Architectural Detective

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On the Market: 1910 Howard van Doren Shaw-designed Philadelphia Main Line estate.⁠⁠There’s just something about Philadel...
06/11/2026

On the Market: 1910 Howard van Doren Shaw-designed Philadelphia Main Line estate.⁠
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There’s just something about Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs that always catches my eye; from Mellor, Meigs & Howe to Wilson Eyre, the architects of these towns boasts a wealth of robust vernacular architecture that few communities can match.⁠ ⁠
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Today’s home is the Howard van Doren Shaw-designed Camp Woods estate, which was originally built for Mr. And Mrs. James M. Willcox., who served as president, and later as chairman, of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society bank. For the couple van Doren Shaw would design a Mediterranean Revival style home imbued with Georgian sensibilities. I can’t get enough of the home’s barrel vaulted, groin vaulted, and beamed ceilings, which transport you into a Palatine-esque atmosphere. ⁠
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745 Newtown Road, a 6 bedroom, 7 bath, 11,764 square foot home located on a 3.4 acre lot, is listed courtesy of Lavinia Smerconish with Compass, and is currently contingent with a list price of $5,499,000.

In the mid-1920s, Charles Howland and his second wife, Mary Smith Howland, would commission Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury⁠...
06/10/2026

In the mid-1920s, Charles Howland and his second wife, Mary Smith Howland, would commission Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury⁠ to design a new home for themselves in Glendale’s Verdugo Woodlands neighborhood on a lot that boasted views across the verdant Verdugo Canyon. For the hillside lot, the architectural trio would design a Mediterranean Revival style home infused with Spanish Colonial Revival details. ⁠
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The home’s floor plan is long and lean, allowing it a prominent position to take advantage of its hilly location and expansive views. From the entry drive, we are beckoned up a pair of staircases to a large entry terrance. Once inside, the home’s floor plan includes all the usual 1920s spaces, including a large living room, library, dining room, and breakfast room, with the dining room, living room, and breakfast room oriented to take advantage of the canyon views below. A large coat room, powder room, and covered loggia complete the public spaces of the home, suggesting that the couple were ardent entertainers who enjoyed an active indoor/outdoor lifestyle. As is typical for the time, the service areas are compact and economically arranged, providing space for the kitchen, pantry, service porch, and staff quarters. Upstairs, the home includes three ensuite bedrooms and a sewing room that provides access to the services areas below.⁠
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Born in Canada, Charles Howland (1863-1934) would earn his fortune through his connection to the Continuous Brick Kiln Company and through business and personal relationship with Daniel Freeman, founder of the city of Inglewood, California, and the father of his first wife, Grace Freeman Howland. ⁠
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Located at 1837 Sherer Lane, the home is extant, yet the estate has been subdivided, the exterior stripped of the original shutters, and the interiors have been extensively remodeled, obscuring Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury’s original design. ⁠The home last sold for $2,200,000 in 2018.⁠
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Project: Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Howland, 1926⁠
Architect: Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury⁠
Location: Glendale, California⁠
Source: California Arts & Architecture

On the Market:: 1913 Marston & Van Pelt-designed William K. Jewett Residence in Pasadena.⁠⁠⁠Having just joined together ...
06/07/2026

