{"nrhp_refnum":"97000751","name":"Crank House","other_names":["Fair Oaks Ranch"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2186 Crary St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Altadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.17279229800005,"lon":-118.10479715999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-07-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story wood-frame residence at 2186 Crary in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California, completed in 1882 in the Queen Anne style and remodeled about 1906 in the Colonial Revival style. A c.1906 garage is the only other building on the one-and-a-half acre lot.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under Criterion A for the house's association with Altadena's early development and the 1880s \"gentleman farmer\" phenomenon. It is one of only two remaining properties linked to that phenomenon and one of the few turn-of-the-century residences of such scale and quality in Altadena. It retains more of its historic setting than the other surviving example.","narrative":"Set on a wooded one-and-a-half acre lot at 2186 Crary in Altadena, this two-and-one-half-story wood-frame house was built in 1882 for James Fillmore Crank, a New York manufacturer who moved west and became a leading figure in Pasadena's economic development. It was designed in the Queen Anne style and remodeled around 1906 in the Colonial Revival style, with a 20-foot western addition, Tuscan columns, a wraparound porch and a porte cochere built around an old oak tree. A fire in 1944 damaged the upper story and roof, and later work added a cupola, dormers and a Palladian window. Fish scale shingles, narrow sash windows and much of the interior, including oak floors, fireplaces and built-in cabinets, survive. The house is considered important as a rare example of Altadena's 1880s gentleman-farmer estates and for its largely intact setting amid much smaller, later houses. A c.1906 garage also remains on the property.","period_of_significance":"1882-ca. 1925","architect_builder":"William Curlett of San Francisco is credited with the design, though the form says no reliable primary sources verify it.","architectural_style":"Queen Anne; Colonial Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Used as a single dwelling, both historically and currently, according to the function section.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.422984-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/97000751.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000751/bcf86e6e7f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000751/bcf86e6e7f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Einbierbitte","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crank_House_01.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Einbierbitte</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crank_House_01.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859051","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5182173"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/crank-house-97000751/"}