Pegfair Estates Historic District
Why it's listed
Pegfair Estates is a small residential district in Pasadena's Linda Vista neighborhood, made up of 25 single-family homes along Pegfair Estates Drive and Carnarvon Drive. Twenty-two of them contribute to the district. They were built between 1961 and 1967, mostly by 1965, and all are individually designed Custom Ranch houses in the Contemporary Ranch style. Typical features include low horizontal rooflines, extended eaves, flagstone and board-and-batten cladding, large picture windows and recessed entries. Many houses add Asian-inspired details such as irimoya roofs, gawara tiles, wood screens and rock gardens. The district forms the western half of an original 52-house tract. It stands apart from the rest of that tract through its stronger design consistency, its dense mature landscaping on a rising hillside, and a long brick wall with pilasters along Lida Street. Utilities are underground, and the planned layout gives each house privacy and views. The nomination presents it as an unusually thorough local example of Asian influence on postwar Ranch architecture.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that the district is a cohesive collection of architect-designed Contemporary Ranch houses with a notable degree of Asian-influenced design. Its planned landscaping, setbacks, brick boundary wall and mature trees add to the unified character. It is described as more consistent and better preserved than the rest of the original tract, and no other Pasadena tract is said to use Asiatic motifs to the same degree.
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 09001223, listed January 18, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1525-1645 Pegfair Estates Dr.; 1335-1345 Carnarvon Dr., Pasadena |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | January 18, 2010 |
| Reference number | 09001223 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Individual architects named in the text include E. Bealmelle (1525 Pegfair Estates Drive) and Harold Levitoff (1555 Pegfair Estates Drive). |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement; Contemporary Ranch / Custom Ranch, with Asian-influenced variations |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | All 25 buildings are single-family dwellings in current residential use. Twenty-two contribute, and three are noncontributing, including 1545 Pegfair Estates Drive, which has been radically altered. |
| Acreage | 7.6 |
| Within district | Big Creek Hydroelectric System Historic District |
| Coordinates | 34.17436, -118.18656 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 09001223.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q141750573
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.