The Livingstone, I presume?

I got free run today of the open-house condos (including the fabu penthouse) at The Livingstone, the adaptive re-use conversion of the former Livingstone Hotel at 123 S. Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. I neglected to take an exterior shot, but here's the building before the recent work.

The Livingstone, before the revamp.

This building had piqued my interest since seeing it mentioned on this Curbed post a few weeks ago. For anyone who grew up on the East Coast, it seems red brick buildings exert a natural attraction—earthquake danger be damned—and this one has real wooden sash windows to boot. I was hooked at first sight.

Real wooden sash windows.

A bit of history, courtesy of the flyer I picked up: The Livingstone and its twin building, The Stanley (located immediately to the south) were built in 1926 by long time Pasadena resident Woody Woodworth. Operated as a hotel for almost 80 years and reportedly facing demolition just a year ago, the building has been saved and converted into 32 residential units.

A generous studio.

Materials and finish are very fine throughout, and the epoxy floors are a nice touch.

Kitchen in a 2-bedroom.

Kudos to RVM Associates and its CEO Doug Huberman for having the vision to see what could happen here. RVM, by the way, stands for Rear View Mirror, indicating Huberman's penchant for historically significant properties.

Iffy hallway carpet is very last week. Oh well . . .

An ambitious Phase II of the project will see a 3-level subterranean garage constructed on the lot just north of the building, with ground floor retail and 3 stories of residential units above. The idea of pending construction only solidifies my opinion that the interior courtyard units (facing The Stanley) are the most desirable, with their charming brick porches and neighborhood-y vibe.

A shady porch on the courtyard.

The development team is amenable to buyer requests such as converting the (already generously-sized) studios to one-bedrooms or combining units into larger apartments. Move-ins are scheduled to start in early September.

Courtyard facing The Stanley next door.

If you make the trek, don't fail to find the secret door and staircase that lead up to the $1.399 million glass-encased penthouse.

The pricy hidden penthouse is worth finding.

Penthouse kitchen.

Penthouse master bath.

The building does indeed have a website, but not under the name The Livingstone. It's at LosRoblesCondos.net.

Then and Now on Bunker Hill

EDIT OF ORIGINAL POST

Thanks to Curbed L.A. for turning me on to an important video recently reposted by L.A. Observed, but which unfortunately has been deleted by Vimeo after copyright infringement complaints from the original production company, Milestone Film & Video.

The 1956 USC student film, Bunker Hill, 1956, by Kent MacKenzie, about the impending eviction of pensioners from Bunker Hill before the CRA's infamous decimation of that historic neighborhood, is a poignant piece of Los Angeles history, told from a firsthand point-of-view. Pity that the copyright holder is being so picayune.

I did manage to screen-capture a few stills from the 17-minute movie:

Bunker Hill then.

The new inhumanity:

Bunker Hill now.

If anyone finds this film surfacing again in cyberspace, let me know.

Crime of the Week

Crime and context.

853 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena

Some crimes would be less heinous in a different context. This disastrous and ill-maintained eyesore is smack dab in the middle of a Pasadena neighborhood of Craftsman and other early 20th-century houses, just north of the 210 Freeway.

The context

Admittedly, the neighboring structures are not necessarily in pristine condition, but at least they are appropriate to the streetscape.

In the same block

Given the context, there's no excuse for the blatant and egregious nature of the crime at hand.

The Hollywood Sign Hotel

Best idea for the Hollywood sign, ever.


Danish architectural firm Bayarch has come up with a way to make the Hollywood sign not only accessible but also profitable (and, evidently, not so linearly challenged).

Introducing the Hollywood Sign Hotel.

The Hollywood Sign Hotel.

The concept is appealing on many levels. Not only would the "sign" now be lit and glowing at night, but tourists would be able to get up-close-and-personal with the celebrated icon. A lucky (and monied) few would actually get to stay there.

Revenues generated from paying guests would easily offset the maintenance costs of the storied monument.

How about those views?

Bayarch was founded in 1966 by Christian Bay-Jørgensen, who once appeared in a now-kitschy advert for Prince cigarettes.

He's a modernist, with an impressive international portfolio of built projects. I say let's build this one.

More images of the concept are available on the Bayarch website.

Pride of Pasadena

I hadn't visited Pasadena City Hall since its restoration and retrofitting, completed in 2007.


In fact, I had never visited Pasadena City Hall until this week. Shame on me.

From the exterior, it's one of Southern California's most dramatically beautiful structures, a prime example of the West Coast's slightly belated embrace of the City Beautiful movement.


The imposing six-story tower with its arches, dome, lantern, and finial, dominates Pasadena's Civic Center and the city's skyline in general.


The exterior is enhanced with restrained Renaissance-style neoclassical detailing worthy of Inigo Jones or Chris Wren (well, I call him Chris).


But the full effect of the ingenious design is only fully apparent once you enter the building.


The play of indoor and outdoor spaces—a signature characteristic of Southern California architecture—has perhaps never been better captured than in this "porous" building, designed by San Francisco architects Bakewell and Brown in a style that successfully marries late-Renaissance Palladian influences with the California Mission style.


Interior spaces open onto wide, cool, shaded loggias and open stone staircases, which in turn flow out in to the central courtyard, designed in a relaxed, not-quite-symmetrical pattern centered on a cast-stone fountain surrounded by trees.


The restoration cost was $117 million, while the original cost of the building, completed in 1927, was $1.3 million. The sensitive work, by San Francisco-headquartered Architectural Resources Group, included the installation of 240 seismic isolators to protect the building from earthquakes.

A major shout-out to whoever designed the excellent "facilities." Not only are they attractive, but the dedicated staff keeps them smelling sweeter than a rose garden.

All in all, one of the most rewarding architectural expeditions I've undertaken recently, including my stop in the men's room.

Crime of the Week

Where to begin?

This doozie just showed up as a Coldwell Banker listing.

It's even special enough to have its own website, complete with a rheumy, sclerosis-inducing soundtrack fit for a Lifetime miniseries about a teen cancer victim. (I did warn you.)

1412 Oak Crest Ave., South Pasadena

The DIY style could be described as Case-Study-meets-Palladio-at-Home-Depot, but the word garbage also comes to mind.

If you're wondering what's on the inside of that ersatz fan window, wonder no longer: people with kids live here.

Toys are us.

They don't get much uglier than this, people, so drink up.