{"nrhp_refnum":"77000300","name":"Nicholson, Grace, Building","other_names":["Pacificulture-Asia Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"46 N. Los Robles Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.14648878100007,"lon":-118.14111639199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-07-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Art","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Chinese Imperial Palace courtyard-style museum and commercial building at 45 N. Los Robles Avenue in downtown Pasadena, California, designed by Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury and built 1924-1929 for Grace Nicholson.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a rare American example of an authentic Chinese courtyard style built with Western construction methods, and that its garden is an outstanding example of Chinese landscape architecture in America. It also honors Grace Nicholson, a dealer in Native American and Asian art, and the building's long role as a center for arts and culture in Pasadena.","narrative":"Located across from the site of the former Maryland Hotel in downtown Pasadena, this two-story building was modeled on a Chinese Imperial Palace courtyard. Art dealer Grace Nicholson planned it as a Treasure House after studying photographs of Chinese temples and palaces from 1919 to 1924. The Pasadena firm Marston, Van Pelt and Maybury drew the plans, and construction ran from 1924 to 1929. The structure is concrete over a steel frame, with green imported roof tiles and carvings made in China or by local craftsmen. Galleries surround a central garden whose dragons, lotus newels and peony windows carry symbolic meanings. The building won an American Institute of Architects award in 1929. It opened in 1926 as an arts center, was deeded to the city in 1943, housed the Pasadena Art Museum until 1970, and then became the Pacificulture-Asia Museum. The nomination values both the architecture and the garden.","period_of_significance":"1924-1929","architect_builder":"Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury","architectural_style":"Chinese Imperial Palace courtyard style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition and unaltered, in use as the Pacificulture-Asia Museum, owned by the City of Pasadena.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.753617-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000300.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000300/3ce4fae212-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000300/3ce4fae212-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Minnaert","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PacAsianMuseum.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnaert</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:PacAsianMuseum.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859351","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USC_Pacific_Asia_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7122298"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/nicholson-grace-building-77000300/"}