Cayci and I will be venturing off to Pasadena/San Marino tomorrow, er today. We plan on taking plenty of pics, and we are meeting with someone who will be able to point us in the right direction to find some gems of houses while we are there. In the meantime, here is a home we snapped a pic of in Seattle that would be BK approved. Does it look familiar to anyone? *cough* acmpe *cough*

Your not doing the “ten houses that influenced the Irvine Ranch tour” in secret, are you?

We did briefly see the “house that inspired Irvine”.  We started in San Marino, and ended up in several neighborhoods in Pasadena just by driving around. We even went to one open house.

Pictures to follow. 

Setbacks and buffer from your neighbors, FTW!

The first house was used for the exterior shots of the Draper house on Mad Men, and reminded us of the house we saw in Seattle, above.  The second house is the house used in Father of the Bride.

The rest are just the kind of houses you can find in San Marino and Pasadena.  Boy, am I really understanding bk’s issue with frontal garages now.

Speaking of bk, he was so kind as to draw us a map of famous or interesting houses in the vicinity of (within a few miles of) the Huntington Library, since he had other engagements later in the day.  Thank you so much, bk!

San Marino and Pasadena

If you paint the door red then you understand why the house in Seattle reminded me of the Draper house from Mad Men.

We didn’t do “the ten houses that influenced Irvine tour”, but we did see a few that would be on that tour. We neglected to take pictures of them, but we may have taken pictures of a few that were not pointed out on the map that BK gave us. I can’t imagine doing “the 10 houses that influenced Irvine tour” in one day with or without BK as a tour guide. It would have to be broken up into two separate tours, because 1. there are so many other awesome homes to see 2. having BK explain why they were an influence plus the discussions that would arise from other homes would just be too long to get it all in one day.

I do highly recommend that anyone who is into architecture or enjoys older neighborhoods to go spend a day driving around there. So many homes were just amazing and no picture can justify it like it does to see them in person.

A big thanks to BK and his map he gave us. With his permission, and if people would like a copy for themselves, I will scan it in as a PDF and upload it to IHB.

While not the land of large homes, large lots, and perfectly manicured lawns, we went to Old Town Torrance yesterday.  The residential neighborhood has suffered somewhat with the City over the years allowing multi-family housing and other uses (i.e., churches) into the residential area.  The big plus is a killer soba place within walking distance.  We didn’t take any pictures, but here are some I found:

graphrix - 05 October 2009 08:01 AM

We didn’t do “the ten houses that influenced Irvine tour”, but we did see a few that would be on that tour. We neglected to take pictures of them, but we may have taken pictures of a few that were not pointed out on the map that BK gave us. I can’t imagine doing “the 10 houses that influenced Irvine tour” in one day with or without BK as a tour guide. It would have to be broken up into two separate tours, because 1. there are so many other awesome homes to see 2. having BK explain why they were an influence plus the discussions that would arise from other homes would just be too long to get it all in one day.

I do highly recommend that anyone who is into architecture or enjoys older neighborhoods to go spend a day driving around there. So many homes were just amazing and no picture can justify it like it does to see them in person.

A big thanks to BK and his map he gave us. With his permission, and if people would like a copy for themselves, I will scan it in as a PDF and upload it to IHB.

Sounds like you had fun.  My wife and I have spent hours and hours trolling San Marino and South Pasadena.  It’s still our preferred location if we can ever find a suitable home in our meager price range.  If BK ever does lead that tour, please count us in.  And if you can PDF that map, that would be great!

You didn’t happen to see any 3-car garage homes did you?

irvine_home_owner - 05 October 2009 05:43 PM

You didn’t happen to see any 3-car garage homes did you?

There were several, but they were all in the back or off to the side.

irvine_home_owner - 05 October 2009 05:43 PM

You didn’t happen to see any 3-car garage homes did you?

In some of the affluent suburbs around Seattle, it seems like almost all the SFRs have a 3 car garage, and sometimes the 3rd car spot is oversized to be long and tall enough to park an RV.

..

Decided to leave off address to protect Betty and Don’s privacy

Here is the Google street view.

caycifish - 05 October 2009 06:01 AM

The first house was used for the exterior shots of the Draper house on Mad Men, and reminded us of the house we saw in Seattle, above.  The second house is the house used in Father of the Bride.

