Hermitage

Pasadena's oldest surviving building, this house at 2121 Monte Vista Street began as a two-room adobe thought to date from about 1840. James Craig, an Irish-born civil engineer, bought a large tract in 1869 and named his ranch The Hermitage, rehabilitating the adobe as his home. In 1879 he added frame east and west wings, and the ornamented half-story and surrounding porch reflect mid-Victorian design and craftsmanship. Craig became a leading figure in early Pasadena citrus growing, water development and land holding, and was an officer of the Hermitage Water Company. Later owners included a Pasadena Playhouse director, who removed the wood siding covering the adobe walls in the 1930s. A garage damaged by fire in 1998 was rebuilt, and the house underwent seismic strengthening between 1997 and 2000 after Northridge earthquake damage. The property is regarded as the only pre-1900 adobe left in the city, and its combination of Mexican-era and Victorian construction makes it unusual in Southern California.