1188 Hillcrest Ave
Pasadena, CA 91106, USA

Cordelia A. Culbertson House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

Charles and Henry Greene are thought to be Pasadena's own architects. The Gamble House, owned jointly by the City of Pasadena and the University of Southern California, is one of this city's most famous buildings. The Greenes influenced the architectural development of Pasadena unlike any other architects of their period. Such projects as the Bandini House, the Bolton House and the Blacker House encouraged other to design bungalows in the style of Greene & Greene. Equally famous is the Cordelia A. Culbertson House. Designed in 1911 for the Culbertson sisters, this home remains a local landmark because of its experimental design and rare gunite exterior. Done almost totally outside the Greenes' typical wooden vernacular, the Culbertson House has a greater sense of sculpture than woodworking. The combination of unique oriental design and nationally famous architects creates one of Pasadenas most exceptional residences.

The Greenes were born in Ohio in the late 1860's. Their architectural training included Washington University's Manual Training School and MIT. They are believed to have developed their great love of craftsmanship and woodworking at the training school. By 1893 the brothers were ready to begin a partnership which would last until 1922.

Because of Mrs. Greene's poor health, the brothers' parents moved to Pasadena in 1891. On a trip to visit their parents in California, Charles and Henry stopped by the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago. This trip was to change their designs for a lifetime by introducing them to Oriental art and design. Throughout their careers shades of Oriental would be found in their work.

Beginning an architectural office in Pasadena in 1893, most of the Greene's early work resembled the current cluttered Victorian style, more classic in design. By 1901, however, this was to change. Charles' marriage and honeymoon in England introduced them to the Arts and Crafts movement. The love of the simple, unadorned beauty of construction and handmade creations epitomized by the Arts and Crafts movement spoke directly to the Greenes' training and their deep interest in the simplicity and depth of oriental design. The James Culbertson House, designed in 1902, set them apart forever. Designed in the English tradition, the house related to its environment in a new way.

The Greenes continued at the forefront of craftsman architecture for many years. Their interest in things oriental continued. Their friendship with John Bentz, a collector of Oriental artifacts, increased their knowledge and interest. They read books popular, at the time which dealt with the Orient. In 1904 the Greenes designed the shingled Tichenor House in Long Beach. Oriental features were emphasized more predominantly than ever before. Green tiles associated with Oriental design were used for the first time as roofing material.

The Craftsman style and the Oriental influence share certain characteristics. Visual gardens are essential. Relating with and to nature is of the utmost importance. Simplicity of construction is emphasized in both periods. The Greenes often used a slight lift in the eaves, as found in Oriental design. They also were fond of Oriental rugs. Oriental pottery, and Oriental furnishings. The Tichenor House is their first attempt to emphasize the Oriental within the Craftsman context.

By 1910, most of Charles and Henry's most famous Pasadena designs had been completed. Commissions for their work became astronomical, as seen in the Blacker House with estimated value of over $100,000 in 1907. Since many architects, contractors, and plan books were able to create "Greene & Greene type" designs, the remainder of their designs were often more experimental.

In 1911, James Culbertson's three maiden sisters hired the Greenes to design a home for them on a lot in the Oak Knoll area. They wanted a one-story home, but also requested that the bedrooms be secluded. With their request, the Greene brothers began one of their most unique residences and, ultimately, the most expensive of all the Pasadena residences.

The design used for the Cordelia Culbertson house was perfect for the site. The Greenes used the U-form plan found in houses such as the Bandini House (1903), but turned it on its side. The southern and western wings of the house are one story, while the final leg of the U on the north fits into the slope of the terrain. The bedrooms appear to be on the ground level, but also have a second side which is 16-20 feet above ground and overlooked the formal Italian gardens still further below. A ballroom fills the space below the bedrooms on this lower level. Minor alterations were made by Mrs. Prentiss, owner of the home from 1918-1943 with Greene & Greene as architects. The lower garden room was glassed in to create the ballroom. The marble urns at the front were also added.

The exterior of the house is gunite, rarely used by the Greenes, residences were designed entirely with a gunite exterior.

They were all more vertical than the Culbertson House, most with an Arts & Crafts feeling. All had shingle roofs, some with a suggestion of thatching. The Herkimer apartments are the most unusual gunite design, being very square with only wooden pergolas to soften its cubist exterior. Two other designs were done in half shingle-half stucco.

None of these designs used a tile roof. In fact, the Culbertson House is the only design by the Greenes to combine gunite and a tile roof. The Tichenor House features a green tile roof, and has a strong oriental influence, but is shingled. The Culbertson roof tiles are oriental in feeling, and are variegated grayish green tile. The soft brown of the walls and the colors of the tile harmonize with the Oak trees found throughout the area. The Greenes had found yet another way to emphasize a oneness with nature used so often in their more traditional craftsman designs.

Nature is further emphasized in the garden room. Set in the crook between the southern and western wings, a wonderful view of the upper gardens is visible through unique windows. The windows can be pushed up into the walls and the screens lowered to bring the outside in. The southern and western wings, in fact, are higher than the northern, ensuring views of the mountains to the north.

Another innovative use of windows is in the bedrooms of two wings. Openings in the roof create sun/moon windows. It is possible at night to lie in bed and watch the moon and the stars. The iridescent roof and pond tiles shimmer in the moonlight.

Landscaping is also unusual at the Culbertson House, having both formal and informal areas. Formal gardens were set at the lowest level of the property to the north. The large fountain found there was frequently the subject of magazine articles. This fountain was fed in part by another smaller fountain in the upper terrace area. The upper fountain remains. Water was fed through tiles to the lower area. The upper gardens are less formal and more inviting. None of the gardens feel the intrusion of the garage since it has been neatly tucked under a cement terrace or the upper level. It is commonly believed that Greene and Greene designed both the lower and upper gardens.

The Cordelia A. Culbertson House, despite the Oriental flavor of the southern facade, also reflects the Greene’s' love of the Craftsman period. Pergola and loggia are still important elements, as are banks of windows for ventilation. Exposed beam ends, rafter tails, gable roofs, and handcrafted Batchelder tiles and pots by Gladding, McBean & Co. are again used.

Pasadena has always been a unique center for architectural design. Its climate induced wealthy visitors from every part of the world to establish winter homes here. It is not surprising^, then, to see architects of international reputation such as Charles and Henry Greene establish offices in this area. It is unusual, however, to see the range of styles these architects could produce. It is even more rare to find such perfect examples of their work in one area. Because the Cordelia Culbertson House is unlike any of their other designs while it also embodies so many of the Greene’s' architectural beliefs, it is a most exceptional home. The Gamble House, in fact, has selected the Culbertson House as its next major exhibit of Greene and Greene's work for March, 1985. Working together, the Culbertson House's unique design and its famous architects create a residence worthy to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.