Robert R. Blacker House
1177 Hillcrest Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106, USA

Robert R. Blacker House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Robert R. Blacker House, built in 1907, is significant for architectural reasons as one of four of the best works of Charles and Henry Greene. Located in a city famous for the Greene’s' work and in a neighborhood known for its noteworthy architecture, the Robert R. Blacker House epitomizes the Greene’s' Craftsman design philosophy as it brings together the very finest quality materials and craftsmanship.

Influenced by the English Arts and Crafts movement, the building traditions of Japan, their own manual training background^ and the architectural traditions of the United States,2 Charles and Henry Greene developed a unique architectural style that rejected academic design vocabulary. Their style was drawn from nature and incorporated native materials, exposed structural members and the highest quality craftsmanship. The Greene’s' work, in its mature form, capitalized on the mild southern California climate by integrating indoor and outdoor living spaces in structures that seem to visually grow from the terrain. Their design philosophy influenced the local vernacular California Bungalow style and has come to have indirect impact on modern architecture. 3 Charles and Henry Greene moved from Boston to Pasadena in 1893, opening an architectural office there in 1894. During their California career (which as a collaborative effort ended in 1922 when they dissolved their partnership), the Greene’s are thought to have designed approximately 540 buildings. The Greene’s contributed to the evolution of American domestic architecture during the formative period of the modern house by solving design problems realistically and sensitively. They stood for the best in bungalow design and made the term "California house" a synonym for the best in contemporary building.4 in 1948, they were honored for their work by the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.5 in 1952, the American Institute of Architects awarded them a special citation for their contributions to American domestic architecture.

Charles Sumner Greene ( 1868 - 1 957 ) was the the older of two sons born to Thomas Sumner Greene and Leila A. (Mother) Greene in Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry Mather Greene (1870 - 1954) was 15 months younger. When Charles and Henry were 11 and 10, the family moved to Saint Louis. There the boys attended the newly founded Manual Training School of Washington University. The Greene’s studied a regular high school curriculum as well as carpentry, woodworking, metalworking and toolmaking. Upon graduation, they enrolled to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Greene’s' first designs were Victorian, and it wasn't until Charles returned from a 1901 trip to England, where he was probably more fully exposed to the Arts and Crafts philosophy, that the brothers' style began to evolve. In 1902, the Greene’s began to design not just houses but a total concept, one that included related landscaping and furnishings.

Their interest in exposed structural members, integration of building and site, and the use of native stone and woods, clinker brick and intricate joinery can be seen in a number of houses built between 1902 and 1909. Between 1907 and 1909, the Greenes designed their seven most highly refined domestic concepts.8 Four of these, the Robert R. Blacker House, (1907, Pasadena), the David B. Gamble House (1908, Pasadena), the Charles M. Pratt House (1909, Ojai) and the William R. Thorsen House (1909, Berkeley) are considered to be the finest remaining intact, or nearly intact, examples of the Greenes' mature style.

These are the masterpieces of their career, and in the Blacker House the Greene’s' refined their previous stylistic experiments. Exterior spaces became as important to the total design as the interior spaces, ^0 and the level of sophistication found in the furnishings, joinery, interior decorative elements and the landscaping reached a level of mastery not seen in previous work. The Blacker House stands out, for the above reasons, because it was the first commission where funds were available to finance the Greene’s' highly developed design ideas and their desire to use the finest materials and craftsmanship, and because it served as a benchmark from which later designs evolved.


The formal floor plan is apparently not of the Greene’s' design. The Blackers had originally hired the architects Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey, who were then in practice together, to design a home for their Oak Knoll site. Hunt and Grey developed plans for a formal two-story Mission Revival-style stucco residence to be set in the center of the 5 1/2 acre site among formal gardens.

After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Mr. Blacker became concerned about the safety of the proposed house, especially the footings and substructure. When he expressed his concerns to Hunt and Grey and was unsatisfied by their reply, Mr. Blacker dismissed them from the project. by their reply, Mr. Blacker dismissed them from the project. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Blacker engaged the services of the Greenes.

The Greenes kept the Hunt and Grey floor plan presumably because the Blackers liked it. In place of the projecting entry shelter designed by Hunt and Grey, the Greene’s designed the recessed entry porch and the Porte cochere. The recessed porch necessitated a more shallow interior entry hall, but save for that and another minor change, the Greene’s' floor plan placed the rooms of the Hunt and Grey design in similar relationships.

The exterior of the house bears no resemblance to the design selected by Hunt and Grey. If the Greenes were restricted in exercising full creativity on the interior, they more than compensated for the restriction in their design for every other aspect of the house and "picturesque"gardens.

First the Greenes moved the house from the center of the lot to the northwest corner.Then they offset the building's symmetry, which was somewhat predetermined by the interior floor plan, by adding the massive asymmetrically placed Porte cochere. This element ties the building to its site'^ and downplays some of the verticality created by its two-story height. Horizontal beams form a string course along the west and southwest elevation, and these elements along with the varied fenestration, the heavy, carved timbers, the bays, the balconies and terraces and the stained glass combine into a rich architectural vocabulary that is singularly the work of Charles and Henry Greene.

The Blacker House has been cited as worthy of preservation by the Pasadena Chapter of the AIA^^ and has been included in many architectural tours sponsored by that organization. It has also been featured on two Pasadena Heritage architectural tours and soon will be considered by the City of Pasadena for Landmark status. The Blacker House has been the subject of numerous general readership articles since 1908, and was identified by the AIA in 1957 as one of the 65 most significant buildings in the country. The house was cited as an outstanding example of architectural continuity and rebellion.

Although the Blacker House has been called one of the Greenes' "ultimate bungalows"20 a tribute to its fine materials, craftsmanship and design, it seems the house was not contemporarily referred to as a bungalow,21 probably because of its cost, which is estimated to have been between $100,000 and $200,000.

Like many of the Greenes' clients and many of the residents of the prestigious Oak Knoll neighborhood, Robert R. Blacker (1847 - 1931) and his second wife, Nellie C. Blacker were people of considerable means who came to Pasadena to retire. Mr. Blacker, a native of Ontario, Canada, moved to Michigan at the age of 21. He located in the town of Manistee and made his fortune in the lumber business. In 1906, he came to Pasadena and retired. In 1907, he engaged the Greenes to design his permanent California residence.22 Mr. Blacker was a dedicated supporter of the California Institute of Technology and served as a trustee for 12 years. He contributed funds to Cal Tech for scholarship endowments and for the construction of the Blacker Residence Hall.

The Robert R. Blacker House is one of four masterpieces designed by Charles and Henry Greene. It is one of their most creative and sophisticated designs and one of the most significant residential buildings of the 20th century. It came into being as a result of Mr. Blacker's foresight and patronage and sheltered him during a 26-year period when he supported the educational community of Pasadena. For these reasons, the Robert R. Blacker House is worthy of being listed in the National Register of Historic Places.