{"nrhp_refnum":"85001983","name":"Fenyes Estate","other_names":["Pasadena Historical Society Museum and Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"470 W. Walnut St. & 160 N. Orange Grove Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.14882555600008,"lon":-118.16121457899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-building estate on Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, California, made up of the Fenyes Mansion (1905), the Curtin House (1915) and the Finnish Folk Art Museum (a Swiss chalet designed in 1910 as a garage). It now serves as a historical society museum and library.","why_significant":"The surviving text describes a largely unchanged early estate on Pasadena's fashionable Orange Grove avenue. It has an Italian villa mansion, a French-style residence and a Swiss chalet that records a demolished main house. The Section 8 statement of significance and the criteria are not included in the available text, so the formal grounds for listing are not shown.","narrative":"Three buildings on Pasadena's Orange Grove Boulevard make up the Fenyes Estate, now home to a historical society museum and library. The main house, an 18-room Italian villa with Classical Revival detailing, was designed in 1905 by Robert Farquhar. Sylvanus Marston added a wing in 1911 with a barrel-vaulted solarium, a study, a laboratory and a studio. South of it stands the Curtin House, a French-style residence designed in 1915 by Marston and Van Pelt for the owner's daughter. The third building began in 1910 as a Swiss chalet garage by Frederick Roehrig. It was moved in 1949, remodeled as guest quarters, and became a Finnish museum in 1974. The nomination notes it is the only record of the demolished Swiss-style main house. Many interior rooms keep original fixtures, furnishings and wallpaper, and landscape features such as a fountain and mature trees survive. Part of the original grounds was leased in 1980 for a corporate headquarters.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Robert Farquhar (Fenyes Mansion, 1905); Sylvanus Marston (1911 addition); Marston and Van Pelt (Curtin House, 1915); Frederick Roehrig (Swiss chalet garage, 1910)","architectural_style":"Italian villa with Classical Revival detailing (mansion); French style (Curtin House); Swiss chalet (Finnish Folk Art Museum)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a museum and library; condition marked excellent. The Finnish Museum is a garage moved in 1949 and remodeled in 1974. The gardener's cottage, garage and hot house were removed after part of the property was leased in 1980.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.833816-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/85001983.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001983/f69cc7ba06-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001983/f69cc7ba06-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Rschen7754","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fenyes_Estate_13.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Rschen7754</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:Fenyes_Estate_13.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859107","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenyes_Estate","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16891268"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/fenyes-estate-85001983/"}