Smitten, Not Smote

With my little camera, I couldn't get the angle I wanted on this building without standing in the street, so we're going to have to miss out on a bit of the lower part. If it was a quiet, out-of-the-way street I'd stand in the middle, sure. But it's Altadena Drive, just north of Colorado Blvd., and not everyone who drives along there is paying attention.

For at least a year, I drove by this building over and over again without noticing it. Now that I know it's there it plagues me. (See? There's one non-attention-paying driver right there.) The building looks abandoned, and it's so beautiful.

I messed with the contrast and sharpening so you can read the lettering at the top: "MUNICIPAL LIGHT AND POWER." I'm sure the place is owned by Pasadena Water and Power; behind it is a full block of electrical grid. But the building itself looks empty.

It's not a complete mystery, thanks to the Building Biographer, Tim Gregory (and thanks to Google). The building was designed by architect Robert H. Ainsworth.

I'd go peek in the windows but there's an iron fence around the lot. It wouldn't stop some people but I was brought up to be scared of breaking the rules, which is another reason I don't stand in the middle of busy streets.

Home Shopping in History: the Swain House

There's been a lot of activity over at 1165 N. Los Robles, so before it gets snapped up I thought I'd show you another historic home. We know this one's historic because it has a plaque. See it? It's right up there by the front door. This link takes you to Zillow's page about the house, where you can see a close-up of the plaque.

The Tilghman H. Swain house was built in 1911, another jewel along lovely north Los Robles. It isn't exactly a Craftsman. It's called Chicago Prairie Style. The architect was Parker O. Wright who worked out of Long Beach and who, near as I can figure, was no relation to Frank Lloyd.

If you really want to know about this house there's a whole biography of it in .pdf. It gives information about the architect, builders and residents over the years and includes copies of related newspaper articles, permits, etc. The biography was prepared by Tim Gregory, the Building Biographer, who works out of Pasadena. I love what this guy does. For a fee, he'll research the history of your house or building. You could do it yourself, but would you?