{"nrhp_refnum":"77000295","name":"Pacific Electric Railway Company Substation No. 8","other_names":["Altadena Substation"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2245 N. Lake Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Altadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.184179062000055,"lon":-118.131857218,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-11-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small buttressed brick electric substation at 2245 North Lake Avenue in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California, built in 1906 by the Pacific Electric Railway Construction Department at Altadena Junction.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the last structure directly tied to the Mt. Lowe Railway System, once a major California tourist attraction, and one of the last surviving Pacific Electric powerhouses. It also claims architectural value as an example of early 20th century industrial design, with double-thick walls, buttresses and a pedimented gable on brick corbelling. The form admits the street facade was altered but says overall integrity remains and the original facade can be restored.","narrative":"Built in 1906 at Altadena Junction, this brick substation on North Lake Avenue supplied electric power for Pacific Electric Railway operations in Altadena, including the Mt. Lowe Railway. The rectangular building measures about 30 by 50 feet and has buttressed walls, a pedimented end gable supported by brick corbelling, arched door openings and a wooden tower that once held cooling apparatus for motor-generator sets. The Mt. Lowe line, begun by Professor Thaddeus Lowe in 1893 and taken over by Henry Huntington's company in 1902, drew large numbers of tourists. The substation kept supplying local street railways until 1941, after the Mt. Lowe line closed in 1936. Its machinery was then removed, and the building became offices in the mid-1940s, gaining display windows, a marquee and an exterior stairway. Supporters cited it as the last structure linked to the Mt. Lowe Railway and a surviving example of early industrial architecture in the Los Angeles area.","period_of_significance":"1906-1941","architect_builder":"Pacific Electric Railway Construction Department","architectural_style":"Early 20th century industrial design with simple classical detailing","criteria":[],"status_note":"Converted to shops and offices in the mid-1940s after electric trolley service ended in 1941; at the time of nomination it was in use as a professional photography studio. Condition rated fair and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.173185-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000295.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000295/0f77c154b9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000295/0f77c154b9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Weedwhacker128","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pacific_Electric_Railway_Company_Substation_No._8.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Weedwhacker128</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:Pacific_Electric_Railway_Company_Substation_No._8.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859376","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric_Railway_Company_Substation_No._8","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7122438"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/pacific-electric-railway-company-substation-no-8-77000295/"}