2016 Year-In-Review

Watch our highlights reel to get a taste of some of our accomplishments for 2016, featuring housing, economic development, urban design, building & safety and more. 

New Historic District: Niodrara Drive

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.

Fresh Plans for Historic Masonic Temple

The Masonic Temple (234-238 S. Brand Blvd.) was added
to the Glendale Register of Historic Resources in 1997.

The life of the Masonic Temple has taken many unexpected twists and turns since it was built on the cusp of the Great Depression. Its latest chapter promises to breath new life into one of Glendale's most prominent landmarks. 

The Masonic Temple was built in 1928 for the Unity Lodge. As fortune would have it, they only owned the building until 1934 when it was lost to foreclosure. Although the building continued to be occupied by several Masonic groups in the decades to follow, its lack of windows and unusual floor plan made it difficult to occupy. Its last tenant, A Noise Within Theater Company, occupied the lower floors of the building from 1991 to 2011. In 2013, the building owner obtained approval for several alterations and upgrades that were started but never completed. 

The recent acquisition of the Masonic Temple by Caruso Affiliated will revitalize this historic landmark by allowing the unusually configured interior spaces to meet the needs of a modern office environment, while retaining its historic character and eligibility to continue listing on Glendale's Register of Historic Resource.

The Historic Preservation Commission has reviewed and approved Caruso Affiliated's rehabilitation proposal (Commission meetings held on 04/16/15 & 05/21/15). Highlights of the proposed renovations include: 

• Restoration of the entry facade and its related features including entry arch, ironwork, the window above the primary door, black granite cladding at the base of the entire south facade, the two arches a the sides of the entry and the storefronts at the north and south side of the main entrance,
• the installation of an open steel frame stair tower adjacent to the southwest corner of the building, 

5 Homes Added to Glendale's Historic Register

What do a National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, the inventor of the coffee drip system & a past #MyGlendale mayor have in common? They all owned homes in Glendale and those homes were recently added to the City's Register of Historic Resources.

The City of Glendale is committed to historic preservation as part of its goal of planning for the future. By preserving key places that contribute to the history of all city residents we help the city develop and grow without erasing its past. The Glendale City Council recently approved adding 5 properties to the Register of Historic Resources. These properties are rich in history and are an important part of Glendale's colorful heritage.

Glendale Register No. 105 The Weaver House 1440 N. Central Ave. The house was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by architect Benjamin W. Sherwood. The house is an excellent and unusual example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style in Glendale. It was built for Eugene L. Weaver, an executive with Ben-Hur Coffee, a division of the Joannes Brothers Corporation. Ben-Hur pioneered the world’s first drip coffee system under Weaver’s management, and he is credited with the invention.

VIDEO: Protecting Glendale's Historic Neighborhoods

Watch this video to learn about Glendale's historic neighborhoods. Visit the Community Development Department's webpage for more information about historic preservation.

Welcome Brockmont Park: Glendale’s Newest Historic District!

Valley View Road in the Brockmont Park Historic District.

Glendale City Council recently voted to designate the city’s sixth historic district - Brockmont Park.  This beautiful neighborhood in Northwest Glendale is notable not only for its excellent architecture, but also for its interesting history.

The area’s 59 homes are located north of Kenneth Road and roughly bounded by Merriman Drive on the west, Valley View Road on the east, and Cumberland Road and Arbor Drive at the north. Most of the houses were built between the late 1920s and middle 1950s and almost every major architectural style of those decades is represented. The neighborhood’s streets are distinctive for their mature trees, with entire blocks lined with either white pines, Canary pines, or fan palms.

The Brockman Clock Tower.

The new district is located on part of the former 140-acre estate of John Brockman, a self-made millionaire who struck it rich in the gold and silver mines of New Mexico and Arizona. Eventually settling in Los Angeles, he invested in real estate and became important in the growth and development of downtown – the Brockman Building at 7^th and Grand still bears his name. In 1909, he bought land at the foot of the Verdugo Mountains to build his retirement home, which he called “Brockmont.” Along with the grand mansion, he built a four-story clock tower and created extensively landscaped grounds that included a lake with an island and a deer park. The house and the tower are both listed on the Glendale Register of Historic Resources and now look out over the new historic district. The district consists of the southern portion of the estate, which was laid out and developed as “Brockmont Park” by the Home Realty Company shortly after Brockman’s death in 1925. Promotional literature hailed the tract as “The Ideal Home Community” – a sentiment that local residents continue to share!

