January 15, 2010
Dale Trader
548 Rio Grande Street
Pasadena, CA 91104
RE: 731 East Washington Boulevard (1931, Glenn Elwood Smith) Application for Designation as an Individual Local Landmark Case #PLN2009-00472 Council District 5
Dear Mr. Trader:
This letter is in response to your application, dated December 15, 2009, requesting landmark designation of the one-story, 8,500 square foot commercial structure at 731 East Washington Boulevard. The building was completed in 1931 and designed by local Pasadena architect Glen Elwood Smith in the Art Deco style.
Design & Alterations
The structure is L-shape in plan. It is a reinforced masonry building, plaster coated with a flat roof and parapet. On its longer north-south axis, five individual drive-in bays are separated by Art Deco-styled decorative pilasters. Each drive-in bay is outlined in a painted geometric relief detail.
The southwest corner features an abbreviated tower supported by concrete piers. Although the towers height may have been reduced, it retains two sets of cast concrete chevrons just below the roof edge. The east-west axis of the building has a higher parapet, again accented with decorative, triangular relief details, and a saw-toothed parapet appears at its north-eastern end. A sixth bay is present, outlined in a geometric patterned relief, and a filled-in window opening is present below the saw-tooth parapet.
The building has undergone a number of visible alterations, though its essential form and footprint remain intact. Original windows along the Washington Boulevard façade have been replaced with aluminum frame windows and the portals now have roll-down steel doors. bays.
Property Type
The structure was originally used as a drive-in market. With widespread use of the automobile during the 20’s and 30’s came new property types, among them automobile showrooms, gas stations, and drive-in laundries and markets. This property is a locally noteworthy example of architecture reacting to a broad and pervasive change in American lifestyle and behavior. One of the last extant examples of this property type is a designated landmark known as “Hens Teeth Square” (1930; Theodore Pletsch, 2057 North Los Robles Avenue) Architect: Glenn Elwood Smith (1894-1976)
ATTACHMENT E
Dale Trader
January 15, 2009
Glen Elwood Smith was born in Tuscola, Illinois. He studied architecture at the University of Southern California and worked as a draftsman and designer for several local firms including the Foss Design and Building Company and the architect Myron Hunt. In 1925, Smith opened his own practice. He designed a number of institutional buildings including the Fire Station #6 at 1435 North Raymond Avenue (1938), the Ives & Warren Company Mortuary at 100 North Hill Avenue (1929) and the Lamanda Park Masonic Lodge at 25 South Huntington Drive (1926). 1
To qualify for designation as a landmark under §17.62.040 of the municipal code, a property must meet one of the following criteria:
A landmark may be the best representation in the City of a type of historic resource or it may be one of several historic resources in the City that have common architectural attributes that represent a particular type of historic resource. A landmark shall meet one or more of the following criteria:
1. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the history of the city, region or state.
2. It is associated with the lives of persons who are significant in the history of the city, region or state.
3. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, architectural style, period, or method of construction, or represents the work of a(n) architect, designer, engineer, or builder whose work is of significance to the City or to the region or possesses artistic values of significance to the City or to the region.
4. It has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important locally in prehistory or history.
In our preliminary evaluation of the application, the staff determines:
Criterion 1 – The structure is not associated with any events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the history of the city, region, or state.
Criterion 2 – The structure is not known to have a strong association with any person or entity significant in the history of Pasadena.
Criterion 3 – The property embodies a number of distinctive characteristics of an architectural style (Art Deco) and as a property type is a rare example of an intact early automobile-related drive-in market. It is also a work of architect Glen Elwood Smith, who was responsible for the designs of a number of important institutional buildings as well as a large number of period revival residential structures. As such, it is eligible for designation under Criterion 3.
Criterion 4 – There are no known or likely archeological resources on the site. It is not at the location of likely pre-historic habitation.
In addition to the above criteria, a property must retain its integrity, or the ability of the property to convey its significance. After evaluation, staff confirms that the property at 731 East Washington Boulevard, although altered, has maintained its integrity in all seven aspects that define integrity set fourth by the National Park Service in their National Register Bulletin 15 (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association).