On the Market:: 1913 Marston & Van Pelt-designed William K. Jewett Residence in Pasadena.⁠
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⁠Having just joined together as partners in 1913, the William K. Jewett Residence represents once of the earliest homes designed by Marston & Van Pelt in the Mediterranean Revival style. Originally located on a 9 acre lot, the property has since been subdivided down to 2.95 acres, yet still maintains an air of an expansive estate. ⁠
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⁠Located at the end of a long driveway, the home is invisible from the street, which is my favorite way to approach a house as it creates immediate anticipation for the design and composition. Once we arrive at the circular auto court, we are welcomed by a missive oak tree and an equally large early Mediterranean Revival style home. ⁠
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⁠Most recently sold for $15,579,500 in 2019, the home has recently emerged from a renovation overseen by the noted firm of , which centers and celebrates the home’s original architecture and details. In addition to terraced gardens, and a pool a tennis court, the property also includes a neighboring mid-century ranch house and pool, which was developed when the estate was divided in the 1950s. ⁠
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William K. Jewett (1857-1935) was the heir to an Ohio railroad fortune that he increased exponentially as president of the New London Gold Mine in Colorado. He would build his Pasadena home with his second wife, Elizabeth. The home is perhaps best remembered for its appearances in 80s pop culture staples such as Dynasty and Knight Rider.⁠
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1145 Arden Road, an 8 bedroom, 13 bath, 18,565 square foot property located on a 2.95 acre lot, is listed courtesy of Brent Chang with Compass and Drew Fenton with Carolwood Estates for $45,000,000. ⁠
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Photographer: ⁠
Source: Architectural Digest and the MLS.

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠⁠Located across the Arroyo Seco from last week’s Jefferson⁠ Residence is the 1923 Residence of ...
06/05/2026

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠
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Located across the Arroyo Seco from last week’s Jefferson⁠ Residence is the 1923 Residence of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Peters, also designed by the Marston & Van Pelt⁠ partnership. For the Peters, the architects would design an enlarged version of the Jefferson⁠ Residence with a slightly more Spanish Renaissance twist on the Mediterranean Revival style. ⁠
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Set on a ridge overlooking the Arroyo Seco to the east and Eagle Rock to the west, the home commands an impressive presence in the San Rafael Hills. From its generously sized motor court, guests are beckoned up a pair of entry staircases to enter the home through a monumental entrance portal. The floor plan, a mirror of the Jefferson plan across the canyon, includes all the familiar spaces, such as a large angled living room, library, entrance hall, and dining room, yet the Peters Residence also includes a pint-sized study, a welcome addition in my mind. The home’s service spaces, such as the kitchen, alcove, and staff quarters, are quite economically planned in comparison with the public spaces, revealing the hierarchy of spaces in 1920s architectural planning. ⁠
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While the Peters house is similar to the Jefferson house, the second floor plan reveals just how much larger the Peters commission was than the earlier Jefferson home. Boasting five bedrooms, four baths, a sewing room, and a deck off the primary suite, the Peters Residence is a prime example of Marston & Van Pelt⁠’s command of the Mediterranean Revival style in the early 1920s. ⁠
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Located at 70 S San Rafael Avenue, the house is extant and has been well maintained. ⁠
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Project: Residence of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Peters⁠, 1923⁠
Architect: Marston & Van Pelt⁠
Location: Pasadena, California⁠
Source: Mediterranean Domestic Architecture in the United States by Rexford Newcomb

06/04/2026

Style Studies: Mission Revival (The OG Edition)⁠
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⁠Before Spanish Colonial Revival stole the limelight, Mission Revival ushered in California’s infatuation with an invented romantic past. ⁠
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The Mission Revival style would rise to prominence between 1890 and 1920 by drawing inspiration from the 18th and 19th century missions running up and down the California coastline, with the California State Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition sparking the style.⁠ And yet, Mission Revival wasn’t an academic reproduction but instead a romantic reinvention. ⁠
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Let me know if you’re a fan of Mission Revival in the comments!

