City Commission Tours Lower Arroyo Seco Historic District

Pasadena’s Historic Preservation Commission will tour the Lower Arroyo Seco Historic District before conducting its regular meeting Tuesday.

And before the tour, it will field inspect a property in the neighborhood.

The inspection at 657 S. Grand Avenue at about 4 p.m. is part of the vetting process for the property owner’s application for a Certificate of Appropriateness before the installation of front and side yard fences and gates, and a new deck, is allowed.

The Certificate of Appropriateness is required for any significant renovation or new construction within the historic district, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

After the site visit to the property, members of the Commission will tour the Lower Arroyo Seco Residential Historic District, where 78 of the 102 properties are considered contributors to the district’s significance, meeting the requirements under the National Register documentation for the residential architecture of Pasadena.

Most of the residences in the district are described as “Arts and Crafts period single-family residences” with two sub-types: one or one-half story bungalows, or two-story Arts and Crafts period houses.

“Very good to excellent examples of each type of residence are found in this district,” Kevin Johnson, Senior Planner at the Department of Planning and Community Development, said in a memorandum for the Historic Preservation Commission. “The district contains examples of several Arts and Crafts Period style vocabularies frequently used for residential buildings in Pasadena which are named in the National Register documentation; these include the Anglo-Colonial Revival, English-Influenced and Swiss Chalet styles.”

The Lower Arroyo Seco Residential Historic District is located in the southwest quadrant of Pasadena, at the eastern edge of the Arroyo Seco, an area that was designated in 1978 as a City landmark.

The Rose Bowl, also a National Historic Landmark, is located in the area.

After the tour, the Historic Preservation Commission proceeds with its regular meeting at about 6 p.m., at the George Ellery Hale Building Hearing Room, at 175 N. Garfield Avenue, to continue discussions on the application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the property at 657 S. Grand Avenue.

The agenda for Tuesday also mentions staff will provide an update on upcoming seminars and workshops for the Commission and City personnel related to historic preservation efforts in Pasadena.