The rest are just the kind of houses you can find in San Marino and Pasadena.  Boy, am I really understanding bk’s issue with frontal garages now.

Speaking of bk, he was so kind as to draw us a map of famous or interesting houses in the vicinity of (within a few miles of) the Huntington Library, since he had other engagements later in the day.  Thank you so much, bk!

San Marino and Pasadena

The photography is awesome. Is there a way to have a sticky to these beautiful photography here in IHB Zovall? These homes are the best of SoCal. Even the fancy houses were done in good tasteful and understated opulence. Other smaller homes were dignified modesty.

A picture is worth a thousand words and almost 3 years of BK preachings are all in Cayci’s photo album.

The home with the outside stairs was designed in 1920’s. The master bedroom at the second story front has the escape route for the mistress when the wife pulls up on the driveway allowing the mistress to bypass the front arch door.

This outside stairs was introduced first in Crystal Cove and then other later Irvine villages. It was also the predominantly single story formula that influenced the Shady Canyon guideline.

For those that watch Mad Men, this garage is, give or take, where the neighbor with the pidgeons would have been standing (to give you perspective on garage placement for the house).

This is a different view of the side yard.

This is the nice puppy who lives at the “Draper” house.

bkshopr - 05 October 2009 08:44 PM

The photography is awesome. Is there a way to have a sticky to these beautiful photography here in IHB Zovall? These homes are the best of SoCal. Even the fancy houses were done in good tasteful and understated opulence. Other smaller homes were dignified modesty.

Hi bk, it might make sense to have a sticky for this in the Architecture forum.  In the sticky, your post could have links to a number of different places (cayci’s latest awesome photos being one such link).  What do you think?

zovall - 05 October 2009 10:16 PM

bkshopr - 05 October 2009 08:44 PM

The photography is awesome. Is there a way to have a sticky to these beautiful photography here in IHB Zovall? These homes are the best of SoCal. Even the fancy houses were done in good tasteful and understated opulence. Other smaller homes were dignified modesty.

Hi bk, it might make sense to have a sticky for this in the Architecture forum.  In the sticky, your post could have links to a number of different places (cayci’s latest awesome photos being one such link).  What do you think?

That would be great. Lets move this to the architectural forum and put a stick to it. We should add on to this thread with future photos. Please keep this thread pure with good houses.

Over the years I have researched classic homes with proper pedigree. Before recommending others to visit I have walked them many times myself over the years.

Not a problem Graph you can post the architectural treasure map.

Disclaimer: once you have seen and experienced it you would have a difficult time in the future finding a perfect house and neighborhood.

EvaLSeraphim - 05 October 2009 04:16 PM

While not the land of large homes, large lots, and perfectly manicured lawns, we went to Old Town Torrance yesterday. The residential neighborhood has suffered somewhat with the City over the years allowing multi-family housing and other uses (i.e., churches) into the residential area. The big plus is a killer soba place within walking distance. We didn’t take any pictures, but here are some I found:

We lived in a nice Spanish revival on Cota Ave when I was a small child. I have fond memories of the neighborhood. We moved from here to a tract home in North Orange County. I distinctly remember telling my mom our new house was ugly and asking why our new neighborhood had no trees.

EvaLSeraphim - 05 October 2009 04:16 PM

While not the land of large homes, large lots, and perfectly manicured lawns, we went to Old Town Torrance yesterday.  The residential neighborhood has suffered somewhat with the City over the years allowing multi-family housing and other uses (i.e., churches) into the residential area.  The big plus is a killer soba place within walking distance.  We didn’t take any pictures, but here are some I found:

My grandmother has volunteered at the Torrance Historical Society for at least 25 years and my mother was a board member at one point as well.  Once or twice a year they have guided tours of historic homes in Old Torrance.  If anybody is interested, I’ll post the information when I receive it.  I’m a member of the Torrance Historical Society and I receive emails about their events.

caycifish - 05 October 2009 08:58 PM

For those that watch Mad Men, this garage is, give or take, where the neighbor with the pidgeons would have been standing (to give you perspective on garage placement for the house).

This is a different view of the side yard.

This is the nice puppy who lives at the “Draper” house.

‘
Yeah, yeah nice.  What I really want to know is, did you see Don Draper?    Although, he’s probably only 5’5”... stars are usually too damn short.