Brockmont Park joins the city’s five other historic districts, which help manage change in designated districts by making sure that alterations and additions visible from the street keep the historic character that makes Glendale’s older neighborhoods so desirable.

Please visit the Community Development Department's webpage for more information about historic preservation in Glendale.

Five Properties Added to the Glendale Register of Historic Places

City Council recently voted to place five new properties on the Glendale Register of Historic Resources.

1. The Municipal Services Building at 633 E. Broadway, Glendale Register's 100th Property
   It serves as an excellent example of 1960s Modern civic designs in Southern California. The building was designed by architect Merrill W. Baird of Glendale, working in collaboration with A. C. Martin Architects of Los Angeles, and completed in 1966 at a cost of $1.8 million.
2. Glendale Register No. 101; the Webb House at 611 Cumberland Road
   The house is a notably late example of Period Revival architecture, built in 1950 and designed by George Postle of the father-son architectural firm Postle and Postle.

The Municipal Services Building

The Webb House

New Neighborhood Applies for Historic District Designation

Recently, several residents of Niodrara Drive in the Verdugo Woodlands neighborhood applied to create a small historic district of 32 single-family homes. The proposed district is strongly defined by its landscape and streetscape features, most notably the flowing stream running alongside portions of the street. Lots of mature trees, including a big sycamore rising from a small island in the middle the street, help define the character of the area. Stone curbs, as well as remnants of original bridges and railings along the stream-bed enhance the neighborhood's unique rustic character. Homes of different styles and eras line the street. These provide a visual timeline of the neighborhood’s development, which began soon after it was subdivided by the Verdugo Land Company in 1910 and continued bit by bit through subsequent decades.

In September, the Historic Preservation Commission accepted and approved a petition asking the city to conduct a historic resource survey for the area to determine if it meets the criteria for designation. Once this is completed, residents will have the opportunity to sign another petition, this time requesting that City Council designate the district. If successful, Niodrara Drive will join the city’s five other historic districts, which help neighborhoods manage future changes by making sure that alterations and additions visible from the street keep the historic character that makes Glendale’s older neighborhoods so desirable.

Visit the Community Development Department's webpage for more information about historic preservation in Glendale.

Glendale's Newest Historic Register Properties

The Farmer House at 1753 Hillcrest Avenue.

City Council recently voted to place three new properties on the Glendale Register of Historic Resources.

1. The Farmer House at 1753 Hillcrest Avenue is a beautiful two-story Spanish Colonial Revival-style residence set on a hillside in the Brockmont neighborhood.   
2. The the Thompson-Howe House at 1050 Hillcroft Road is a lovely three-story Spanish Colonial Revival-style house built in 1928 in what is now the Rossmoyne Historic District.
3. Finally, Burkhard House at 1471 Royal Boulevard is a Modern-style house located in the Royal Boulevard Historic District. Paul Burkhard, Sr. was a prominent builder, banker, and policy advisor, who also served as mayor of Glendale in the early 1950's. The house was designated for both its architectural character and its association with Burkhard, whose son Paul was its architect.  

The Thompson-Howe House

The Burkhard House

The Glendale Register is the city’s official list of properties that are important to our heritage. Property owners can submit a nomination that details the historic background and existing appearance of the site, which is reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission and City Council. Once approved, the property is added to the Register and its historic character will be maintained for years to come. Owners of listed properties are eligible to participate in the city's Mills Act program, which can provide a significant reduction in property taxes in exchange for the owner's commitment to maintaining the property at the highest level of preservation. 

Please visit the Community Development Department's webpage for more Historic Register and Mills Act information.

Historic Preservation - Introduction

Historic Preservation

The City of Glendale is committed to the preservation of its historic buildings, neighborhoods, and sites as part of its overall goal of planning for the future. By looking back and preserving key places that contribute to the shared history of all city residents - past, present, and future - we establish a framework that allows the city to develop, grow, and prosper without erasing the heritage that helps define Glendale and its people.

For more information about historic preservation status, public meetings, and frequently asked questions, visit our Historic Preservation Homepage.