Cultural Resources of the Recent Past Historic Context Report City of Pasadena Prepared by Historic Resources Group & Pasadena Heritage October 2007 Cultural Resources of the Recent Past Historic Context Report City of Pasadena Prepared for City of Pasadena 117 East Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, California 91105 Prepared by Historic Resources Group 1728 Whitley Avenue Hollywood, California 90028 & Pasadena Heritage 651 South Saint John Avenue Pasadena, California 91105 October 2007 Table of Contents I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION ......................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 OBJECTIVES & SCOPE................................................................................ 2 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 3 II. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION................................................................... 6 NATIONAL REGISTER................................................................................. 6 CALIFORNIA REGISTER ............................................................................... 6 CITY OF PASADENA .................................................................................. 7 ASPECTS OF INTEGRITY .............................................................................. 8 III. HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT ...........................................................10 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................10 SELECTED CHRONOLOGY............................................................................13 DEVELOPMENT OF PASADENA & KEY INFLUENCES ...................................................16 THEMES, ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES & REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS ..........................39 IV. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER ..............................................................60 ARCHITECTURAL STYLES ............................................................................60 LOCAL PRACTITIONERS 1935-1965 ................................................................72 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................... 103 APPENDICES Appendix A: Locally Designated Historic Resources 1935 to 1965 Appendix B: Known Practitioners in Pasadena 1935 to 1965 I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION INTRODUCTION In June 2006, the City of Pasadena received a grant through the Certified Local Government (CLG) program to prepare a historic context report for cultural resources of the recent past, as well as an accompanying reconnaissance survey of properties under this context. For the purposes of this project, the recent past has been defined by the City as the period 1935 to 1965. In December 2006, the City contracted with Historic Resources Group and Pasadena Heritage for the preparation of the historic context report to be created concurrently with a reconnaissance survey conducted by City staff. This historic context report was developed by Historic Resources Group of Hollywood, California, including Managing Principal Christy McAvoy, Senior Preservation Planner Kari Fowler and Preservation Planner Paul Travis, and Pasadena Heritage of Pasadena, California, including Executive Director Sue Mossman and Preservation Director Christine Lazzaretto, all of whom meet the Secretary of the Interior's qualifications in historic preservation.1 Coordination of the project was administered by Kevin Johnson, Planner for the City of Pasadena. The activity which is the subject of this historic context report has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, through the California Office of Historic Preservation. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior or the California Office of Historic Preservation, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior or the California Office of Historic Preservation. Regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination in departmental Federally assisted programs on the basis of race, color, sex, age, disability, or national origin. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by a recipient of Federal assistance should write to: Director, Equal Opportunity Program U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, D.C. 20013-7127 1 Federal Register, Vol. 48, No. 190, p. 44738-44739, September 29, 1983. Cultural Resources of the Recent Past 1 City of Pasadena OBJECTIVES & SCOPE The City’s stated goal for this project is “to establish a context to evaluate the significance of a type of historic resource in Pasadena about which no comprehensive body of research has previously been completed: buildings constructed between 1935 and 1965, with a focus on post-WWII single-family residential development. Documentation of these historic resources will provide valuable information that will be used in the City’s development, permitting and environmental review processes as well as for future intensive-level surveys and National Register nominations.”2 This survey project is a first look at properties in Pasadena from 1935 to 1965 in an effort to assess their potential for registration as historic resources at the local, state, or national levels. The reconnaissance survey is a broad but selective examination of extant properties, while the context identifies key historical themes within which these properties may be understood. The historic context is not a comprehensive history of Pasadena from the period, nor is the reconnaissance survey intended to generate a definitive listing of significant properties from the period. This survey project is not an end in itself, but rather a first step in determining how to look at the city’s resources from this period. Taken together, the reconnaissance survey and historic context are intended to provide guidance for planners and the general public in assessing the historic integrity and significance of Pasadena’s built environment from the period of consideration. As future survey work is conducted, and information about this period of Pasadena’s history continues to emerge, the historic contexts and themes presented here can be further refined and expanded. Specific objectives of this historic context report include: o Establishment of significant themes and events in the development of Pasadena during the period of consideration. o Identification of property types associated with the Pasadena’s development during the period of consideration. o Description of architectural styles and character-defining features representative of development in Pasadena during the period of consideration. o Listing of architects, builders, developers and landscape architects known to have influenced the physical character of Pasadena during the period of consideration. o Listing of known important buildings constructed in Pasadena during the period of consideration. o Establishment of registration requirements for Pasadena’s historic resources from the period of consideration. 2 Request for Bids: Historic Context Report, Cultural Resources of the Recent Past. City of Pasadena, September 18, 2006. (2) Cultural Resources of the Recent Past 2 City of Pasadena METHODOLOGY This historic context report was developed using an approach based upon current professional methodology standards and procedures established by the National Park Service, the California Office of Historic Preservation, and preservation professionals over the past three decades. 3 Historical Research Research conducted for this survey effort utilized a wide range of source materials accessed through multiple repositories. These materials include the following: Primary sources Building permits, Sanborn maps, county tax assessor records, tract maps, subdivision maps, and historical photographs. Secondary sources Published local histories, period newspaper articles, period architectural publications. Repositories Pasadena Public Library files, Pasadena Heritage files, Pasadena Museum of History archives, City of Pasadena archives. Previous Studies and Evaluations A series of surveys and other studies relating to historic resources have been conducted in Pasadena. Recent such studies consulted during the course of this project include: • Architectural/Historical Development of the City of Pasadena: Historic Context/Property Type Report (1993) • Early Auto-Related Properties in Pasadena, California (1996) • East Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan Historic Resources Survey (2000) • Modern Arroyo Home Tour (2001) • Multi-Family Properties Historic Resources Survey (2003) • Pasadena Central District Survey (2003) • Period Revival Architecture in Pasadena, California: 1915-1942 (2004) • Pasadena Modern Tour (2005) • California State Historic Resources Inventory (updated December 11, 2006) 3 See, for example, National Register Bulletin 24. Guidelines for Local Surveys: A Basis for Preservation Planning. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1985. Cultural Resources of the Recent Past 3 City of Pasadena Field Reconnaissance While the reconnaissance survey work being conducted by City staff provided property-specific information of defined survey areas, additional