Gill, Merwyn C., House
Why it's listed
Set on a 1.4-acre flag lot in Pasadena's Linda Vista hills, this one-story house was designed by the firm Buff, Straub and Hensman for an inventor and industrialist who made advanced plastics. The T-shaped, post-and-beam house uses an 8-foot module, glass walls facing mountain views, and outdoor rooms, patios and a pool. Its materials include fiberglass and foam-core roof panels, skylights, walnut-faced glue-laminated beams and custom dark red brick, much of it produced in the owner's El Monte factory. Its design reflects Japanese influence, and the south elevation is compared to Katsura Imperial Villa. The house was listed for its architecture. It is described as a masterwork that combined wartime-era technology with the firm's natural-material palette, and as an example of postwar Pasadena experimentation. Alterations over the decades, including new glass and skylight units, were made with the architects and left the footprint and layout intact.
Significance in brief: The house is presented as a masterwork of the architectural firm Buff, Straub and Hensman. It blends the client's wartime-developed plastics, such as fiberglass and foam-core panels, with the firm's usual wood, brick and stone. It also shows the firm's close integration of building and site, and a collaboration between architect and client lasting more than fifty years.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 09000176, listed December 23, 2009. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1385 El Mirador Dr., Pasadena |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | December 23, 2009 |
| Reference number | 09000176 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1948 - 1968 |
| Architect / builder | Buff, Straub and Hensman |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single dwelling; interior alterations and minor exterior changes were made in collaboration with the architects and are said not to affect integrity. |
| Acreage | 1.1 |
| Within district | Big Creek Hydroelectric System Historic District |
| Coordinates | 34.16725, -118.17990 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 09000176.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q133286082
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.