For Mr. and Mrs. ⁠C. C. Stanley, Marston and Van Pelt⁠ would design a long and lean two-story Spanish Colonial Revival s...
06/01/2026

For Mr. and Mrs. ⁠C. C. Stanley, Marston and Van Pelt⁠ would design a long and lean two-story Spanish Colonial Revival style home. The home’s covered entryway does double duty by also serving as a foyer as guests are informally welcomed directly into the living room, highlighting a shift towards more relaxed social spaces. The central living room provides access to all the major spaces of the home, including the dining room with its charming angles corners and services spaces, the second floor, as well as the private bedroom wing that also includes a small office—such a great inclusion for the 1920s! However, my favorite ground floor space is the expansive covered rear porch, which effectively creates a true outdoor room to enjoy Southern California’s year-round sunny clime. ⁠The covered porch is mirrored by the open terrace on the other side of the living room, which provides additional outdoor living and entertaining space. ⁠
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I find the upstairs plan a little curious as it includes not one but two sleeping porches, both with attached dressing rooms, as well as a shared ensuite bathroom. Perhaps these spaces were only used to escape the summer heat, yet I find it interesting that dressing rooms were only included on this level and not for the primary bedrooms on the floor below.⁠
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I’m still on the hunt for this home’s address and welcome any and all leads. ⁠🕵🏽‍♂️⁠
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Project: Residence of Mr. and Mrs. ⁠C. C. Stanley⁠
Architect: Marston & Van Pelt⁠
Location: Pasadena, California⁠
Source: Mediterranean Domestic Architecture in the United States by Rexford Newcomb

🚨Demolition Alert🚨⁠⁠Upon its completion in 1931, the tower Altadena’s Charles W. Eliot Junior High School would serve as...
05/30/2026

🚨Demolition Alert🚨⁠
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Upon its completion in 1931, the tower Altadena’s Charles W. Eliot Junior High School would serve as civic landmark in the unincorporated community’s skyline. For the school’s design, architects Marston & Maybury would borrow from Romanesque and Northern Italian Renaissance Revival precedents and inject them with early streamline⁠
moderne elements to create a new campus for six hundred students. ⁠
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⁠However, on January 7, 2025, the school would be damaged as the Eaton Fire ravaged the foothill community. Since this date, no classes have been held at the campus and classes have been shifted to another Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) campus located at 325 S Oak Knoll Avenue in Pasadena as they decided the fate of the Eliot School’s campus.⁠
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In early May 2026, PUSD would announce that both the historic Charles W. Eliot Junior High School and San Rafael Elementary School campuses would be completely demolished due to budgetary concerns and be replaced by new school buildings. While I understand that the public school landscape in California is currently in a time of transition, the demolition of important architectural, cultural, and community resources is not the best path forward. Instead, it underscores the need to creatively engage with and support our local heritage and history to bring us closer together as a SoCal community. ⁠
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Thank you raising the alarm! Head on over to for more information on how to help save this historic school campus. ⁠
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Located at 2184 North Lake Avenue, the campus is currently closed with fire damage still visible from the street. ⁠
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Project: Charles W. Eliot Junior High School⁠
Architect: Marston & Maybury⁠
Location: Altadena, California⁠
Source: ⁠Architectural Record, Pasadena Now

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠⁠By the early 1920s, Marston and Van Pelt⁠ was successfully creating homes in the then en vogue...
05/29/2026

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠
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By the early 1920s, Marston and Van Pelt⁠ was successfully creating homes in the then en vogue Mediterranean Revival style. For Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Jefferson, the architectural duo would design a sprawling home with a modified H-shaped floor plan that gently cascades down it’s hilly lot, actively responding to its site to increase it’s indoor/outdoor connections. ⁠
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In the heady days of the Mediterranean Revival, ⁠architects were creating a new style that combined elements from every corner of the Mediterranean, such as Spanish Renaissance-inspired columns and Italian Renaissance-inspired arches to Moorish-inspired rejas, there was no shortage of Mediterranean details included in the Jefferson commission, all harmonized under a low pitched roof capped with red terracotta tiles. ⁠I’m a particular fan of the second floor’s corner balcony and it’s pair of arched french doors separated by a single column. ⁠
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Before even stepping through the front door, guests must cross the sunken moat via a generously sized stucco and tile bridge, a wonderful addition to the composition. ⁠In addition to an immense, double height entrance and stair hall, the home includes a large living room, library, dining room. ⁠The living room is delightfully askew, perhaps allowing for better orientation to appreciate a view. Upstairs are three bedroom suites, a sleeping porch, and an additional ⁠staff bedroom and a unique linen closet back hallway with covered porch access. ⁠
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I’m still on the hunt for this home’s address and welcome any and all leads! ⁠🕵🏽‍♂️⁠
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Project: Residence of Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Jefferson, 1922⁠
Architect: Marston & Van Pelt⁠
Location: Pasadena, California⁠
Source: Mediterranean Domestic Architecture in the United States by Rexford Newcomb

