CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL RESOURCES INVENTORY DATABASE
City of Pasadena
 
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Resource Summary
275 S Raymond Ave
Resource Summary
Address: 275 S Raymond Ave APN: 5722-002-903 [print]

This property is in a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places. *
 
RESOURCE OVERVIEW
Address: 275 S Raymond Ave
City: Pasadena State: CA
Zip Code: County: Los Angeles
County Code: 37
Historic Name: Central Park Common Name:
APN: 5722-002-903 Zoning:
Building Sq. Ft: Site Size (Acres): 3.590
Year Built: 1927 Documented District: OLD PASADENA
District: OLD PASADENA (designated)
 Property Status: Designated
Resource Description:
Central Park is located at the south end of the Old Pasadena district. The 10.73-acre site is bounded by South Raymond Avenue on the east, Dayton Street on the north, South Fair Oaks Avenue on the west, and East Del Mar Boulevard on the south. The Hotel Green is to the north and the Santa Fe Train Station is to the east. Central Park and Memorial Park (in the Civic Center National Register District) are the oldest parks in the city, the land for both parks having been purchased in 1902. Many mature trees, broad lawns, and a few small buildings connected by winding paths form the general plan of the park. The park became a recreation ground for the tourists staying at the neighboring Hotel Green.

The park was originally designed by Thomas Chisholm, but mainly reflects a redesign by Cook & Hall and Ralph Cornell in 1927. Most of the original footpath configuration of intersecting circles and ovals still exists, notably the large oval in the center. The National Humane Society donated the stone horse trough located in the northeast corner of the park in 1905. It is now used as a water fountain.

At the southeast corner of the park are the Lawn Bowling Clubhouse and two bowling greens. Wealthy eastern gentlemen vacationing in Pasadena and staying in the area hotels, such as the Hotel Green, formed the club in 1921. The sport was apparently so popular that architect Wallace Neff was commissioned to design a clubhouse in 1929. The clubhouse is a one-story Spanish Colonial Revival style building with a red tile roof. It sits between two square-shaped bowling greens that are surround by fences.

Roque, a form of croquet played on clay courts, was also popular in the 1920s; thus six roque courts were constructed west of the south bowling green. They remained at least through the late 1960s, but are now gone.

Constructed in 1915, the Tourist Club sits at the south end of the park at 37 East Del Mar Boulevard. When the stuccoed bungalow style Tourist Club was moved from the north end of the park to its present site in 1926, a new foundation as well as electricity and plumbing were added. It remains mostly unchanged except for the replacement of the original front doors.

The park retains a variety of mature trees including one or more Sago Palm, Bunya-Bunya, Flame Eucalyptus, California Bay, and Canary Island Palm.

The park is counted as one site and two buildings.
Legal Description:
RESOURCE DETAILS
Primary Architectural Style:
Secondary Architectural Style:
Architect: Cook, Hall & Cornell (landscape design), Wallace Neff (lawn bowling clubhouse)
Builder:
Contractor:
Context: Historic Designed Gardens 
Original Owner: City of Pasadena
Original Use: Public Park
Original Location:
Demolished: no
Notes:
Moved: no
Date Moved: n/a
Designation Date: n/a

* This is a simplified statement of the property's status. Please review the NRHP Status Code field on the search screen for official, adopted status language.