Las Casitas Court
Why it's listed
Las Casitas Court is a bungalow court at 656 North Summit Avenue in Pasadena, built in 1916. It holds twelve units: two rows of five stuccoed one-story buildings, plus a two-story shingle-sided building across the rear. The first four buildings on each side have front-facing gables, broad eaves, exposed rafters, gable vents and shed-roofed porches with wooden posts and a low concrete wall. The last building on each side and the rear structure have wooden pergolas over their entrances. Two walkways run through a narrow central courtyard, and a low concrete wall, an entrance torii and a gate mark the front property line, with boulders arranged on the tree lawn. The court was listed as one of the few remaining examples of the Craftsman court form, notable for its Japanese-inspired torii and placed boulders. It also shows how a single lot could be used efficiently as income property within a neighborhood of Victorian and Craftsman homes.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it one of the few remaining examples of the Craftsman court, with a Japanese-inspired torii and artfully placed boulders at the front. It also illustrates efficient use of a single lot as income property, fitting into a largely single-family neighborhood of Victorian and Craftsman homes.
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 83001196, listed July 11, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 656 N. Summit Ave., Pasadena |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | July 11, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83001196 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Craftsman |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The nomination states that the listed courts, including this one, are fully inhabited and that many have waiting lists of prospective tenants. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 34.15725, -118.14755 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
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 83001196.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14683047
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.