As local Realtors, we have the opportunity to view architecturally significant homes each week on the broker’s caravan. Two exciting home tours are coming up in our favorite neighborhoods, Glendale and Pasadena.
35th Annual Bungalow Heaven Home Tour
Explore eight historic homes on a self-guided walking tour showcasing Pasadena’s architectural history and restored craftsmanship. Since 1990, this tour has highlighted the neighborhood’s preservation efforts. Docents will share home histories, and restoration experts will offer insights along the route. McDonald Park will feature music, a silent auction, cookies, and food trucks. Bungalow Heaven’s homes were built mainly between 1888 and 1956. Over that time, architectural styles changed many times. As a result, the neighborhood now displays a wide range of designs that reflect shifting tastes.
These homes fall into four main groups based on when each style peaked. Victorian styles dominated from about 1885 to 1906. The Arts and Crafts movement followed from roughly 1903 to 1923. Period Revival styles then took hold between 1915 and 1939. Finally, Minimal Traditional and Ranchette styles appeared from 1930 to 1956. A small number of later homes or remodels from the 1960s and beyond also exist. Most historic homes remain well preserved, and this preserves the neighborhood’s strong sense of history and character.
A bungalow usually refers to a small early-twentieth-century home with most of the living space on one level, though it may include a partial upper floor. People also use “bungalow style” to describe the California Craftsman tradition. More broadly, a bungalow describes a house form rather than a single style, since it can include many design influences. Tickets are $25 in advance (through April 25 at 8 p.m.) or $30 day-of at McDonald Park starting at 9:40 a.m.
Glendale Classic Historical Home Tour
The Glendale Historical Society presents its “Classic Colonials” Home Tour on Sunday, May 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary and California’s 175th Anniversary, the tour highlights five distinguished homes. These residences showcase Colonial Revival and Monterey Colonial Revival architecture. In particular, the Monterey Colonial style reflects California’s unique architectural heritage.
The tour features the following homes:
Local architect Merrill Baird designed the Daves-Cannon House (1936) in the Colonial Revival style. The home features a basket-weave brick walkway, multi-pane windows, gabled dormers, and bay windows. Sited in the Royal Boulevard Historic District, it appears on the Glendale Register of Historic Resources.
The Halper Robbins Construction Company built the Freeman House (1937). The design blends Monterey Colonial Revival with Hollywood Regency influences. The L-shaped home includes a second-floor balcony supported by slender columns. The backyard and pool house mirror the main house’s style. The home also appears on the Glendale Register of Historic Resources.
Architect Allen Kelly Ruoff designed the Lawson House (1935). The home features a symmetrical façade, a recessed entry with a portico, sidelights, and oval windows. Leaded diamond-pane glass, a painted wood stringcourse, and quarry-faced stone add detail. Original 1935 fixtures still function today.
Clyde Morrill built the Morrill House (1932). The design highlights Monterey Colonial Revival style with a low-pitched roof and a second-floor balcony with French doors. The home combines stucco, brick, and wood siding. It sits in the North Cumberland Heights Historic District.
Raymond Green constructed the Weed-Patrick House (1932). The home features a cantilevered balcony, French doors, and shutters. George Patrick, the first owner, later served as the original art director for Disneyland’s Frontierland.
