A historic home in the posh Oak Knoll neighborhood, designed by the untrained Heineman brothers. PLUS: a visit to Arthur Heineman’s Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo, the world’s first motel

Added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 15, 2011

Were it not just around the corner from Greene & Greene’s masterful Blacker House (see post #44), and literally next door to Greene & Greene’s Spinks House, the James Allen Freeman House might be the most famous home in Pasadena’s Oak Knoll district designed by a pair of architect brothers. This one was conceived by Arthur & Alfred Heineman, a colorful, untrained duo who arrived in California by way of Chicago in 1894 (just a year after the Greenes) and ended up building over 20 houses in Pasadena, plus many in Westlake and Silver Lake. Their Bowen Court at 539 E Villa Street is the earliest surviving bungalow court in Pasadena, and given the countless examples in the Bungalow Heaven ‘hood, that is saying a whole lot! 

The James Allen Freeman House (not be confused with Frank Lloyd Wright’s house for Samuel Freeman) was built in 1913 for retired lumberman and philanthropist James Allen Freeman and his wife Rose. The Freemans commissioned an English-style Craftsman home, and the Heinemans obliged – check the gently arcing gables and half-timber walls, almost Tudor-looking on the outside; the way the shingles wrap around to give the impression of a thatched Cotswold roof; the banks of windows, filled with gorgeous art glass by Judson Studios (still operating in LA today!); the Ernest Batchelder tiling, on both the outside and the fireplaces. I’ve read that the one bit of formal training that Alfred Heineman received was a course at Throop Polytechnic (now Caltech) from Batchelder himself, and they used his tiles for many of their commissions to pay back his impact on them. 

If you’re ever lucky enough to visit the house, you’ll encounter some exquisite interior woodwork, a wine cellar bigger than many one-bedroom apartments, a killer detached guesthouse, a micro Japanese garden and a pool added in the ‘70s.

Recommended Reading

+See eye-popping photos or watch an über-dramatic video of the Freeman House’s interior and backyard (Compass)

+The James Allen Freeman house at @ NRHP website

+Download an extensive PDF report on the house, the Heinemans and the owners (Tim Gregory, the “Building Biographer”)

+Overview of the Heinemans’ architectural career (Pasadena Weekly)

PS: In addition to heading up a successful architecture firm, Arthur Heineman created the world’s first motel, the “Milestone Mo-Tel Inn” in San Luis Obispo, designed as a luxe stopping place for motorists on their way from LA to San Francisco (or back). His franchise plan was cut short by the Great Depression, but the original office building and a wall + bell tower are still standing. I recently visited SLO and stopped by to take some pictures and video.