This spring, Glendale City Council voted unanimously to
approve designation for the Niodrara Drive Historic District. It joins six
existing historic districts throughout the city, each of which tells a unique
tale of Glendale’s history and development.
In addition to containing a high
concentration of intact and varied historic architecture, this Verdugo Woodlands neighborhood is notable for the beautiful landscape and hardscape
features that contribute strongly to its visual character. These include an
exceptionally lush array of native coast live oak and California sycamore
trees, as well as a rusticated stone creek bed, foot bridges, retaining walls,
and other planned features dating to the 1920s.
The district’s thirty-two homes are located on or adjacent
to Niodrara Drive, bounded roughly by Wabasso Way and Colina Drive. One of
these is the Rodriguez House (Glendale Register No. 24), designed in 1942 by
famed Modernist architect R.M. Schindler. The other homes in the district are
designed in a range of architectural styles, including Foursquare, Spanish
Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and Ranch.
The land was first subdivided in 1909 by the Verdugo Canyon
Land Company, before being developed by the F.P. Newport Company from 1917 into
the 1920s. The latter was responsible for building Niodrara Drive’s
characteristic stone features, hoping to entice potential homebuyers with
picturesque interpretations of an idyllic European countryside filled with
“chattering brooks of sparkling mountain water…clear vistas of rugged
mountains…great gnarled sycamores…evergreen live-oaks”–right here in
Glendale!
Some of the larger lots were further subdivided in the
post-World War II era. The houses thus represent fifty years of development
activity (1912-1962), a broader range than Glendale’s other historic districts.
The district displays a range of architectural styles popular during each of
those decades, making Niodrara Drive a fascinating cross-section of Glendale’s
evolving tastes and trends in residential architecture.
Niodrara Drive joins Royal Boulevard, Ard Eevin Highlands, Cottage Grove, Rossmoyne, North Cumberland Heights, and Brockmont Park Historic Districts in the city’s effort to retain the historic character and distinctive fabric of its older neighborhoods. It will do so by ensuring that proposed alterations and additions visible from the street in designated districts are in keeping with these design and conservation goals.
Niodrara Drive joins Royal Boulevard, Ard Eevin Highlands, Cottage Grove, Rossmoyne, North Cumberland Heights, and Brockmont Park Historic Districts in the city’s effort to retain the historic character and distinctive fabric of its older neighborhoods. It will do so by ensuring that proposed alterations and additions visible from the street in designated districts are in keeping with these design and conservation goals.
For more information about historic preservation in Glendale please visit the Community Development Department's website.
