AKA: Hill House, Oak Knoll, Pasadena, CA; Blacker-Hill House, Oak Knoll, Pasadena, CA

Structure Type: built works - dwellings - houses

Designers: Greene and Greene, Architects (firm); Charles Sumner Greene (architect); Henry Mather Greene (architect); Leroy Hulbert (architectural photographer)

Dates: constructed 1907-1908

2 stories

1177 Hillcrest Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106-4446

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Building History

The grounds of the Blacker House on Oak Knoll were sub-divided after Mrs. Blacker's death. Servants' quarters, those of the chauffeur and gardener, once a part of the Blacker Estate, now front onto Wentworth Avenue. Robert Blacker's widow, Nellie lived in the house until her death in 1944. After this, the valuable estate was sub-divided and the furnishings of the house sold. In 1994, Harvey and Ellen Knell purchased the then-decrepit dwelling and set about restoring it. They worked with Greene and Greene expert and architect, Randall Makinson, to restore the Arts and Crafts character to the house. David Gebhard and Robert Winter stated of the R.R. Blacker House: "Like the Gamble House across town, this is one of the very finest of the Greenes' Craftsman-Japanese designs." (See David Gebhard and Robert Winter, Architecture of Los Angeles A Compleat Guide, [Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, Incorporated, 1985], p. 362.)

Building Notes

One of the Greene Brothers' "super-bunglaows," the Robert R. Blacker House, Pasadena, CA, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, level of significance: National. Some drawings for the Blacker House were dated 10/12/1907.

Dawson and Daniels, building contractors.

Pasadena Historical Landmark (02/06/1986): ID n/a

National Register of Historic Places (February 6, 1986): 86000147 NRHP Images (pdf) NHRP Registration Form (pdf)

PCAD id: 2630