Merrill, Samuel, House
Why it's listed
This one-story Craftsman bungalow at 1285 N. Summit Avenue in Pasadena was built in 1910 for Samuel Merrill Jr. and designed by Charles Sumner and Henry Mather Greene. It has a low cobblestone foundation, unpainted clapboard walls, a double front-facing gable, deep eaves with exposed rafter-tails, clinker brick details and bands of casement windows. Terraces, a cobblestone retaining wall along the street and mature fruit and oak trees remain from the original grounds. Inside, the woodwork, built-in bookshelves, fireplace and kitchen features are largely original. The house was listed for its architecture, as an example of the California Bungalow type that reflects Arts and Crafts values of simplicity, natural materials and handcraft. Merrill, a Stanford law graduate, worked as a Los Angeles court clerk and served the Sierra Club; a trail at Echo Mountain was renamed for him. The house had been vacant, neglected and threatened with demolition after a 1998 foreclosure.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a good example of the California Bungalow sub-type of Pasadena residential architecture, shown through Arts and Crafts design, natural materials such as redwood and arroyo stone, and fine carpentry. It keeps a high degree of integrity inside and out with minimal alterations. It is also tied to Samuel Merrill Jr., a court clerk, Sierra Club leader and trail keeper.
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 01000330, listed April 5, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1285 N. Summit Ave., Pasadena |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | April 5, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000330 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1910 |
| Architect / builder | Greene, Charles Sumner and Henry Mather |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The form says the house has sat vacant in recent years and has suffered from lack of maintenance and vandalism. After a bank foreclosure in 1998 it was in danger of demolition, but the bank agreed to sell the property. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 34.17031, -118.14876 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 01000330.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17183527
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.