{"nrhp_refnum":"77000299","name":"Bentz, Louise C., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"657 Prospect Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.155857569000034,"lon":-118.16141928299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-12-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, eight-room frame bungalow at 657 Prospect Boulevard in Pasadena, California, built in 1906 and designed by Charles and Henry Greene. It was the first house built in the Prospect Park Tract.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is the prime surviving example of the Greenes' moderate-budget, middle-class work from their most productive period (1903-1909). It is also tied to client John C. Bentz, a Pasadena businessman, developer and arts patron, and to a long-running, authentic restoration that has influenced preservation in the city.","narrative":"This two-story, eight-room frame bungalow at 657 Prospect Boulevard in Pasadena was designed by Charles and Henry Greene and built in 1906. It was the first house in the Prospect Park Tract, which client John C. Bentz helped develop with two partners. The house combines a chalet feel along its street front with Japanese-influenced rooflines, deep overhangs, bands of casement windows, and local materials such as redwood shakes, Douglas fir trim and arroyo boulders. Its estimated cost was $5,600, and the nomination presents it as the best surviving example of the architects' work for moderately well-to-do clients, many of whose houses have been lost or heavily altered. Original doors, windows and hardware survive, and the Greenes added a sleeping porch, bath and dressing room in 1910. Since 1960 the owners have undertaken a careful restoration whose techniques have been applied to other Pasadena houses.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Charles and Henry Greene (architects)","architectural_style":"California bungalow with Swiss chalet and Japanese influences (Greene & Greene)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked occupied, private residence, in excellent condition and unaltered on its original site; the owners have carried out a restoration program since 1960.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.369385-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000299.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000299/c3b95f86fb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000299/c3b95f86fb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ellie Trevarthen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louise_C_Bentz_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Ellie Trevarthen</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:Louise_C_Bentz_House.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/123858953","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_C._Bentz_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15242990"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/bentz-louise-c-house-77000299/"}