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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Report: 1502 Royal Boulevard: Consideration of Glendale Register Nomination and Request for a Mills Act Historic Property Contract.
1. Resolution to designate the residential property at 1502 Royal Boulevard as a historic resource in the Glendale Register of Historic Resources and authorize the City Manager to enter into a Mills Act Historical Property Contract with the property owner.
2. Motion to deny the request of the property owner to designate the residential property at 1502 Royal Boulevard as a historic resource in the Glendale Register of Historic Resources.
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Public Hearing
Approved for November 18, 2025 Calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The owners of 1502 Royal Boulevard request that City Council list the property in the Glendale Register of Historic Resources and authorize a Mills Act historical property contract. The two-story, single-family residence was built in 1965 and is an excellent example of American Colonial Revival-style architecture as designed by Gerard Colcord, a significant architect whose work was highly sought after for several decades in Southern California and who influenced the design profession.
On September 18, 2025, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) reviewed the nomination and voted unanimously (5-0) to recommend to the City Council that the property at 1502 Royal Boulevard be listed in the Glendale Register of Historic Resources. In keeping with the City’s naming protocol, HPC recommends that the property at 1502 Royal Boulevard be referred as the Brown House. HPC also recommended that the City Manager be authorized to enter into a Mills Act historic property contract with the property owner, including the work conditions approved by the commission, under Section 15.20.070A of the Glendale Municipal Code. 210b
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RECOMMENDATION
That City Council list 1502 Royal Boulevard in the Glendale Register of Historic Resources under designation Criterion 3 and authorize the City Manager to enter into a Mills Act historic property contract, with the conditions approved by HPC, between the City and the property owner under Section 15.20.070A of the Glendale Municipal Code.
BACKGROUND
Historical Background
1502 Royal Boulevard is an American Colonial Revival-style single-family house built in 1965. Interestingly, the current garage was actually built in 1948. It served as a rumpus room and workshop despite there being no house on the lot. The current brick barbeque was built at this time, but a badminton court was later removed, perhaps when the house was built. The two buildings sit on a relatively flat lot at the intersection of Royal and Puebla Drive and are highly visible from these streets. The property is a non-contributor to the Royal Boulevard Historic District because it was built outside the district’s period of significance.
The story of why a rumpus room, workshop, and badminton court were built almost twenty years before a house appeared on the property may be an interesting one but is unfortunately a mystery. The only known record of this event is the 1948 County Assessor’s record of the construction. The building appears on the 1965 Colcord drawings, but it is shown with unshaded walls, as opposed to the darkened walls of the new house, suggesting it was an existing structure. There is no indication that Colcord designed the garage nor any that he didn’t, so another mystery.
The first owners of the new house were Thomas O. and Arlene M. Brown. Mr. Brown was a trucking company sales manager and he and his wife lived there from 1965 until approximately 1990. Subsequent owners included Edward and Seda Boudaghian (1990-1995), Helen Arouzman and Jasmine Hashik Champagne (1995-2022), and the current owners, Suzanne and Mark Saklawi (2022-present). It does not appear that the property or any of its owners have been associated with any broad patterns or events important in history or made significant individual contributions to local, state, or national history. Therefore, the property does not appear eligible for listing in the Glendale Register under either Criterion 1 or 2.
