Few cities in California are better recognized for the quality of its small-town atmosphere and rich legacy of intact late 19th and early 20th century neighborhoods and residences. South Pasadena the “City of Trees” also has a strong claim to having the oldest and most historic sites in the San Gabriel Valley. One of our focuses at The Shelhamer Group is to tell your homes story, and the story of the communities that are a part of our Southern California legacy. Join me David Clark estate sales director, architecture and historical writer. Let me take you through a literary and visual tour of South Pasadena’s cultural and architectural heritage. I’ll show you the local experience, and the unique homes that range from cottage style Storybook, Modern, Midcentury, Spanish, Pueblo, Monterey, Caftsman, and Bungalow. Welcome to the heart of South Pasadena.

South Pasadena’s Cultural & Architectural Heritage

In early 1874, the area that is now South Pasadena was a part of the San Gabriel-Orange Grove Association. In 1875, the stockholders of the association voted to name their town Pasadena and just three years later, residents living in the southern portion of Pasadena considered themselves South Pasadenans.

In February of 1888, in order to control their own territory, South Pasadenans voted eighty-five to twenty-five for incorporation. A board of trustees was elected and Ammon B. Cobb was appointed as the first marshal, with Marshal B. Selmen as his deputy. On March 2, 1888, South Pasadena officially incorporated with a population of slightly over 500. The City’s boundaries established in 1889 are essentially the same today.

South Pasadena consists of 3.44 square miles of prime residential property. In 1876, unimproved land with water was selling from $75 to $150 an acre. (City of South Pasadena)

This South Pasadena building located on the corner of Center Street and Diamond Avenue was originally built as the city’s first bank in 1904. On opening day, the bank Vice President Edwin Cawston deposited $4,000 in receipts from his world famous ostrich farm Cawston Ostrich Farm in South Pasadena. (Rick Thomas Throwback Thursdays)

The quiet, historic character of its attractive neighborhoods is a testament to the preservationist efforts of residents in protecting both its architectural and natural beauty. The city enjoys a low crime rate and the benefits of a close-knit, participation-oriented community. Small, proud and independent, the City of South Pasadena has battled for a hundred years to preserve its status as a distinct and distinctive community. (City of South Pasadena)

South Pasadena’s Cultural & Architectural Heritage

Today the city of South Pasadena is a charming community, referred to as the “City of Trees”, the area is known for its stunning homes, unique small businesses, and top quality schools. South Pasadena’s diverse population of about 25,000 occupies a mere 3.44 square miles of flatlands and hillsides on the west side of the San Gabriel Valley.

This small town atmosphere makes South Pasadena one of California’s most desirable locations. More than 100 acres of parks and playgrounds blanket its landscape and more than 21,000 trees adorn its streets, and 52 Historic Landmarks.

Believe it or not one of the the most popular attractions in Southern California was once a flock of ornery bipedal birds on a dusty nine-acre farm in South Pasadena! These ostriches were brought to California in 1886 by Edward Cawston, whose plan was to cash in on the popularity of ostrich feathers as fashion accessories by cutting out the middlemen and raising his own birds. Cawston soon realized that he could charge tourists and locals for ostrich cart rides while hawking lucrative ostrich memorabilia from the farm’s gift shop. He expanded his venture into boutiques in New York City, San Francisco, and downtown Los Angeles.

The farm became so popular that the Pacific Electric Railway built a Red Car trolley stop nearby to accommodate the flood of visitors headed up the Arroyo Seco to see Cawston’s birds. The farm closed in 1935. The Gold Line light rail train follows the old Red Car right of way by the property, letting modern riders retrace the steps of the thousands of visitors to one of Southern California’s first tourist attractions. A historical marker is located on Pasadena Ave near Sycamore Ave.

Edwin Cawston was fully aware of the role that his farm played in the development of South Pasadena and in November, 1903 he asserted that clout. Newspapers reported that there had been an ongoing effort to change the name of the city in order to distance itself with its much larger neighbor to the north, Pasadena. Cawston was opposed to this change and it was reported that he wrote a letter to city officials threatening to relocate his farm if officials changed the name of the city. He argued that people all over the United States and Europe knew that his farm was located in South Pasadena and, therefore, changing the name might adversely impact his business. Officials capitulated and the city retains its name to this day, ultimately because of Edwin Cawston. (Los Angeles Public Library)

One of South Pasadena’s oldest buildings, the structure opened around 1887 as a general store when South Pasadena barely had 500 residents. In its 134 years, it has served as a chapel, a telegraph station, a bike shop, a foundry and a ticket office. The Meridian Iron Works Building Museum was constructed 1887c and is designated as South Pasadena Landmark #5. In 1982 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property in the South Pasadena Historic Business District. It is among a small number of comparably old wood frame buildings in the city and represents the earliest type of structures seen in the town’s commercial district before the turn of the twentieth century.

