Building History

The Buffalo-born architect Henry L.A. Jekel (1876-1960) had many professional contacts with builders and bankers in New York, having worked on the design of a number of skyscrapers in the East. In the early 1920s, one of these connections asked him to do some work in Pasadena, CA, consisting of designing a 40-acre tract of houses and a larger residence. Shortly after finishing these jobs, Jekel and his wife decided to relocate from the Buffalo area to Riverside, CA, where they had briefly lived in 1911-1912. The Riverside Daily Press announced the arrival of Jekel in 1921, noting his recent activities in Pasadena. It stated: "Mr. Jekel recently had charge of the development of a 40-acre tract in Pasadena for a New York capitalist. While acting as landscape artist for the tract, Mr. Jekel is said to have planned nine new $20,000 houses in addition to having been the builder of the same. Mr. Jekel was the designer of the new Bruce residence, on Huntington boulevard, Pasadena...." (See "Henry Jekel To Make Home Here," Riverside Daily Press, 06/16/1921, p. 5.)

PCAD id: 23054