Bristol-Cypress Historic District

Cypress Avenue in Pasadena holds a compact neighborhood of late 19th and early 20th century houses, listed as a historic district covering about five acres. Thirteen of its buildings contribute to its character, mostly one- and two-story homes in Folk Victorian, Vernacular Hipped Cottage and Vernacular Gabled Cottage forms, plus a Colonial Revival house built in 1896. Dates of construction run from about 1880 to 1905. Typical features include wood drop channel siding, decorative porches, fish-scale shingles and mature oak trees along the street. Larger front yards and heavier landscaping distinguish it from the nearby New Fair Oaks district. The district is significant for its architecture and for its link to the settlement of Pasadena, as it represents the earliest subdivision of San Gabriel Orange Grove Association land by one of the city's founders. Some houses were moved, and several have newer rear garages or second houses, but the street still reads as a late Victorian neighborhood.