The two-story, redwood building originally operated as a general store. Over time it has served as a hotel, ticket office, telegraph station, bicycle shop, chapel, and school. In 1943, this and adjacent utility structures, now demolished, became the site of a foundry known as Meridian Iron Works, which remained through the 1970s. The City of South Pasadena acquired the property, and due to its age and significance as a resource for community history, undertook extensive rehabilitation of the property in 1986. (City of South Pasadena) Today, it is the South Pasadena Historical Museum. The mission of the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation is to foster awareness and appreciation of the historic heritage of South Pasadena and to advocate and facilitate preservation of significant examples of that heritage.

Local residents frequented the A&P Market, Safeway (Alexander Building), and Model Grocery (Taylor Building) on Mission Street, and Piggly Wiggly.

In 1906, a businessman named Alexander R. Graham cleared the eucalyptus grove at the southeast corner of Mission and Meridian and built the concrete block building, which he named after himself. This was South Pasadena’s first commercial building in the historic business district. Later, he built the structure next door and called it the A. R. Graham building. 

Long before this building was known for specialty artisan craft shops like Retreat, and the amazing sushi at Blue Fin, it was the Mission Arroyo Hotel. Built in 1923, the ground floor was designated for shops, while the upper floor offered lodging. Back in the day, it advertised “New, modern, all outside rooms near streetcars and restaurants.” The rate was $6 to $7 per week, depending on the view. 

South Pasadena’s Local Experience

Today the building is a staple in the community of South Pasadena, hosting local popular purveyors, BlueFin & Retreat. Additionally the building has 1-2 bedroom apartment rentals.

Retreat is a specialty artisan craft shop in South Pasadena with keenly curated gifts and treasures. In the shop, you’ll find a beautiful selection of jewelry, men’s and women’s accessories, unique table-size clocks, candles, bath & body products along with hand-drawn cards, journals, wall art, pottery, ukuleles, books, barware, leather goods and much more.

Owner Diane Staples, has a passion for handmade items cultivated by over 20 years of buying for specialty shops. She creates a fun and memorable shopping experience for her customers and curates a variety of merchandise that excites her guests. Between Dianne and Pam the service is intimate, thoughtful, personalized and patient. This becomes especially important when selecting the perfect artisanal natural stone jewelry piece for someone special. Especially if their picky…..

Since 2005, Sally Cook has owned and operated Heirloom Bakery and Café in South Pasadena. Working in the food industry for over 30 years, with most of the positions in the pastry department, first as an assistant, then as a pastry chef.  She worked as an assistant at DC3, The Border Grill 2 (Santa Monica) and Spago.  As a pastry chef in the pastry kitchens at The Parkway Grill, Julienne, Shiro, Mako, Valentino, and the Border Grill Group (Cuidad, Border Grill Santa Monica, Pasadena, Las Vegas).  I studied artisan bread making with Kathleen Weber at Della Fattoria in Petaluma. At Heirloom, we have wonderful neighborhood support.  Some of the items that we are known for are; are hostess-style cupcakes, lime pie, croissants, rustic bread and chicken pot pies.   

Sally’s focus is to use quality ingredients and keep it simple. Opening on the ground floor of a new mixed-use development, turned out to be a boom for business. Not only does the location have parking, but Heirloom is across the street from a link in the Metro Rail’s Gold Line. Sally opened in August 2005, naming their long-germinating establishment Heirloom Bakery & Café. According to Sally, “When I go to a restaurant and see heirloom tomatoes on the menu, I think seasonal. It’s also a quality standard. “It’s also generational, treasured and passed on.”

Nicknamed the “Tree House” for the giant conifer tree that rises between the beams of its front entryway, the Cox House is a striking Mid-Century Modern residence that literally embraces the natural environment. Designed by local architect John Galbraith in 1959, the residence is a wonderful example of the interpretation and evolution of modernism in Southern California.

