FHR-S-300 United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries—complete applicable sections_____________, 1. Name historic iVo*qrmrfa--P*rr*--^'MM.I. Mr i (T-Ar-r-nyn and/or common Prospect Historic District 2, Location ^yj,^ street & number Various (List attached) N/A not for publication city, town Pasadena vicinity of congressional district 22 state California code 06 county Los Angeles code 03? 3. Classification Category Ownership Status Present Use * district public X occupied agriculture museum building(s) private unoccupied commercial _J£_park structure ^X_both work in progress X educational X private residence site Public Acquisition Accessible entertainment religious object in process .__ yes: restricted government scientific being considered X yes: unrestricted industrial transportation xN/A no military Other; 4. Owner off Property name Multiple ownership (List attached) street & number city, town vicinity of state 5. Location off Legal Description courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Los Angeles County Recorder street & number 22? North Broadway city, town Los Angeles state California 90012 B. Representation in Existing Surveys National Register of title Historic Places_____________has this property been determined elegible? X yes no and Historic Property Survey/ Prospect Boulevard Bridge date June 1979 (2nd survey)_______________JC-federal ——state —— county local depository for survey records Urban Conservation Department, City Hall city, town Pasadena, state California 91101 7. Description Condition Chook ono Chook ono X txeolltnt —— dtttrloritod X unilttrtd JL_ original iltt good .j rulnt •Itartd movod data - N/A __ fair __ unaxpOMd Doaorlbo tho proaont and original (If known) physical appoaraneo The Prospect Historic District contains 108 single family residences constructed between 1906 and 1930. Seventeen additional houses and a private day school have been built since 1930. The homes are of a variety of styles including the Revival styles (Colonial, Spanish, French and English Medieval, Mission, Mediterranean, Spanish Colonial, and Classic), Craftsman bungalows (California Stick, English Arts & Crafts, Chalet), and California Ranch Style. The newer structures are of either Contemporary or Revival Styles. The District encompasses all of the Prospect Park and Arroyo Park (#1032) tracts, except for those lots facing Forest and Seco Streets. (These lots were omitted because of either their smaller size or more recent vintage, as well as their visual separation from the other homes.) Also included are five lots adjoining the Prospect Park Tract. The houses in the Prospect Park Tract are generally older, as reflected in the mixture of Craftsman and Revival styles. The newer Arroyo Park Track is almost entirely built with Revival Style homes. The streets in both tracts are lined with mature trees, with the exception of Prospect Crescent. Only two vacant lots remain in the District, lots 5 and 6 of the Arroyo Park Tract (next to each other on Prospect Boulevard.) The streets in the District are 60 feet wide, with the exception of Prospect Crescent (30 feet), Rosemont Avenue (50 feet) and Fremont Drive (40 feet). The houses are built on larger than average lots which rise above, fall below, or are even with the curb depending on their location, because of the sloping topography of the area. With the exception of 780 Prospect Boulevard, none of the structures have been significantly altered. Alterations, in general, have been limited to the back sides of the structures. Without exception, the newer buildings are compatible in scale and setback, if not styling. Except where noted, the information given for the following structures as to their date of construction, original owner, architect, contractor, and cost came directly from the original permits on file in the Urban Conservation and Zoning departments of the City of Pasadena, City Hall, 100 North Garfield. 1. 535 Fremont Drive (formerly 575 Rosemont) Date: 1919 Original owner: A.G. Reynolds Architect: Louis Dup. Mi liar Contractor: Austin-Murphy Co. Cost: $10,000 Two-story Cottswold Cottage with shingled roof and half-timber, built over Victorian farmhouse (circa 1889 by Alfred Hutchins, information from assessor's field books for 1888-1895), "thatched" style roof. (NC=Non-contributing property) 8. Significance Ported Areas of Significance—Cheek and Justify below __ prehistoric __ archeology-prehistoric —— community planning _2L landscsps srchltscturs__ religion __1400-1409 __archeology-historic ——conservation __law __sclsncs ——1600-1500 ——agriculture ——economics ——lltsrsture __sculpture __1600-1000 _X-architecture ——sducstlon ——military __soclsl/ ——1700-1700 ——art ——engineering ——music humanitarian __1800-1800 __commerce ——exploratlon/eettlement__phlloaophy __theater -JL.1000- ——communlcatlona ——Induatry ——polltlca/government __treneportstlon —— Invention __ other (specify) •peclflo datee 1906-1930_______Builder/Architect Various (See Descriptions)________ Statement of Significance (In one paragraph) The proposed Prospect Historic District encompasses two of Pasadena's earliest exclusive subdivisions, the Prospect Park and Arroyo Park Tracts, both improved during the first decade and a half of the twentieth century. This period, also known as the Craftsman Era, saw the development of the California Craftsman Bungalow, a style represented in almost every Pasadena neighborhood as well as throughout the West Coast. The innovative and carefully Grafted work of several Pasadenans, including architects Charles and Henry Greene and tilemaker Ernest Batchelder, elevated the bungalow to a high art form. The gently curving streets, attractive landscaping, and generously apportioned parcels reflect both the Craftsman emphasis on nature and the gracious lifestyle of early Pasadena upper class. The landscaping, especially the camphor street trees, represents the single most important unifying element in the District. The vegetation, now mature, ties together a wide variety of residential styles ranging from Craftsman to Modern. These homes represent the work of a number of the region's finest architects and master builders, many important in the development of the city during the first quarter of the twentieth century. Works by certain nationally famous architects are also located in the District. The houses they designed have been well-maintained with original character preserved, although rear rooms and swimming pools have been added. The unique of the District and its structures have helped the area survive both real and artificial crises,such as red-lining and real estate speculation, and flourish, continuing to be one of the city's most handsome and desirable neighborhoods. Development of Prospect Park, the older southern tract, began in 1904 with the purchase of the 32-acre old Cooly Tract by three prominent Pasadena businessmen, J. C. Brainerd, Nyles Eaton, and John C. Bentz. Surveyed in February 1906, by the Alien Brothers, and officially recorded on May 4, 1906, the subdivision included 64 spacious lots, averaging 80 feet by 150 feet, laid out along wide (60-foot) curved streets. Although the gentle curve of Prospect Boulevard reflected the curve of the adjacent Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad spur, the placement of the streets and individuals parcels convey the general feeling that they were designed to respond the natural irregularity of the site. The developers further enhanced the vast arid site along the Arroyo Seco by plant­ ing camphor and palm street trees. Now mature, the trees provide a continuous arbor (see photo 1) which both cools the local microclimate and helps tie the area's diverse mixture of residential styles together. As was the practice for exclusive subdivisions, all streets, except for the easement granted for the north side of Pxosemont Avenue, were originally private, all referred to as "Prospect Square". The developers further distinguished the tract by the 9. Major Bibliographical References_________ 1) City of Pasadena, Urban Conservation Department, Building permits, Assessors' "books, Architect and building files. 2) Historic Property Survey, Prospect Boulevard Bridge, June 1979, Ultrasysterns, Inc. for City of Pasadena Public Works Department. Qthoro (Liot attached)—————————————————————————————————————— 10. Geographical Data___________________ Acreage of nominated property 68.9^ acres Quadrangle name Pasadena___ Quadrangle scale 1; 2^000 UMT References 1319,311,0,01 13,718,019,3,01 B | 11N3|9,3|3,4,0| 13,717,914,6,01 Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing Cll.ll 1319,219,0,01 13,717,913,9,01 pl 1 . 1 ! I 3 l 9 . 2 l 7 i 3 .°l IVI 8 . 0 ! 8 . 6 . 0 ! El . I I I . I . I I i I . I I . I F| . I Mil,,! I . I . I . I Gl . I 1 I . I . I I i I i I I I I . !,! ,, Verbal boundary description and justification This area is located in the City of Pasadena along Prospect Boulevard, Prospect Square, Rosemont Avenue, Fremont Drive, Prospect Crescent, Prospect Terrace, Armada Drive, and La Mesa Place between Orange Grove Boulevard and Westgate Street approximately 1 mile northwest Lfef; state N/A code county N/A code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By With the assistance of the residents of the area by: name/title j o>in HhHfit.nphpr East Arroyo Residents Association organization Pasadena Heritage______________ june 15. 1981 street & number 2695 North Marengo