{"nrhp_refnum":"09000178","name":"Mello, Clarence and Mary, House","other_names":["The Mello House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"541 Fremont Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.154138242000045,"lon":-118.16204660399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-04-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story post-and-beam single-family house at 541 Fremont Drive in Pasadena, California, completed in April 1957 and designed by Buff, Straub and Hensman for Clarence and Mary Mello.","why_significant":"The house is argued to be significant under Criterion C as the work of master architects and as an example of the modular post-and-beam technique adapted to a particular site, budget and family program. It is also cited as showing innovation in residential Modernism within Pasadena's 1948-1968 Recent Past period. It retains exceptional integrity.","narrative":"Completed in April 1957 at 541 Fremont Drive in Pasadena, this one-story house was designed by the firm Buff, Straub and Hensman for Clarence and Mary Mello, who loved camping and expected a family of five children. Built for $36,689.99, it uses a 6-foot module of dark-stained posts filled with stucco, wood or glass panels under a broadly pitched roof. Its plan forms two back-to-back L shapes, one holding the living and family areas and the other the children's bedrooms, with terraces, decks and patios woven around them. The wedge-shaped lot sits on the bank of the Arroyo Seco, with views toward the San Gabriel Mountains. A 1963 two-bedroom addition was also designed by the firm. The house was listed for its architecture, as a strong example of the firm's post-and-beam work adapted to a modest budget and a specific family. It is also valued as an example of residential Modernism in Pasadena, and it remains largely original and occupied by the family.","period_of_significance":"1957","architect_builder":"Buff, Straub, and Hensman","architectural_style":"Modern Movement","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a single dwelling and occupied by the Mello family; the form says the house is original apart from glass replacement and some rafter-tail enclosure.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.78253-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/09000178.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000178/f316f9fbe5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000178/f316f9fbe5-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"TheCatalyst31","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clarence_and_Mary_Mello_House_from_street.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TheCatalyst31</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clarence_and_Mary_Mello_House_from_street.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83001202","name":"Prospect Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/prospect-historic-district-83001202/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857550","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133289479"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/mello-clarence-and-mary-house-09000178/"}