The Cox House draws from the Miesian tradition of architecture, which uses simple geometric forms to emphasize horizontality and transparency. The building is a simple, one-story pavilion, with alternating expanses of glass and stone exterior walls. One long, horizontal beam stretches across the entire front façade at the roofline, while individual bays step backward and forward, creating a strong visual rhythm. Rooms lined with floor-to-ceiling windows stand adjacent to recessed patios, blurring the relationship between indoor and outdoor space, a hallmark of California modernism.

Educated at the University of Washington, Seattle, John Galbraith was a Pasadena-based architect who designed a number of institutional, commercial and residential buildings. The Cox House is one of his finest designs and a small gem in South Pasadena’s Arroyo, celebrating European architectural traditions while creating something entirely regional with its natural materials and forms. (Los Angeles Conservancy)

“If we, the architects of the West, wish to do great and lasting work we must dare to be simple, must have the courage to fling aside every device that distracts the eye from structural beauty, must break through convention and get down to fundamental truths.” Irving John Gill

Designed in 1911 for a prosperous olive rancher, Mrs. Paul Miltimore. Miltimore was the founding president of the Los Angeles Olive Growers Association, formed by a group of Midwest businessmen in 1893. The association purchased 2,000 acres in the San Bernardino foothills from the Maclay Ranch in what is now Sylmar. According to the Los Angeles Times, the association planted 200,000 olive trees beginning in 1894, which was to become the largest olive grove in the world by 1906.

A 1910 survey map of Mrs. Paul Miltimore’s lot shows that the east end of the lot along Chelton Way was planted with nearly 30 oak trees of varying sizes. Gill carefully positioned the house to preserve the trees. The adjacent lot to the south had a house on it but the lot to the north was empty, which explains the apparent expansiveness of the grounds in early photographs of the Miltimore House. The home is considered the most significant surviving residence by architect Irving Gill in Southern California. Gill who was an American architect did most of his work in Southern California, especially in San Diego and Los Angeles. He is considered a pioneer of the modern movement in architecture. Twelve of his buildings throughout Southern California are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and many others are designated as historic by local governments.

Throughout his career, Gill used a simplified Tuscan column in his garden rooms, terraces, and interior courts. His prominent use of columns is in keeping with his belief that the architect should go back to “the source of all architectural strength—the straight line, the arch, the cube and the circle—and drink from these fountains of Art that gave life to the great men of old.”

He railed against the “architectural crimes” committed by imitating historical architecture, such as the California missions and Greek temples. But, following Sullivan’s teaching, he referenced the past in order to create a “new American architecture” from platonic versions of classic architectural elements. Gill even included a subtle pilaster where the end of the pergola meets the wall. (Joceyln Gibbs)

In 1914, House Beautiful magazine did a story on the home, saying its “most original feature is the play of color upon its white surface… which becomes iridescent when the sun moves across it. The texture that makes this charm is Mr. Gill’s discovery and secret.”

I Look Forward to the Opportunity to Tell Your Homes Story

The Hotel Cosmopolitan burned down and the Bilickes moved to California. Albert first ran a hotel in Santa Rosa in northern California and then moved south to Los Angeles where he ran the Hollenbeck Hotel. Around 1900, Albert married Gladys Huff of Illinois. In 1904, he broke ground for his most ambitious project to date, the Alexandria Hotel. The doors opened in 1905 and the Alexandria Hotel became one of the leading hotels in Los Angeles.

Starting with the Alexandria and Hollenbeck Hotels, Bilicke owned several four-star resorts and hotels in Los Angeles. Around this time Albert co-founded the Bilicke-Rowan Fireproof Building Co. with R.A Rowan. They built the Rowan Building and bought many properties in downtown Los Angeles, becoming wealthy in the real estate market of Southern California. 

Ernest A. Batchelder (1875–1957) was an educator and artist living in Southern California in the early 20th century, and was a leader in the American Arts and Crafts Movement. He is famous for his hand made art tiles. Batchelder came to Pasadena, California, in the early 1900s to teach. He became director of the art department at Throop Polytechnic Institute, the predecessor of the California Institute of Technology.

His life took a turn in 1909 when, behind his house overlooking the Arroyo Seco, he built a kiln and entered the business of creating hand-crafted art tiles. The tiles were hugely popular, and by the 1920s, Batchelder’s tiles could be found in homes and buildings across the United States. Batchelder’s prominence in Southern California’s art community included his involvement in the founding of the Pasadena Art Institute and his membership in the Pasadena Society of Artists.

