{"nrhp_refnum":"94000462","name":"Pasadena Playhouse Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Singer Building","First Trust Building","Pasadena Playh"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"464--611 E. Colorado Blvd., 550--655 E. Green St., 21--127 S. El Molino Ave., and 150 N.--101 S. Madison Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.14749169550004,"lon":-118.13918602572775,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Performing Arts","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 50 mostly commercial, cultural and religious buildings in Pasadena, California, along Colorado Boulevard, Green Street, South El Molino Avenue and Madison Avenue, built mainly in the 1920s and 1930s.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be the most intact and contiguous collection of buildings from Pasadena's 'second wave' of growth, when commerce and culture moved eastward from the old downtown. It meets Criterion A for community planning, commerce and the performing arts, and Criterion C for its many examples of period architectural styles.","narrative":"Pasadena Playhouse Historic District is a collection of roughly 50 buildings in Pasadena, California, centered on Colorado Boulevard, Green Street, South El Molino Avenue and Madison Avenue. It reflects the 1920s and 1930s shift of the city's business, cultural and religious life eastward from the older downtown, spurred partly by construction of the Civic Center. Small one- and two-story shops dominate, mixed with taller commercial buildings such as the Star-News and First Trust buildings, large churches, apartments and a few early houses. Styles range from Spanish Colonial Revival, seen in the Singer Building and Lockwood Building, to Art Deco, Georgian Revival, Gothic Revival and Classical Revival. The Pasadena Playhouse anchors the district culturally. The district was recognized for its role in Pasadena's urban expansion, its commerce and performing arts history, and its architectural variety. Its period of significance runs from 1906 to 1944, and most contributing buildings keep their historic character.","period_of_significance":"1906-1944","architect_builder":"Multiple, including Marston and Maybury; Bennett and Haskell; Joseph J. Blick; Everett Phipps Babcock; Thomas P. Barber","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival, Art Deco, Beaux Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Most contributing buildings generally retain their appearance from the period of significance, though some have been altered; the district is still used for theater, retail, religious, financial, professional and residential purposes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.516585-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/94000462.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000462/20e8b1cdf1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000462/20e8b1cdf1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TheCatalyst31","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pasadena_Playhouse_Historic_District_1.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:Pasadena_Playhouse_Historic_District_1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859398","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q141634214"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/pasadena-playhouse-historic-district-94000462/"}