On the Market: 1929 Mediterranean Revival style home is Pasadena’s Madison Heights neighborhood.⁠⁠There is nothing quite...
05/27/2026

On the Market: 1929 Mediterranean Revival style home is Pasadena’s Madison Heights neighborhood.⁠
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There is nothing quite like a striking Mediterranean Revival style, and today’s home pulls out all the stops. Located in Pasadena’s Madison Heights neighborhood, the tract was substantially developed between 1910 and 1920, with many homes designed in early Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Tudor Revival, and Craftsman styles. ⁠
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928 S El Molino Avenue embraces its Mediterranean antecedents through its use of arched windows, a low pitched roof with prominently bracketed overhangs, a Venetian Gothic-inspired porch, and an arched porte-cochère. The listing states that the home was completed in 1929, yet its Craftsman-inspired floor plan and eclectic Mediterranean Revival elements point towards an early construction date, perhaps closer to 1910.⁠
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928 S El Molino Avenue, a 5 bedroom, 5.5 bath, 5,648 square foot home located on a 20,790 square foot lot, is listed courtesy of Julia Zhao with Re/Max Elite Realty for $5,380,000.

For Mr. and Mrs. James Scripps Booth, ⁠Marston and Van Pelt⁠ would design a sprawling Spanish Colonial Revival style hom...
05/22/2026

For Mr. and Mrs. James Scripps Booth, ⁠Marston and Van Pelt⁠ would design a sprawling Spanish Colonial Revival style home and studio overlooking Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco and the then band new Rose Bowl stadium. ⁠While on their two-year European honeymoon, Booth would begin to develop his drawing, pastel, and painting abilities, which would influence the design of his future Pasadena home.

Located in the Linda Vista neighborhood on the western side of the Arroyo Seco, the Booth Residence is a rambling Spanish Colonial Revival style home ringed by covered porches, open terraces, balconies, and wrought iron rejas, forwarding a uniquely Southern California understanding of the Spanish Colonial Revival idiom.

The ground floor contains all the usual spaces, including a large living room, an adjacent study, dining room, and a small stair hall. The home swas designed with two entrances, one located in the living room for informal ingress and egress, and another located off the rear of the stair hall, highlighting the malleability and Spanish Colonial Revival homes. In addition to the service spaces, the home includes a large studio, accessed via an exterior covered walkway. Upstairs are five bedrooms, two dressing rooms, and two baths.
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James Scripps Booth (1888-1954) was born to George Gough Booth (1864-1949) and Ellen Warren Scripps (1863–1948). George was the publisher of the The Detroit News and Ellen was the daughter of the prominent newspaper publisher James E. Scripps. The duo would go on to found the Cranbrook Schools. In 1910, James would marry his first wife, Jean Alice McLaughlin Booth (1887-1942) before embarking on an extended European honeymoon. After his return, the young Booth would found the Scripps-Booth Motor Car Company in Detroit in 1913 before selling the company to Chevrolet in 1917, which in turn would be acquired by General Motors in 1918.
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Located at 1066 Charles Street, the home is extant and has been well preserved. ⁠
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Project: Residence of Mr. and Mrs. James Scripps Booth, Esq.⁠, 1922⁠
Architect: Marston and Van Pelt⁠
Location: Pasadena, California⁠
Source: ⁠Mediterranean Domestic Architecture in the United States by Rexford Newcomb

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