Update Friday morning: just received this bulletin from Phil:Due to major traffic and safety concerns, people dropping off non-perishable items for food drive MUST enter Bellefontaine off Fair Oaks and proceed West. We want this to be safe and successful with no danger of accidents or the city shutting us down.
BTW, we are in desperate need of volunteers for both days. Please call Phil or email him if you can assist on either day for shifts 8-11 or 11-2. His number is at the end of this post.
In keeping with this week's developing theme (did you notice a theme developing?) of guerrilla art, here's a guerrilla drive-by photo, taken at dusk yesterday while I waited for the traffic light to change at Orange Grove and Lake.
I've long admired this building at 825 E. Orange Grove Blvd. I searched the web for architectural information but didn't find it. I want to say Myron Hunt because it has that early 20th century Pasadena charm. But I'm no expert. (It's next to this building. I like them both.)
I've also wondered what was housed in the building and now I know: it's the headquarters of Union Station Homeless Services, the charity that will benefit from your non-perishable food donation to the Put a Fork in Hunger food drive this weekend. Here's an undated web page with history and information about Union Station. Assuming this page is up-to-date, 825 E. Orange Grove Blvd. is also Union Station's Family Center, with an emergency center, facilities for meals, case management, parenting classes and childrens' programs accommodating 50 parents and children.
With the Put a Fork in Hunger food drive this weekend, the Fork guys are helping Union Station fill their food banks. Union Station not only holds a giant Thanksgiving dinner at Central Park, it feeds thousands of needy people throughout the year. I posted about the drive-by food drive yesterday and I might remind you again--using relevant, fun-filled and action-packed photos for your enjoyment, of course.
If you can add historical or architectural information in the comments, please-oh-please do.
(Update: See the comments: Thal Amathura of Avenue to the Sky and Darrel Cozen of Design and Historic Preservation came through with the answer: the architects are Bennett and Haskell. Google them and you'll recognize their buildings all over town.)
Details of the Put a Fork in Hunger Food Drive:
Saturday and Sunday, November 21st and 22nd between 8am and 4pm, at the Fork in the Road where Pasadena and St. John Avenues meet south of Bellefontaine. Drive by slowly and hand your non-perishable food items to the volunteers in the bright orange t-shirts and holding outreach bags. The Fork guys are also looking for volunteers. For further information or to volunteer, contact Phil @ AgentPhil.com or call 626 644-3227.
13 comments:
Love that window ~ must look pretty from the inside, too!
Such a worthwhile place and a nice looking building. I also went on a search and did not find the history on the building -- yet! I am thinking it was a mortuary (not a real pleasent thought) at one time. The Union Station homeless services is such a wonderful organization that DOING something about the problem. Excellent post P. and thanks for letting us know about the services center.
I was wondering about that too, Tash. It would make sense of that window Shell admires--a chapel window, maybe.
Someone will know, P. I always guess Myron Hunt because then I'm right 50 percent of the time.
I'm going to fork it over. Also give something to a couple other collection centers in Altadena.
Shall we call this guerrilla good will?
This building complex was the Reynolds and Eberle Mortuary, 825 East Orange Grove, Pasadena, and I believe, also, that Myron Hunt was the architect of this 1920's complex from my recollection. This is another Lake Avenue adjacent magnificent building. Woodbury Creek runs under the sidewalk of the street just to the west of this property before it crosses under Orange Grove to the eastside of Lake where it continues south. I was suprised to not find this building on the list of designated landmarks in the city of Pasadena. I think we will have to make sure the oversight is corrected. Here is the link to the listing of all designated landmarks in Pasadena, but it may not be up to date. http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/planning/deptorg/dhp/pdfs/CombinedDesignations.pdf
The whole link for designated landmarks didn't publish, here it is again:
http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/planning/deptorg/dhp/pdfs/CombinedDesignations.pdf
I give up. Let me type it in plain text and not copy and paste.
HTTP://WW2.CITYOFPASADENA.NET/PLANNING/
DEPTORG/DHP/PDFS/
COMBINEDDESIGNATIONS.PDF
Darrel Cozen of Design and Historic Preservation has solved the mystery of the architect. He tells us it is Bennett and Haskell and he is going to update the designated landmark list on the City's Website.
Thanks, Thal (and Darrel C.). I had my fingers crossed someone would know, although I think the Hiker's method is a good one--either Myron Hunt or Sylvanus Marston. It almost worked.
And Thal, thanks for that .pdf. It is now on my desktop for constant reference and just nosing about.
Darrell is a wonderful resource in the Design and Historic Preservation Section of our Planning and Development Department.
He's retiring next month. Some people are downright irreplaceable!
I thought one of the councilmen made a motion to prevent retirements of employees, PIO?!
Who wood wanna retire from the "Design & Historic Preservation??"
My question exactly.
Post a Comment