CURRENT ISSUES
PASADENA AVENUE HISTORIC DISTRICT
Updated on August 25, 2021
This National-Register-eligible historic district is situated within the 710 Corridor and contains a significant collection of early twentieth-century single-family homes, which could be at risk if sold without official designation. Pasadena Heritage has prepared a National Register nomination that was voted on by the State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC) on April 30, 2021, where it was approved and sent to the Keeper of the National Register for final approval. On August 10, 2021, the Pasadena Avenue Historic District was formally listed on the National Register.
COLORADO STREET BRIDGE BARRIER
Updated on August 25, 2021
Full scale mock-ups for a new suicide barrier for the Colorado Street Bridge are currently installed. Pasadena Heritage staff and Advocacy Committee members have formed a working group, and we are actively involved in reviewing possible solutions in meeting with the architect. A taller vertical fence is the preferred approach, but the design of the fence, its positioning and style, are still under debate. The mock-ups are still up for viewing but polling has ended. Option B, or the curved mesh option, was the slight favorite but many still have reservations about the option. The Public Safety Committee suggested doing more outreach before moving forward, and we expect the City Council to concur with that suggestion when they return from late Summer recess.
CENTRAL PARK APARTMENTS (HOTEL GREEN/CASTLE GREEN)
Updated on August 25, 2021
A major mixed-use project proposed for the southwest portion of the block that includes the Castle Green and Green Hotel Apartments is once again being redesigned. Originally developed in several phases by entrepreneur Colonel George Gill Green (1842-1925), beginning in 1893, this is one of Pasadena’s most iconic historic properties, and it is listed on the National Register. It is also within the Old Pasadena National Register Historic District. Pasadena Heritage also holds an historic preservation easement on the Castle Green. As such, we are deeply concerned about this project and have followed it very closely through numerous iterations. Several years ago, Architectural Resources Group (ARG) and Goldrich Kest (also owner of the Green Hotel) presented a previous version of the proposal. Pasadena Heritage and numerous members of the public expressed concern that the project did not demonstrate compatibility with the historic buildings and their surroundings. ARG went back to the drawing board and recently released a new set of plans. Pasadena Heritage's Advocacy Committee evaluated the new scheme and provide feedback through various private a public meetings. The project is currently in the Environmental Review phase. A Draft Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment (SCEA) was prepared and made available for comment, but a Final SCEA must ultimately be adopted by the City Council.
A website for the project has been launched here: https://1903vision.com/the-plan/.
LANGHAM HUNTINGTON PICTURE BRIDGE
Updated on August 25, 2021
One of the few remaining historic features on the Langham Huntington Hotel property, the Myron Hunt-designed heavy timber pedestrian Picture Bridge, which was completed in 1913, is presently in a deteriorated state. In 1933, 40 painted panels by artist Frank Montague Moore depicting various California scenes were added. Due to the bridge’s condition, the panels were removed and placed in storage. The bridge was recently retrofitted and reproductions of the painting reinstalled.
The Langham Huntington is currently pursuing some additional landscape projects around the property. One such project came before the Design Commission in August 2021, in which two non-historic tennis courts would be replaced by a wading pool. Pasadena Heritage will continue to be engaged throughout the design process, and will advocate for saving historic features of the property.
127-141 N. MADISON AVE.
Updated on August 25, 2021
Pasadena Heritage, the Women's City Club of Pasadena, and the Blinn House Foundation filed an appeal to the City Council, asking for reconsideration of an approval granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals for a large housing and office project. Bordered on the west by the Ford Place National Register Historic District (Fuller campus), and on the south and east by the Playhouse Historic District, this development site required that careful consideration be given to adjacent historic resources. The original proposal called for a five-story project that was too tall, too bulky, and had underground parking from lot line to lot line with no room for saving or planting trees.
After extensive negotiations with the developer and city planning staff while waiting for the appeal to be heard, a significantly revised project emerged that included real mitigations for the adjacent historic resources. With those changes, Pasadena Heritage and its co-appellants agreed that the project addressed the most urgent preservation concerns. The many letters of support for our position really helped make our case! With the carefully negotiated conditions of approval and a thoughtful redesign, the project received Final Design approval on July 28, 2020.
In 2021, Pasadena Heritage began our move from the Madison House to the Blinn House. Our dedication to the Blinn House’s preservation can continue much more closely as it will serve as our office.
Pasadena Heritage's appeal can be downloaded here.
The City Staff Report from the previous appeal hearing can be downloaded here.
Pasadena Heritage's letter to the City Council can be downloaded here.
Renderings of the Final Design can be downloaded here.
AVON PRODUCTS BUILDING / HOME DEPOT
Updated on August 25, 2021
Our landmark nomination of the historic 1947 Avon office building, designed by the renowned LA-based architect Stiles O. Clements, was approved by unanimous decision by the City Council. This decision did not conflict with Home Depot's plans for the site, as the historic portion of the building is located on the northeast corner of the campus. Home Depot supported the nomination and is currently seeking a tenant for the historic office building, which is zoned "R&D Flex" allowing for a wide mix of uses. On March 11, 2021, Home depot opened its Pasadena store. The historic Avon building has been listed for sale by Jones Lang LaSalle. In August 2021, the Hearing Officer approved a lot line adjustment that essentially splitting the historic buildings off from the new construction Home Depot, which sets up the site to be sold and operated independently from Home Depot.
Pasadena Heritage's landmark nomination can be downloaded here.
