the northeast corner of Citrus and College, which opened in 1924.

North Citrus Avenue in Winter, 1925. Photographer unknown, but likely C. W. Tucker. Click image to enlarge.

Probably the most interesting detail in this photo is the lettering in the window of the storefront two doors up from the furniture store. It reads "COVINA CITY HALL." Check out the closeup below.

The pre-1930 Covina City Hall at 132 N. Citrus.

I'd always wondered where city hall was located before the "new" one opened in January, 1930,¹ and now I know!

Another noteworthy detail in this photo is the closeup of the Finch Brothers street clock. Apparently its original face used IIII for the 4, while the one now has IV. The rest of the old downtown landmark has remained unchanged since it was erected in 1916.¹

¹ Pflueger, D. H. 1964. Covina: Sunflowers, Citrus, Subdivisions. Castle Press, Pasadena, California, 372pp.