CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL RESOURCES INVENTORY DATABASE
City of Pasadena
 
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Resource Summary
1879 E WALNUT ST
Resource Summary
Address: 1879 E WALNUT ST APN: 5746-005-900 [print]

This property is designated by the city as an individual historic resource (see "designation type" field for the specific city designation type). *
 
RESOURCE OVERVIEW
Address: 1879 E WALNUT ST
City: Pasadena State: CA
Zip Code: County: Los Angeles
County Code: 37
Historic Name: WOODBURY WELL Common Name: WOODBURY WELL
APN: 5746-005-900 Zoning:
Building Sq. Ft: Site Size (Acres): 0.310
Year Built: 1930 Documented District:
District: Property Status: Designated
Resource Description:
The water well and pump-house at 1879 E. Walnut Street (known as Woodbury Well) is located on a 0.3-acre property north side of East Walnut Street between North Allen Avenue and the fork at East Foothill Boulevard and was built in 1930 and designed by Aubrey St. Clair (ca.1890-?). The building is situated at the southern end of the property adjacent to the street. The remainder of the property consists of unenclosed water pumping infrastructure and landscaping surrounded by a six-foot high block wall.

The one-story building is rectangular in plan and designed in an exuberant Art Deco style. It has a flat roof and hand-troweled cement-plaster walls with articulated pilasters. The street-facing elevation is asymmetrical with the eastern end containing the entry door framed by a surround consisting of fluted pilasters and a stylized header with sunburst imagery. Above the entry is a decorative relief with chevrons surrounding a “crown city” logo flanked by large vertically oriented chevrons. The entire entry area is flanked by large fluted piers. The western wing of the street-facing elevation has three narrow bays with rectangular recessed panels below and stylized chevrons with water imagery above. The east elevation is minimally visible above the perimeter wall and consists of similar detailing above and a window opening below.

The building is used for pumping groundwater, occasional treatment/chlorination of groundwater (when necessary) and distribution to customers. The facility is still in use and pumps approximately 1,800 gallons of water per minute. With its small size and its largely windowless walls, the structure resembles Art-Deco style mausoleums from the 1930’s, such as the Wilson mausoleum (1939) in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit and a comparble mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetry in Chicago.

It is unknown at this time whether architect Aubrey St. Clair designed any other buildings in Pasadena; however, cursory research indicates that he designed several buildings in Laguna Beach (including the City Hall circa 1933) as well as developing plans for affordable modern housing which were displayed at the Architects’ Building Material Exhibit in downtown Los Angeles in 1931. He was the Water & Power Department’s first draftsman in 1913 and the city contracted with him to design the Woodbury Well after he had left city employment to pursue his own architectural practice. Our research indicates that St. Clair worked in a variety of styles including streamline moderne, minimal traditional, and Mediterranean revival. Staff was unable to determine whether St. Clair designed other buildings in the Art Deco style.
Legal Description:
RESOURCE DETAILS
Primary Architectural Style: Zigzag Moderne
Secondary Architectural Style:
Architect: Aubrey St. Clair
Builder:
Contractor:
Context: Recent Past 
Original Owner: City of Pasadena
Original Use: Public Utility
Original Location:
Demolished: no
Notes: Designated 2007
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.