Pasadena

#278: Friend Lacey House (Pasadena)

#278: Friend Lacey House (Pasadena)

February 28, 2026

The modest Friend Lacey House is representative of the middle-class housing that sprouted up in Pasadena in the 1890s, a period of huge growth for the newly-incorporated city. It was built in 1893 by Robert Lacey (the namesake of De Lacey Avenue) for his son Friend, and occupied by various factions of this pioneering family for decades.

#274: House at 1487 Loma Vista Street (Pasadena)

#274: House at 1487 Loma Vista Street (Pasadena)

December 9, 2025

This house is a great example of how Asian design influenced the craftsman architecture of the early 1900s. You'd think that something this distinctive would be the work of a well-known architect. As it turns out, it was probably ordered from a catalog.

#271: John L. Hartwell House (Pasadena)

#271: John L. Hartwell House (Pasadena)

November 6, 2025

The John L. Hartwell House is a fine example of a modest Victorian home in Pasadena, representative of the growth of the city's northwest neighborhoods in the 1880s. But way more interesting than the architecture is the colorful cast of characters who've called this place home.

#269: House at 1141 North Chester Avenue (Pasadena)

#269: House at 1141 North Chester Avenue (Pasadena)

October 18, 2025

Built in 1914, the modest house at 1141 North Chester Avenue has all the wood, rock and wraparound porches you'd expect from a classic Pasadena craftsman. It's a great example of an "airplane bungalow" – a craftsman with a smaller second story.

#263: Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden (Pasadena)

#263: Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden (Pasadena)

August 6, 2025

Pasadena's Storrier Stearns is a masterwork of Japanese garden design. While it'd be easy to get swept away by the tranquility here, if you’re inclined to seek it out, you can also find a complex narrative embedded in the landscape at Storrier Stearns: the stories of its maker, its benefactors and stewards, and the confluence of forces that brought a 1500-year-old tradition to a private estate in Pasadena in the late 1930s.

#255: Pegfair Estates Historic District (Pasadena)

#255: Pegfair Estates Historic District (Pasadena)

April 21, 2025

The Pegfair Estates Historic District is a collection of 22 single-family homes in Pasadena's high-end Linda Vista neighborhood, all built in the contemporary ranch style from 1961-1967.

#253: Edmund Blinn House (Pasadena)

#253: Edmund Blinn House (Pasadena)

April 2, 2025

The Blinn House has had a hell of a life: once the mansion of lumber magnate Edmund Blinn, it was the clubhouse for the Women's City Club of Pasadena for 75 years, and is now a beacon of preservation as the headquarters of Pasadena Heritage. It's also the only residence west of the Mississippi River designed by Prairie School architect George W. Maher.

#234-237: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 5 (Pasadena)

#234-237: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 5 (Pasadena)

October 7, 2024

These four bungalow courts officially complete my survey of the 30 Pasadena bungalow courts on the National Register of Historic Places. They’re great examples of how architects and developers played around with the bungalow court form, given the constraints of the lots that they were working with.

#224-229: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 4 (Pasadena)

#224-229: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 4 (Pasadena)

August 11, 2024

The bungalow court blossomed in Pasadena between 1910 & 1930. For part four of my tour of all 30 Pasadena courts on the National Register of Historic Places, we're focusing on six that are known only by their addresses. I call them: THE NAMELESS.

#214-219: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 3 (Pasadena)

#214-219: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 3 (Pasadena)

June 22, 2024

The bungalow court flourished between 1910-1930, especially in Pasadena. For this third batch in our exploration of all 30 Pasadena courts on the National Register, we’re looking at six courts clustered around the historic section of South Marengo Avenue.

#202-206: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 2 (Pasadena)

#202-206: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 2 (Pasadena)

April 24, 2024

Pasadena was the birthplace of the bungalow court, a unique form of multi-family housing that flourished between 1910-1930. I visited all 30 Pasadena courts on the National Register – batch #2 includes craftsman, colonial revival, English cottage-style and a truly transportive example of a Tudor revival bungalow court.

#194-199: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 1 (Pasadena)

#194-199: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 1 (Pasadena)

March 24, 2024

The bungalow court is a style of multi-family housing that places multiple small dwellings around a central courtyard or walkway. This style of housing flourished in LA between 1910 & 1930, especially in Pasadena, but many of them have been demolished. Here are six of the 30 remaining Pasadena courts on the National Register.

#191: Gartz Court (Pasadena)

#191: Gartz Court (Pasadena)

March 1, 2024

Built in 1911, Gartz Court is the second oldest bungalow court in Pasadena, and the oldest one still in its original configuration. Gartz stands apart from Pasadena's many surviving courts for its architectural pedigree, its 1/2 craftsman 1/2 Tudor style and its surprising preservation history.

#186: Rose Bowl (Pasadena)

#186: Rose Bowl (Pasadena)

December 31, 2023

For over a century, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena has played host to some of college football's most-watched games (plus: the world's biggest flea market!). And while it's earned its place in sports lore many times over, the Rose Bowl also has a fascinating, evolving history as a work of architecture.

#183: House at 1360 Lida Street (Pasadena)

#183: House at 1360 Lida Street (Pasadena)

December 6, 2023

The well-preserved Victorian house at 1360 Lida Street is one of the few 19th century remnants in Linda Vista, Pasadena's wealthiest neighborhood. It was built in 1888 at a critical juncture for the neighborhood, as it was transforming from sleepy rural farmland to an exclusive bedroom community of entrepreneurs and working professionals.