Pasadena in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Blacker House

Photographed By Craig Baker

1. Blacker House Marker

Inscription.
This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.

Erected 1986 by United States Department of the Interior.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.

Location. 34° 7.625′ N, 118° 8.011′ W. Marker is in Pasadena, California, in Los Angeles County. Marker is on Hillcrest Avenue east of Oak Knoll Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1177 Hillcrest Ave, Pasadena CA 91106, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Cordelia A. Culbertson House (within shouting distance of this marker); Thornton Gardens (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Picture Bridge (approx. half a mile away); Tournament Park (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Old Mill (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Honorable Barack H. Obama (approx. 0.7 miles away); William Morris Davis, 1850-1930 (approx. ¾ mile away); The First Known Antiparticle (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pasadena.

Regarding Blacker House.

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Beginning in 1907, Charles and Henry Greene created one of their most spectacular masterworks. Their client, Robert R. Blacker, was a recently retired Michigan lumberman. The Blacker house was the first of the Greenes’ commissions to make extensive use of exotic hardwoods, thanks perhaps to their client’s professional contacts. The interiors and furnishings comprised Honduras mahogany, Burmese teak, ebony, vermilion, and ironwood, and the contractors used high-quality old-growth redwood and Douglas fir in large dimensions for the exteriors. The Greenes designed more than fifty light fixtures, in metal and wood with delicate inlay; numerous leaded-glass panels set into door and window sashes; and more than fifty pieces of furniture — many with intricate inlay and joinery — to create a coordinated work of art that established a new sophistication in the architecture and decorative arts of the American Arts and Crafts movement.

In 1985 the property was purchased by Barton English, a rancher from Texas. Shortly after the close of escrow, Mr. English hired a local antique dealer to remove more than forty-eight original lighting fixtures for him. He also removed leaded art glass doors, windows, and transom panels. Many of the original pieces were sold to private collectors and institutions. Outraged local citizens and organizations subsequently worked to enact legislation

Blacker House image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, August 15, 2023

2. Blacker House

to prohibit future acts of a similar nature, considered by many to be equivalent to cultural vandalism. Conservation-minded citizens guarded the Blacker house day and night to keep further fixtures from being removed. Several of the chandeliers sold for approximately $250,000 and many of the lamps fetched $100,000 each. As Mr. English paid only $1 million for the home, he quickly recouped his investment with the sale of the fixtures. He sold the home in 1988 for $1.2 million, having never lived in it.

The current owners of the Blacker house, embracing their unofficial role as stewards of an important work of American architectural art, have in recent years restored the house and meticulously re-created the missing fixtures and furnishings.

For the 1985 movie Back to the Future, the interior shots of Dr. Brown's house were filmed inside the Blacker House before it was sold. The exterior shots were of the Blacker House's "smaller brother", the Gamble House — designed by Greene & Greene in 1908.

Blacker House - Back Yard image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, August 15, 2023

3. Blacker House - Back Yard

Blacker House Light Fixture image. Click for full size.

courtesy LACMA

4. Blacker House Light Fixture

Credits. This page was last revised on September 28, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 2, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 166 times since then and 110 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 2, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.