{"nrhp_refnum":"01000328","name":"Hermitage","other_names":["Craig Adobe"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2121 Monte Vista St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.155546609000055,"lon":-118.10717608099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-04-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Agriculture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1-1/2 story, roughly 3,000 square foot ranch house at 2121 Monte Vista Street in Pasadena, California, with a two-room adobe core built about 1840, rehabilitated by James Craig in 1869 and expanded with frame wings in 1879.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the only surviving pre-1900 adobe in Pasadena and the city's oldest structure of any kind. It is tied to James Craig, an early land developer, citrus grower and water project leader. Its Victorian-era half-story, porch and wings show distinctive craftsmanship added to an earlier adobe.","narrative":"Pasadena's oldest surviving building, this house at 2121 Monte Vista Street began as a two-room adobe thought to date from about 1840. James Craig, an Irish-born civil engineer, bought a large tract in 1869 and named his ranch The Hermitage, rehabilitating the adobe as his home. In 1879 he added frame east and west wings, and the ornamented half-story and surrounding porch reflect mid-Victorian design and craftsmanship. Craig became a leading figure in early Pasadena citrus growing, water development and land holding, and was an officer of the Hermitage Water Company. Later owners included a Pasadena Playhouse director, who removed the wood siding covering the adobe walls in the 1930s. A garage damaged by fire in 1998 was rebuilt, and the house underwent seismic strengthening between 1997 and 2000 after Northridge earthquake damage. The property is regarded as the only pre-1900 adobe left in the city, and its combination of Mexican-era and Victorian construction makes it unusual in Southern California.","period_of_significance":"1869-1899","architect_builder":"Craig, James","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Queen Anne","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition after a 1997-2000 seismic retrofit and rehabilitation; used as a single dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.623502-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/01000328.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000328/38b747bd4d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000328/38b747bd4d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TheCatalyst31","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hermitage,_Pasadena,_CA_03.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TheCatalyst31</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hermitage,_Pasadena,_CA_03.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859190","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133286068"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/hermitage-01000328/"}