{"nrhp_refnum":"09000179","name":"Norton, John, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"820 Burleigh Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.12859365200006,"lon":-118.17405949999994,"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, wood-and-glass single-family house at 820 Burleigh Drive in southwest Pasadena, California, built in 1955 and designed by the firm Buff, Straub and Hensman.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an excellent example of the firm's work and of residential Modernism in Pasadena's Recent Past. It responds to a steep, narrow site with terracing, stepping stones and broad staircases rather than stepping down the slope in volumes. It retains an outstanding degree of integrity and is significant locally under Criterion C for architecture and design.","narrative":"Set below street grade at the corner of Burleigh Drive and Laguna Road in southwest Pasadena, this 1955 house was designed by the architectural firm Buff, Straub and Hensman. It is a one-story post-and-beam rectangle of wood and glass, with a few volumes cantilevered from the main box and a structural span of ten feet. Terraces, stepping stones and broad staircases connect the house to its steep, tree-covered lot. Interior details include a concrete block fireplace, Formica countertops, built-in seating and a glass-walled bathroom with plastic panels that recall Japanese screens; the bathroom appeared in Sunset magazine in 1956. The house was listed for its architecture. The nomination presents it as a distinctive solution to a difficult site and as an example of Pasadena's mid-century residential Modernism. A 1983 addition by the same firm and later material replacements are judged not to have harmed its integrity.","period_of_significance":"1955","architect_builder":"Buff, Straub and Hensman","architectural_style":"Modern Movement","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a single dwelling; a 1983 addition to the master bedroom was designed by the original firm and is described as in character with the house.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.829493-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/09000179.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000179/aa1ad80765-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000179/aa1ad80765-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TheCatalyst31","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Norton_House.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:John_Norton_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857571","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Norton_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14682525"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/norton-john-house-09000179/"}