South Pasadena’s Storybook Homes

The quiet streets of South Pasadena are mostly free of swaying palms, and exterior stucco.

The spirit of the community rests in the stories these homes showcase.

There rich architectural legacies preserved and complimented by the conversations neighbors and outdoor enthusiasts alike share on any given day.

A large brick cottage on a grand estate surrounded by some of California’s 20 native oak tree species.

A French Norman inspired cottage surrounded by old growth trees.

Under the canopy of elm and redwood trees a two-story thatched home with multiple porches.

South Pasadena’s Modern and Midcentury Homes

Nestled atop a hill overlooking all of South Pasadena this concrete and glass new build finds it’s brilliance in simplicity combining structural materials to secure its prowess.

Built by John Demaree in 1964 in the award winning South Pasadena school district. Drought tolerant landscaping crafted with purpose, as the blue Palo Verde trees create privacy and invite curiosity.

The wood exterior and vertical lines blend subtly with the wooden driveway which has been built with the intention of harmony between both the entrance into the home and its immediate exterior. The vertical three part window of stained glass guides the eyes with its magnificent art to the front door.

South Pasadena’s Spanish, Pueblo, and Monterey Homes

Spanish home with Mission Revival archways, and local California drought tolerant landscaping.

Flanked by an old California Oak this Spanish Revival home has intricate tilework which surrounds the front door, and a balcony to serenade your sweetheart with the summer sounds of bolero.

Spanish Colonial Revival home with Mission Revival inspired archways. The exterior is a marriage between a century old redwood and elm tree which provides shade for the patio.

Spanish Colonial Revival home with Mission Revival inspired archways and courtyard.

Pueblo style home crafted in an area with full sun exposure, with drought tolerant plants.

I Look Forward to the Opportunity to Tell Your Homes Story

South Pasadena’s Craftsman & Bungalow Homes

A magnificent early California Craftsman with dark earthen colors to blend in with South Pasadena’s native trees.

The terms “craftsman” and “bungalow” are often used interchangeably, though there is a fundamental distinction. “Craftsman” refers generally to the Arts and Crafts movement and is considered an architectural or interior style, whereas “bungalow” is a particular form of house or building.

Thus, a bungalow can exhibit a craftsman style, and many of them indeed did so. Historically the term “bungalow” comes to us from the country of India, derived from the Bengali noun bangla, referring to a low house with galleries, and porches all around it, also identical with the Hindi adjective, bangla, translated as “belonging to Bengal”.

The first bungalows in the United States, as we might recognize them, appeared after the Philadelphia Centennial celebrations of 1876. More Americans became interested in applying new principles to architecture, striving to move away from European precedents. The bungalow was the result of the overthrow of Eclecticism, in an attempt to apply more simplicity and honesty in style and materials to American homes. Generally, the Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction to the extravagant, machined, and mass-produced Victorian styles that in turn represented the Industrial Revolution.

By the 1890s the bungalow form in America had diffused to the West Coast, particularly via San Francisco and southern California. It is the so-called California Bungalow that became the rage in pattern books across the nation and was reproduced into the various forms of middle- and working-class housing (and some elaborate, high-style examples). The popularizing of the west-coast bungalow has been generally credited to the Greene and Greene brothers and their architectural firm in Pasadena, CA. In 1902-1903, Charles and Henry Greene were influenced by the vernacular style of board and shingle buildings in California as well as authentic Japanese sources. 

The bungalow form became the common builder’s house between 1910-1920, influenced by Greene and Greene. Numerous “bungalow books” promoted the new style and form. The type, with many variants, included these features: low, gabled, one or one-and-a-half storied house; front pitch of roof extended to shelter a large incised porch.

By the 1990s the craftsman style and its associated bungalow form was enjoying a revival across the United States which has yet to ebb. More Americans are either restoring older bungalows or purchasing newer “neo-craftsman” bungalows constructed now by the larger “production” builders or as specially designed custom homes.

As a lifelong Californian born at UCLA and raised in the countryside of Sonoma County, I have a deep passion for the history of those who have lived before us here in the great state of California, and the communities that shape our collective cultures. I am the creator and owner of an antique, collectible, and vintage California business on the Etsy platform called Antiquarian Musings, which celebrates the rich history of the Golden State. Each item that I procure speaks to the imagination of their creators, resources and provenance, designed for utility and value, and built with a purpose in mind.

As an Estate Director and historical wr