| Address: |
1540 POPPY PEAK Dr |
APN: |
5482-016-008 |
This property is in a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
This property is designated by the city as an individual historic resource (see "designation type" field for the specific city designation type). *
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| Address: |
1540 POPPY PEAK Dr |
| City: |
Pasadena |
State: |
CA |
| Zip Code: |
91105 |
County: |
Los Angeles |
| County Code: |
37 |
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| Historic Name: |
CONSTANCE M. PERKINS RESIDENCE |
Common Name: |
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| APN: |
5482-016-008 |
Zoning: |
RS-6 |
| Building Sq. Ft: |
1080 |
Site Size (Acres): |
0.140 |
| Year Built: |
1955 Documented |
District: |
Poppy Peak Historic District
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| District: |
Poppy Peak Historic District (designated)
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Property Status: |
Designated |
| Contributing Status: |
C |
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| Resource Description: |
A small (1,080 s.f.), ethereal composition of house and studio, the Perkins House is one story, irregular in plan, and asymmetrical is massing. Set in a hillside setting and oriented to the northeast, the airy flat-roofed house is set on a raised block-wall podium and consists of series of planar white-stucco walls and glass walls, balanced beneath overhanging canopies. On the downslope (east) side of the site, a flat-roofed carport--sheathed in vertical tongue-and-groove redwood--is attached to the house. Adjoining the carport is a flight of open-tread stairs, which lead to the flush wooden front door. Perpendicular to the entry is a thin, full-height parapeted wall extending from the driveway to the roofline of the house. This wall counterweights the decided lightness of the house on the other elevations. Dramatically wooden ceiling beams from the interior extend outward-as "spider legs"--on the north and south ends of the house and terminate at sharp right angles into the ground plane. At the south end of the house, the protruding spider leg rests in a shallow amoeba-shaped reflecting pool, which meanders into the interior living space beneath a large uninterrupted expanse of clear glass. The house is organized around a large open space on the interior, and the exterior walls, especially those to the south, east, and west, are highly transparent to convey an intentional integration of the inside with the outside.
Richard Neutra’s tiny 1,310-square-foot house steps up its steep site in an interlocking system of long white stucco planes and Douglas fir posts and beams. The carport is set into the hill below a run of stairs leading to the front door; its roof serves as an outdoor deck opening from the living room on the east; privacy is protected by a translucent screen on the north, to the left of the entry. At the southeast corner of the house, a small, curved pool winds in and out of the mitered glass corner to link indoors and outdoors, a gesture made more emphatic by the 4x12 lintel beam extending south past the building envelope to become one of Neutra’s signature “spider” legs, terminating in a column located in the pool. The roof deck above the carport is illuminated at night by the exterior soffit lighting to enlarge the living area outdoors at night, an important character-defining feature in Neutra’s work. The budget for this house was exceptionally low for the time, $17,000. The interior was precisely designed for an academic, Dr. Constance Perkins, and all interior detailing has been virtually undisturbed. The house has been recently restored and is well maintained. Constructed in 1955, the house retains exceptionally high integrity.
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| Legal Description: |
| LOT 59 OF TRACT NO. 6210, IN THE CITY OF PASADENA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AS PER MAP RECORDED IN BOOK 103, PAGES 38 THROUGH 41, INCLUSIVE OF MAPS, IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY RECORDER OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA |
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| Primary Architectural Style: |
International /Modern Style |
| Secondary Architectural Style: |
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| Architect: |
Richard Neutra |
| Builder: |
Pat Hamilton |
| Contractor: |
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| Context: |
Recent Past
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| Original Owner: |
Constance Perkins |
| Original Use: |
Single Family Residence |
| Original Location: |
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| Demolished: |
no |
| Notes: |
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| Moved: |
no |
| Date Moved: |
n/a |
| Designation Date: |
n/a |
| Mills Act: |
A contract and work program
was recorded in 12/31/2018
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* 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.
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