The property is of considerable architectural interest, primarily for its association with Gerard Colcord (1900-1984), a notable architect in the Los Angeles area whose career spanned from the 1920s to the 1970s. He designed hundreds of notable homes with a special focus on, and talent for, the various Period Revival styles, along with the Hollywood Regency style that was locally popular. The nomination provides a brief, but detailed, biography prepared by Tim Gregory that establishes Colcord’s reputation as a 310b
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“society architect” and “architect to the stars.” A solid traditionalist who was educated at USC, he created grand houses that remained “homey” and was especially known for his “farmhouse,” aka “Country Colonial,” designs of which 1502 Royal is an example. It is a rather late example, both of the Colonial Revival style and within the context of Colcord’s career. This primarily appears evident in the simplification of some design details, such as the portico, entry surround, and recessed porch, that would perhaps have been more robust or elaborate in a design from the 1920s or 30s. This is more of an observation than a criticism because the house abounds in interesting features and has an especially loose and playful massing. Council may note that if it is designated, the house would be one of only two postwar Glendale Register properties designed in a traditional Period Revival style. The other is the Webb House (GR No. 101), a Tudor Revival built in 1950. Colcord was widely published in the architectural press of his day and had an influence among designers that extended beyond Southern California. At this time, only one other house in Glendale, located at 2310 E. Chevy Chase Drive, is known to be designed by him.
Architectural Description
The varied massing and roof forms seen at the house suggest an intentional, and picturesque, effort on the part of noted architect Gerard Colcord to emulate how early American houses often grew organically over generations, with multiple additions being built at various times that reflected growing families and changing tastes and economic fortunes. At 1502 Royal, the principal two-story volume features a red brick-clad ground floor capped by a steeply pitched side-gabled roof that completely encloses the second floor, with the exception of four evenly spaced dormers projecting toward the street.
This block is four bays wide, with the front entry placed asymmetrically in the second bay. The entry and ground floor windows align with the dormers above. The entry portico features a simple triangular pediment supported by pairs of turned wood columns at each side of a shallow brick porch. The wood entry door features four simple panels and four short, glazed openings at the top. The wood door surround has a simple design, with two flat pilasters flanking the opening. The wing to the left defers to the primary mass, stepping inward and down, with this sense being enhanced by a shallow recessed porch with simple square posts and segmentally arched lintels supporting the roof, which features another dormer. This wing connects to the perpendicular living room wing that extends toward the street and features a large double-shouldered chimney on its windowless street-facing gable wall. The front composition is completed by a small projecting wing on the right side, even more deferential, that consists of a simple one-story volume with a shed roof that is set back and attached to the side facade.
The right-side façade and a large part of the rear of the house are visible from Puebla Drive. The shed roof projection features a wood rear door that opens to the side yard. It 410b
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is next to a projecting chimney shoulder that emerges from the side façade cladding, with the large, square chimney itself only being revealed when it emerges from the roof.
The steep roof pitch from the front only returns at the narrow slice along the end-wall, where the chimney is located. Much of the rest of the rear façade is two stories high, with the roof pitch becoming much shallower. This maintains the idea of the house being built in stages over time and suggests the appearance of multiple additions added to the rear of the main body of the house despite all being original. A small, one-story wing projects away from the rear façade and a long breezeway connects the house to the detached garage.
The overall material palette is fairly simple and in keeping with Colonial Revival precedent. As noted, red brick cladding is only found at the first floor of the main volume. The rest of the house is clad with simple wood clapboard siding. The roofs are clad with appropriate asphalt shingles. Multi-light wood windows are employed throughout, in varying configurations including 6/6, 6/9, and 8/8. Most openings have wide wood surrounds and some have decorative louvered shutters. The landscaping at the front and side yards consists of lawn areas, low perimeter hedges, foundation plantings, and several mature trees. A nicely designed wood gate opens from the sidewalk to the brick entry path. The rear yard has similar landscaping, along with the brick barbeque mentioned previously. The wood pergola structure, dating to the construction of the house and referred to as a “garden house” by Colcord, remains in the backyard. The wide wood gate under the breezeway is a recent replacement of the original shorter wood gate that had a more graceful design.
The garage is interesting because its earlier construction date makes it different from the house while remaining compatible. It features a hipped roof, which is a form not found among the various roof styles of the later building. This roof features a charming vented cupola with a metal roof and weathervane. The wide drop siding at the garage walls differs from the clapboards at the house, creating horizontal grooves that create a very different look and offering a clue about the different construction dates. The original garage door used the same material, allowing the horizontal lines to run around all four facades. That door also featured a small multi-light window with similarly small shutters.