1 Grimes, Teresa. Period Revival Architecture in Pasadena, CA: 1915-1942. Pasadena, CA: City of Pasadena, Design & Historic Preservation, 2004.
Dale Trader
January 15, 2009
Based on these findings, an appropriate evaluation for the property, using the State of California Historical Resources Status Codes is 5S3: eligible for local listing or designation through survey evaluation. Status codes reflect the application of California Register and local criteria to the identification, evaluation, and understanding of the significance of historic properties.
The nomination of the property is scheduled for a public hearing before the Historic Preservation Commission on Monday, February 16, 2010. At that time, the Commission will review the evidence presented in a designation report (to be prepared by the staff) to determine if the property meets the criteria for designation, and it will forward a recommendation to the City Council (unless it finds that the property does not qualify for designation). If the Commission recommends approval of the designation, the staff will forward the nomination to the City Clerk, who will within 60 days schedule a noticed public hearing before the City Council.
The staff will send you a copy of the agenda for the upcoming meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission and a copy of the designation report. If you have questions regarding the review process for designation, please contact me using the information below.
Effective Date Appeal Call for Review
This decision becomes effective on Tuesday, January 26, 2010. Before the effective date, the City Council or Historic Preservation Commission may call for a review of this decision. In addition, you or any person affected by this decision may appeal it to the Historic Preservation Commission before the effective date by filing an application for an appeal (window #4, Permit Center) with a fee of $257.50 (all of which is reduced 50% for owners of single-family houses).
Appeals must cite a reason for objecting to a decision. Please note that appeals and calls for review are held as de novo hearings, meaning that the lower decision is set aside and the entire application is reviewed as a new proposal. The last day to appeal this decision is Monday, January 25, 2010.
Sincerely,
Vicrim Chima
Assistant Planner
Design & Historic Preservation Section
Tel 626-744-6791; fax 626-396-7518
Email: [email protected]
cc: Tidemark, chron file; address file; City Council; Council Field Representative (District 5); Historic Preservation Commission; City Clerk
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
PLANNING DIVISION
September 21, 2010
Dale Trader
540 Rio Grande Street
Pasadena,CA 91104
RE: 731 East Washington Boulevard Application for Local Landmark Designation PLN2009-00472
Dear Mr. Trader:
At a public hearing held at the Pasadena Permit Center on September 20, 2010, the Historic Preservation Commission, acting under §17.62.050 of the Pasadena Municipal Code, unanimously disapproved your application to designate the building at 731 West Washington Boulevard as a landmark due to the opposition of the property owner and the fact that the property is well maintained and does not face any immediate threats.
Please note that by code (§17.64.090- P.M.C.), for a period of 12 months following the date of disapproval of a discretionary land use permit, entitlement, or amendment, no application for the same or substantially similar discretionary permit, entitlement, or amendment for the same site shall be filed except on the grounds of new evidence, proof of changed circumstances, or if the disapproval was without prejudice.
This decision becomes effective on Friday, October 1, 2010. Before the effective date, the City Council may call for a review of this decision. If the Council calls for a review of your application, this decision becomes void, and the application will be considered as a new item. In addition, you or any person affected by this decision may appeal it to the City Council before the effective date by filing an application for an appeal with the City Clerk (room S228, City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Avenue) and paying an appeal fee of $1,448.39.
Appeals must cite a reason for objecting to a decision. Please note that appeals and calls for review are conducted as de nova hearings, meaning that the decision is set aside and the entire application is reviewed as a new proposal. The last day to file an appeal is Thursday, September 30, 2010.
SiLr~·
Vicrim Chima
Assistant Planner
Design and Historic Preservation Section
Tel: 626-744-6791 Fax: 626-396-7458 E-mail: [email protected] 175 North Gaifield Avenue • Pasadena, CA 91101-1704
(626) 744-4009
www.cityofpasadena.net
Dale Trader
September 21, 2010
cc: City Clerk; Tidemark; chron file; address file; Historic Preservation Commission; property owner (Aura Gyger)