altadenablog

Home of the week

... to the LA Times, that is, is this midcentury modern in Altadena going for $1.6M. 

Altadena architectural walk (actually, a drive!)

Our friends at Hometown Pasadena have devoted some space to "architectural walks" around the area, gatherings of fine homes and places. Today , they take on Altadena, with the caveat (all too true!) that you can't really walk to all our fine houses and buildings unless you've got iron legs and lots of time -- a car is necessary! 

And they're missing some fine places, too -- Mountain View Mausoleum, Balian mansion, the Lloyd Wright house that looks like a glass ship's prow, the Altadena main library and Noyes school come to mind.  Lots of interesting places behind fences, as well, such as the Zane Grey mansion, Theosophical Society, and several mansions. (They should have really asked us first!)

Mid-century modern

Curbed LA, a real estate blog, has an entry up on 1553 E. Altadena Drive, a mid-century modern house.  We are famously not fans of the modernist aesthetic (look! Plywood walls!  An absolutely uncomfortable-looking Eames sofa!)   But some of the comments are highly amusing!

(thx to political power broker Bikinginla)

Haussler receives realtor's award

The Cultural Heritage Committee of the Pasadena-Foothills Association of Realtors recognized local Realtor (and Altadena Heritage guy) Steve Haussler for his contributions to the preservation of Pasadena’s architectural heritage. Haussler was honored with the 2008 Restoration and Preservation Award for his twenty-six year commitment to restore and preserve historically-significant homes and neighborhoods.  Details on his blog.

Library design camp slated for Oct. 4

Join Altadena Library staff and other members of the community at a "Design Camp" from 10 AM - 4 PM on Sat., Oct. 4 in the library's community room.  Have some input on the renovations and improvements planned for the main library.  For more information, contact Erica Metoyer at 626-798-8338.

UPDATE 9/20: Please note the lengthy comment from Altadena Heritage in the comments section.

McNally open house Sunday

PSN's Janette Williams has a feature on the McNally House, which will be open this weekend in a fundraiser for Altadena Heritage.  (The PSN story links to some great photos) The present owners, Frank and Joanna Dupuy, bought it for just $21,950 as a tear-down in 1954, and lovingly restored it instead.  We'd like to look at the smoking room, which was originally the Turkish pavilion at the 1892 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, which Andrew McNally bought and had shipped to his winter home.  Details on getting tickets are here.

Tea at the McNally House June 8

Sounds like fun, from the Altadena Historical Society:

On Sun., June 8, from 4-7 PM, you will have an opportunity to raise money for the Altadena Historical Society and raise a toast to Altadena's newest Nationally Registered Historic Place, the Andrew McNally House at 654 East Mariposa Street. Please join us for a tour of the beautifully restored, exquisite interior of the house and enjoy refreshments on the lawn.

Building historian Tim Gregory, who prepared the national registration application said, "The significance of the site is based on the importance of its original owner, the founder of the Rand-McNally Map Company; its eye-catching architechure by famed pioneer designer Fredrick Roehrig; and the role it played in attracting many of Altadena's early 'movers and shakers' to settle in the community."

National recognition for this wonderful house was long overdue. And so are we in acknowledging all the work of our hosts, Frank and Jo Dupuy, who have owned the McNally house for over 50 years.

For information call Jane Brackman at (626) 794-0700

Tickets are $10 each for AHS members, $12 for members of the public.  For more information, here's the website.

International House of Panic

(We’re writing this for our own benefit -- the several related posts about the Altadena Library, accessibility, and modernist architecture are all over the blog, so we decided to write one piece condensing our thinking and the reactions to it.)

Here’s our first lesson learned in running a blog: you have no idea what the hot topic is really going to be or how people will respond.

And the second lesson:  most people won’t actually engage ideas -- it’s easier to lob rocks from the comfort of the computer screen, and say things in the privacy of the blue glow that they wouldn’t dare say in public.

So we learned some lessons in recent weeks.  Hence, Altadenablog’s Modernist Controversy.  More after the jump, but warning: some of the language is NSFW. 

County approves new rules for Altadena dwellings

PSN reports that the County Board of Supervisors has approved new rules for construction of multifamily dwellings in order to preserve mountain views:

The new regulations, which were approved unanimously, limit apartment or condominium buildings on lots of less than 20,000 square feet to no more than 30 feet in height; require landscaping in front, rear and side yards to shield neighboring single-family homes; and require second stories to be 20 percent smaller than first floors and to be set back from the side or rear of the structure.

The new rules were instigated by complaints from residents, including several in neighboring Pasadena, that some multi-family dwellings were impacting the community's mountain views, said Gino Sund of the Altadena Town Council.

Get all the specifics here.

Theater of broken dreams

Jodie of The Four Seasons blog profiles the Cinema 21 building on Lake & Washington, built in 1925 and designed by Altadena architect Clarence Jay.

Calling Al Gore: Green Housing in Altadena from 1934

An interesting article about the William Beard house in Altadena (1918 Meadowbrook Lane), designed by Richard Neutra: it used natural sunlight to create convection to heat and cool the all-metal house.  An eco-house from 1934.  Pity it never actually worked! (Get an artsy view of the house here.)

Saul Bass house

You wouldn't know it to look at THIS blog's design, but we're a fan of designer Saul Bass, who did many classic movie posters and opening credits, most notably for Alfred Hitchcock.  Little did we know that he was a resident of Altadena, and in fact lived in an architecturally significant house on Santa Rosa. Design blog Grain Edit has some classic pictures of the Saul Bass house.