Alterations and Integrity
Overall, 1502 Royal has a high degree of historic integrity, with few changes being made since its construction. HPC did recommend Mills Act conditions to address several alterations that diminish the home’s historic integrity:
Den Windows
At some point, the windows facing the rear yard from the den were replace with inappropriate windows with internal grids.
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Garage Windows
The current owners replaced the windows at the garage with new vinyl windows, which are not in keeping with the wood, two-over-two double-hung windows with horizontal muntins seen in earlier photographs.
Garage Door
The current owners replaced the original wood garage door, which featured a small central window flanked by shutters, with a relatively plain new door. The original design can be seen in earlier images..
HPC and staff recommend the following Mills Act conditions:
1. Replace the den windows with recessed, six-over-six hung wood windows to allow this area to better match the rest of the rear façade.
2. Replace all garage windows with new two-over-two hung recessed wood windows to match the windows seen in the earlier photographs.
3. Replace the garage door with a new, hinged lift-up door with horizontal wood siding to match the existing garage siding, along with a window and shutters, so that the overall appearance of the door matches that of the door seen in the earlier photographs.
ANALYSIS
Finding of Eligibility
After reviewing the nomination submitted by the owner and its supporting documentation, as well as visiting the site, Planning Division staff concludes that the property appears to meet Criterion 3 of the eligibility criteria for listing on the Glendale Register of Historic Resources.
Architectural Significance [Criterion 3]
To meet Criterion 3, a property must “embody the distinctive and exemplary characteristics of an architectural style, architectural type, period, or method of construction; or represent a notable work of a master designer, builder or architect whose genius influenced his or her profession; or possess high artistic values.”
HPC found that 1502 Royal Boulevard appears eligible for designation under Criterion 3 as a distinctive and exemplary late example of the American Colonial Revival style and, especially, as a work by the notable architect Gerard Colcord. It has a distinctive massing that reflects the architect’s interest in taking traditional Colonial Revival design concepts and loosening up some of the rigidity often associated with the style to provide a more informal appearance that may be based on the precedent of centuries-old houses morphing over time. Many design concepts are used, including the entry portico, recessed porch, dramatic chimneys, and the unusually long breezeway, that are skillfully blended into a coherent overall design. As one of only two known works by the influential architect Gerard Colcord 610b
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in the city, it takes on special significance because of his esteemed position among local architecture fans and scholars. The property also retains high integrity of materials, design, workmanship, location, setting, and feeling.
STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
There are no stakeholders other than the property owner.
FISCAL IMPACT
Listing historic properties in the Glendale Register has no fiscal impact. However, future property tax savings to private owners of listed historic properties under Mills Act contracts will slightly reduce City property tax revenues from the general County tax levy received from each Mills Act property.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
The project is exempt from CEQA as a Class 8 “Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment” exemption and a Class 31 “Historical Resource Restoration/Rehabilitation” exemption pursuant to Sections 15308 and 15331 of the State CEQA Guidelines because it involves the designation and restoration of a historic resource.
CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
The names and business addresses of the members of the board of directors, the chairperson, CEO, COO, CFO, Subcontractors and any person or entity with more than 10% interest in the company proposed for contract in this Agenda Item Report are attached in Exhibit 5, in accordance with the City Campaign Finance Ordinance No. 5744.
ALTERNATIVES
Alternative 1: Reject designation/listing of 1502 Royal Boulevard on the Glendale Register of Historic Resources, finding that the property does not meet Criterion 3 or any other criteria.
Alternative 2: Any other alternative chosen by City Council. 710b
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ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Prepared by:
Ani Mnatsakanyan, Planner
Reviewed by:
Bradley Calvert, Director of Community Development
Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit 1: Glendale Register Nomination
Exhibit 2: Photographs
Exhibit 3: Mills Act Application
Exhibit 4: Architectural Drawings
Exhibit 5: Campaign Disclosure