BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

Haskett Court Pasadena, CA

EDITOR'S DESIGN CHOICE

Pasadena’s bungalow courts were most often configured in a “U” shape, with the open end at the street, single-story homes lining each side of the property, and a taller building across the rear as a visual terminus. Image courtesy of Heritage Housing Partners / Schaf Photo Studios Heritage Housing Partners

View of Haskett Court from East California Boulevard. Image courtesy of Heritage Housing Partners / Schaf Photo Studios Heritage Housing Partners

Pasadena’s bungalow courts include beautifully landscaped common areas. Image courtesy of Heritage Housing Partners / Schaf Photo Studios Heritage Housing Partners

Private porch at Haskett Court. Image courtesy of Heritage Housing Partners / Schaf Photo Studios Heritage Housing Partners

<
/
>

The City of Pasadena is the birthplace of the bungalow court—a grouping of small houses or duplexes arranged around a shared, landscaped courtyard. Most of its bungalow courts were constructed between 1910 and 1930, representing an innovative solution to multi-family housing. Bungalow courts combine the amenities of a single-family home—private garden space, ground-floor porches, and individualized design—with the selling points of an apartment—affordability, security, and community living. Bungalow court complexes in Pasadena generally range from five to fourteen units on less than one acre.

Haskett Court, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of the finest remaining examples of a 1920s bungalow court in Pasadena. It was rehabilitated by the non-profit Heritage Housing Partners in 2009. Haskett Court’s six units were sold to first-time, low- and moderate-income homebuyers. (The last unit to sell, a 760-square foot cottage with a small private backyard, was priced at $319,000.)