A Craftsman home built by Greene & Greene in 1904 for the widow of a U.S. president is up for sale in South Pasadena.
Listed at just under $3 million, the Chalet Style estate was built by the Greene brothers for Lucretia Garfield, widow of assassinated President James A. Garfield.
The South Pasadena Cultural Heritage Landmark was renovated and restored by its current owner, who added a basement recording studio and media center, according to the listing agent, Kevin Bourland of Aaroe Estates, who’s a Craftsman owner himself.
Mature oaks and Deodar cedars frame the wood-shingled residence and enhance its period details, which include cross-gabled roof and decorative slat vents and stone and brick accents.
Lucretia Garfield was an avid fan of architecture. Letters between her and Charles Greene, preserved in the Greene & Greene archives, reveal that the former first lady was intimately involved in the design of the home.
In one exchange, she asked, “Couldn’t the projection of the second story be continued just a little into a flat roof underneath the cornice.”
Greene tactfully replied: “The reason why the eaves project from the gables is because they cast such beautiful shadows in the bright atmosphere. Of course if you particularly wish to have them cut back I will have them do.”
— City News Service