Orange Heights-Barnhart Tracts Historic District

Orange Heights/Barnhart Tracts is a neighborhood of 84 buildings in northwest Pasadena, laid out when developer George F. Thompson subdivided the Orange Heights tract in 1906. Sixty-one buildings contribute to its character, and most are Craftsman bungalows built within about ten years of the subdivision. Nearly all were designed as single-family homes, with one duplex and a four-unit bungalow court. Typical features include wide gable roofs, exposed rafter tails, arroyo stone porches and foundations, shingle or wood siding, and porches that serve as outdoor rooms. Seventeen were built by local builder D. M. Renton, the largest group of his work in Pasadena, and six were designed by architects, among them Irving Gill. Elevated lots, uniform landscaped setbacks, arroyo stone retaining walls and mature street trees give the streets a consistent appearance, with views toward the San Gabriel Mountains. The district is recognized as a well-preserved example of Arts and Crafts housing from 1906 to 1930.