101 S. MARENGO AVE. (BANK OF AMERICA)
Updated on August 25, 2021
In late May, Bank of America announced that it will vacate its corporate offices in the Edward Durell-Stone-designed building at 101 S. Marengo Ave., which it has occupied since the building's original construction in 1974. At this time, the future of the property is unknown. Bordering the Civic Center and Old Pasadena, this elegant, monumental, and windowless box clad with travertine, exemplifies the Corporate Modern style and appears eligible for designation as a local Landmark. The architect also designed the Stuart Pharmaceutical Building (3360 E. Foothill Blvd.) in 1958 and Beckman Auditorium (332 S. Michigan Ave.) on the Caltech campus in 1963. The property was used for a credit card serving operation, as well as human resources and business lending. The Design Commission process for this adaptive reuse was years-long, and even saw a change in ownership and design team. Pasadena Heritage staff and board members. Pasadena Heritage recognizes the need for windows to make this building suitable for occupation, but called for a design that respected the monumentality of the original structure while retaining much of the travertine cladding. The Final Design that as approved on November 11, 2020, does respect the monumentality, but unfortunately calls for the replacement of travertine with a GFRE product designed to mimic travertine. The Design Commission did listen to our concerns and crated a Condition of Approval that the travertine would be salvaged and reused as an interior finish inside the building, retaining it on site for future generations. Work is proceeding on the building.
Renderings of the Final Design can be downloaded here.
CALIFORNIA STATE HISTORIC TAX CREDIT 451
Updated on August 25, 2021
In a major win for historic homeowners, preservationists, and tradespeople who work on historic properties, California finally passed its own State Historic Tax Credit, becoming the 36th state to do so. The bill unlocks $50 million worth of tax credits each year for qualified rehabilitation expenditures on properties listed on the California Register. Our allies at the California Preservation Foundation spearheaded the advocacy campaign, and Pasadena Heritage signed on to the push along with other preservation and architecture nonprofits in California. We were especially excited to see groups such as the AIA California Chapter and APA California support it as well. Due to the sheer number of California Register-listed properties in Pasadena, this bill could spur many preservation-sensitive repair and rehabilitation projects across the city. Pasadena Heritage will work to provide information about the new program to interested homeowners, and we hope to incorporate it into an upcoming workshop.
The Tax Credit program has been fully funded, but we are awaiting regulations and guidelines that are to be released by the State Office of Historic Preservation. Those standrads should be released in late 2021, and the application process will begin in 2022.
Pasadena Heritage’s Letter of Support can be downloaded here.
540 S. LAKE AVE.
Updated on November 21, 2019
A five story mixed-use project has been proposed on an irregularly shaped parcel made up of four combined lots, with street frontages on South Lake Ave., Granite Drive, and East California Blvd. Just east of the project site is the National Register-listed English Cottage Revival Mentor Court. With 62 residential units, 9,885 square feet of commercial space, and 157 parking spaces, the project as proposed is massively overscaled. It dwarfs the historic bungalow court and even manages to overshadow the contemporary Granite Park Place condominiums to its east. Pasadena Heritage is working with Granite Park Place’s HOA to advise on their advocacy efforts. In another troubling development, Mentor Court was listed for sale. The project is in hold due to zoning inconsistencies.
Pasadena Heritage's letter to the City Council can be downloaded here.
3200 E. FOOTHILL BLVD. (SPACE BANK SITE)
Updated on June 28, 2019
Trammell Crow has submitted a Planned Development (PD) application for a large mixed-use project at the existing Space Bank self-storage site. A Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment (SCEA) was released for the project in February, and the comment period concluded in March. The U.S. Navy historically used this large property for Cold War-era weapons research. Many original buildings and structures remain, including a 70-foot tall torpedo-testing tank. The property has been found eligible as an historic district; however, due to contamination and the infeasibility of adaptive reuse, most of the site will be cleared. Working with Pasadena Heritage, the developer agreed to retain some artifacts and the monumental torpedo-testing tank, and to place them on the site where they will be part of the public spaces. There will also be an interpretive program that will convey the history of the site. The project has received Final Design Approval, though there were additional concerns about hazardous material remediation at the site. The City is currently working with the developer and state agencies to address these concerns as the project moves forward.
464 E. WALNUT ST. (FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF PASADENA/UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST)
Updated on July 19, 2018
In February, the First Congregational Church of Pasadena (United Church of Christ) sold its historic church building. The Gothic Revival edifice was constructed in 1927 and is eligible for designation as a local landmark. The congregation has not moved out yet; it is currently renting the historic building and continuing to hold worship services and events in it while searching for a new location. Pasadena Heritage understands that the new owner plans to locally designate and adaptively reuse the building, and enter into a Historic Property Contract Program (Mills Act) contract with the City. A landmark application and Mills Act application have indeed been submitted to the City, and we expressed support for the Landmark designation. We have plans to meet with the new owner soon to learn more.
150 E. COLORADO BLVD. ("DARTH VADER BUILDING" SITE)
Updated on July 19, 2018
A large mixed-use project designed by Moule & Polyzoides is proposed for the entire block along E. Colorado Blvd. and between N. Arroyo Pkwy. And S. Marengo Ave. The site is situated at a critical juncture between the Old Pasadena Historic District and the Civic Center Financial Historic District and is presently improved with a non-historic office building built in 1980 and sometimes called the “Darth Vader” Building because of its black glass exterior. Members of Pasadena Heritage’s Advocacy Committee reviewed preliminary plans in March and found the new project to be compatible with its surroundings, overall. Though a large project, the massing and architectural design and articulation are appealing and context-sensitive. It will also clearly come to and positively address the street, which the current building does not, thus re-establishing the pedestrian experience along Colorado Boulevard. The project went before the Design Commission at its June 26 meeting for Preliminary Consultation, and Pasadena Heritage submitted a letter expressing support and providing a few suggestions on how to improve its contextual relationship.
