Three New City Landmark Designations Approved on Monday

The Pasadena City Council approved three potential landmark designations in its meeting on Monday.

The landmarks include a single-family residence at 781 S. Grand Ave., the Mount Olive Lutheran Church at 1118 N. Allen Ave., and the James L. Lee Residence at 673 S. Los Robles Ave.

According to the Department of Planning and Community Development, the single-family residence at 781 S. Grand Ave. is eligible for designation as a landmark under the Pasadena Municipal Code. Under Criterion C in the Code, the building is significant because “it represents an intact example of the American Foursquare residential style with some Craftsman and Queen Anne (Victorian) influences.”

The single-family residence was previously located at 164 Chestnut St. but was relocated to 781 S. Grand Ave. to give way to a new multi-family residential development on the Chestnut Street site, according to the Planning and Community Development Department report.

The report said the Mount Olive Lutheran Church at 1118 N. Allen Ave. is considered significant because it is a locally significant, intact example of a Mission Revival style church building designed by Frederick Kennedy, Jr.

The Mission Revival architectural style is rooted in the development of the California missions, which were established throughout the state beginning in the 1880s.

The Mission Revival style became popular in Pasadena beginning in the late 1890s when elements of the style began to be incorporated into public buildings, hotels, schools, residences and churches. One of the first Mission Revival style buildings to be constructed in Pasadena is the W. C. Stuart Residence at 1201 S. Orange Grove Ave., designed by Frederick Roehrig in 1897.

In the report, the Planning Department also recommended declaring the James L. Lee Residence at 673 South Los Robles Ave. as a landmark because it is a locally significant, intact example of a hybridized high-style residence consisting of Folk Victorian and Queen Anne architectural styles; it’s also an increasingly rare example of a pre-20th century structure that is original to the city and remains in its original location.

The property was developed during the transitional period of the late 1800s, towards the end of the Victorian era, and the progression towards the Arts and Crafts Period. The house was also one of the first developed properties of the Langford Tract, as evidenced by the earliest Sanborn Map of 1910.

The block of South Los Robles Avenue where the home is located was developed as a single-family residential neighborhood and remains single-family residential in nature today, the Planning Department said.

Declaring a property as a landmark in Pasadena requires a resolution by the City Council. Once passed, the resolution will authorize the Mayor to execute the Declaration of Landmark Designation and direct the City Clerk to record the declaration with the Los Angeles County Recorder.