Photos: See Pasadena’s newest historic landmark homes

Pasadena loves its architectural delights, and the city regularly designates old homes as new historic landmarks, including the latest four additions to the city's collection, all approved during the City Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 9.

All of the homes have to meet specific standards to qualify as a historic landmark. Notably, they need to represent a specific architectural style of some significance and they need to be fairly well preserved. If they're in the same location as they were originally built, that's a big plus, too. But it's not required.

Homeowners do get a tax break from the designation, but they're barred from making any significant changes to the home, save for structural and safety repairs.

989 S. El Molino Ave.

Architectural style: Arts and Crafts
Architect: William F. Thompson
Builder: S.W. Upton
Date of completion: 1908
Property size: 12,569 square-feet
Building size: 3,511 square-feet

This home was originally part of the Rancho San Pasqual, a staff report says. When it was built in 1908, there was still a lot of open land around it, but between 1910 and 1916, the neighborhood became significantly more dense.

"Interestingly, a number of the architects and contractors who worked in this neighborhood also lived here, at least for a period of time," the report says. "The neighborhood is full of wonderful examples of the works of master architects. At one time, all the houses in the neighborhood had stones at the foot of their driveways, inscribed with the house number. The stone for this house survives, but it has been moved up next to the front path."

The architect, William F. Thompson, has a number of notable works in the city and larger region, including four mansions for the Merritt family. Some historians believe he may have moved to the area specifically to be the Merritt family's architect.

He was known for his stylistic flexibility, designing everything "from classic Italian to rustic Craftsman," the report says. "Mr. Thompson's designs actively attempted to integrate the interior of the home with the beauty of the area's natural surroundings."

He often used pergolas, verandas with exterior fireplaces, sleeping porches and roof gardens — "what we would call 'a total design concept' today," it says.

With many of his clients living in colder winter climates, coming to Pasadena to get warm, biographers believe meshing indoor and outdoor spaces likely appealed to his clients.

The photos below are available here.

A home at 989 S. El Molino Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 989 S. El Molino Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 989 S. El Molino Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 989 S. El Molino Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)

1145 Arden Rd.

Architectural style: Italian Renaissance Revival
Architect: Marston & Van Pelt
Builder: Owner-builder
Date of completion: 1916
Property size: 2 acres
Building size: 10,290 square-feet

Architecture firm Marston & Van Pelt — a partnership between Sylvanus Marson and Garrett Van Pelt — was founded in 1914 and designed a significant number of homes in the region, including at least 42 in Pasadena alone. Many have already been designated as landmarks while others are eligible.

"The firm in its various forms produced some of the most significant works of period revival architecture, in many of the significant architectural styles from the period, throughout the region," the staff report says.

The original owners of the house, William Kennon Jewett and Patty Stuart Jewett, lived in Colorado and summered in Pasadena before moving here permanently in 1917. William Jewett was the heir to a railroad fortune and ultimately became a railroad and mining mogul himself in New York, Connecticut and Colorado.

This particular style of home was popular in Pasadena from 1890 to 1930, though historians break that period into two distinct phases. For the first 25 years, the style was applied to large estates with a huge amount of detailing. In later years, the buildings became more restrained and refined in their detailing.

The style is embodied by the home's hipped roof with clay tiles, its prominent entry bay with columns and distinctive classical detailing — harkening back to Roman and Greek designs — and the use of quoins and other classical detailing.

For more pictures, click here.

A home at 1145 Arden Road has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1145 Arden Road has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1145 Arden Road has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1145 Arden Road has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1145 Arden Road has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1145 Arden Road has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)

1031 San Pasqual St.

Architectural style: Spanish Colonial Revival
Architect: None
Builder: Whitescarver and Picton built five of the structures while S. Russell Johnson built two
Date of completion: 1923
Property size: 24,113 square-feet
Building size: 6,316 square-feet total across seven buildings

These seven buildings, all owned by Caltech, are part of a bungalow court — a specific arrangement of buildings with a common area in the middle — all in the Spanish Colonial Revival style with flat roofs, arched openings, wooden double-hung sash windows, and other notable features, the staff report says.

These buildings used to be located on the southeast corner of East Del Mar Boulevard and South Wilson Avenue, before Caltech picked them up, moved them over, and renovated them. As part of the move, Caltech demolished a carport that was added to one of the buildings years earlier.

City officials approved this plan and agreed to turn the site into a historical landmark, despite the buildings getting moved from their historic location. Meanwhile, a monument was installed on the original site to document its historical significance and original location.

The relocation and renovation won a significant amount of praise from the City Council, who celebrated Caltech's decision to preserve the buildings instead of demolishing them.

"They have an essence of what Pasadena and its diversity of architectural styles represents," Councilman John Kennedy said during Monday's meeting.

There's six pages of (relatively small) photos for this site.

Seven properties at 1031 San Pasqual St. have been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. They represent an example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
Seven properties at 1031 San Pasqual St. have been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. They represent an example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
Seven properties at 1031 San Pasqual St. have been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. They represent an example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
Seven properties at 1031 San Pasqual St. have been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. They represent an example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)

1500 N. Los Robles Ave.

Architectural style: Arts and Crafts
Architect: Edward William Woodruff
Builder: Edward William Woodruff
Date of completion: 1913
Property size: 10,940 square-feet
Building size: 2,702 square-feet

The E.W. Woodruff house — owned, designed and built by the man himself — is a "prime example of the two-story Arts and Crafts period house," a city staff report says.

Woodruff reportedly built the house in 1913, shortly after moving to Pasadena with his wife and daughter, following his retirement as a clerk in the federal government's Treasury Department. He lived in town until 1919, when they sold it to Joseph and Florence Taggart.

Woodruff died in 1937, just a few years after his wife passed. Their daughter, Lena, was never married and worked as a stenographer at Pasadena City Hall before her death in 1957.

The house is notable for its fully integrated indoor and outdoor transitional spaces with prominent porches around the house. Many of the materials were locally sourced, including the wood siding and Arroyo stone.

More photos of this home, and larger versions of the photos seen below, can be found on the city's website.

A home at 1500 N. Los Robles Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts architectural style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1500 N. Los Robles Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts architectural style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1500 N. Los Robles Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts architectural style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1500 N. Los Robles Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts architectural style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)
A home at 1500 N. Los Robles Ave. has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Pasadena. It represents an example of the Arts and Crafts architectural style. (Photo courtesy city of Pasadena.)