Grace Hill: The Hidden History of a Pasadena Neighborhood

The Watertower Residence (Photo – Tom Priestley)

From an Indiana Colony farm tract to a hilltop estate, to a streetcar-era neighborhood and to a neighborhood sought for the qualities created by those iterations, the story of Grace Hill mirrors Pasadena’s transformation.

By Tom Priestley

Pasadena’s southern edge, just west of Fair Oaks Avenue, contains a small neighborhood whose topography and layout differ from much of the city. Yet its story closely mirrors Pasadena’s broader evolution, and traces of that history remain visible in the landscape today. The neighborhood is bounded by Fair Oaks Avenue on the east, Avoca Avenue on the west, Glenarm Street on the north, and Columbia Street on the south.

At its center rises Grace Hill, a 100-foot-high prominence formed by the folding of rock layers along the east–west-trending Raymond Fault.

A Hill Born From Fault Lines and Farms

In 1873, the Rancho San Gabriel Orange Grove Association, often called the Indiana Colony, purchased 4,000 acres of the former Rancho San Pasqual between present-day Fair Oaks Avenue and the Arroyo Seco. The Colony divided the land into farms of 15 to 60 acres, establishing street and parcel boundaries that still shape the area west of Fair Oaks today.

After the subdivision in 1874, the colony’s lands were quickly settled, creating an Arcadian landscape of small farms and orchards irrigated by water piped from the upper Arroyo Seco. While the northern portion of Grace Hill remained mostly undeveloped, the south slope gained a large residence surrounded by orchards.

This rural period was brief. With the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in the 1880s, Pasadena became accessible to the rest of the country and soon emerged as a winter resort destination. Hotels such as the Hotel Green in central Pasadena and the Raymond Hotel on Raymond Hill attracted wealthy visitors from the East and Midwest. A real-estate boom followed, bringing rapid subdivision and resale of land.

Aerial view circa 1913 (Photo courtesy of Pasadena Museum of History)

The Creation of the Grace Hill Estate

In 1884, a 10-acre parcel covering the crest and northern slopes of Grace Hill was sold to P. C. Himebaugh of Omaha, Nebraska. Though he owned the property for only two years, he left a lasting mark by naming the hill after his daughter, Grace.

In 1889, William Stanton, a wealthy resident of Pittsburgh, noticed Grace Hill while staying at the Raymond Hotel and decided to buy it. Like many winter visitors of the resort-hotel era, he had grown fond of Pasadena and, by 1891, had built a 9,000-square-foot mansion on the hilltop. The mansion was designed by Frederick Roehrig, Pasadena’s leading architect at the time.

A winding carriage road climbed the hill’s north side from Fair Oaks Avenue to the mansion. The summit was landscaped with palms, Moreton Bay figs, and other ornamental plantings, while the slopes were planted in citrus groves. Six gardeners maintained the estate.

When Grace Hill Became a Neighborhood

In the early 1900s, Stanton acquired the land on the south side of Grace Hill and the flatter ground extending to Columbia Street. He removed existing buildings, graded the land, and laid out a subdivision plan. State Street marked the estate’s southern boundary, and Grace Drive connected it to Columbia Street. The large parcels were intended for mansions, creating a neighborhood for the wealthy similar to Oaklawn Avenue, which was then developing south of Columbia Street.

From Estate to Streetcar-Era Neighborhood

After Stanton’s death in 1922, the property was sold because Grace Hill was no longer ideal for an exclusive estate. It lay more than a third of a mile east of the primary estate district along Orange Grove Boulevard and was separated from it by modest residential development.

Equally important, Fair Oaks Avenue had become a busy transportation corridor with a streetcar line. Across the street stood facilities supporting the electric railway system, along with a manufacturing operation and Pasadena’s electric power plant.

Developers purchased the Stanton estate and subdivided it into commercial parcels along Fair Oaks, and residential lots on the rest of the property. Many of the new house lots lined the narrow carriage road that had once led to the mansion. On the flatter land south of the hill, the largely undeveloped estate parcels were also divided into smaller lots.

Builders constructed small houses, duplexes, triplexes, and a few bungalow courts — many intended as rental housing. The Stanton mansion, water tower, and carriage house were sold intact. The mansion became seven apartments and the carriage house three.

This transformation from a hilltop estate to a dense neighborhood for working people reflected Pasadena’s changing urban dynamics. As the city grew, workers sought affordable housing near streetcar lines, and Grace Hill offered exactly that.

Stanton mansion (Photo – Tom Priestley)

Remnants of a Vanished Estate

The Stanton mansion still anchors the hilltop. Although a 1971 fire significantly altered its roofline, the first two floors remain largely intact and most of the exterior architectural features are retained. Residents say they value both the building’s distinctive architecture and the sense of community it fosters.

One of the most unusual remnants of the estate is the former water tower. After the property was sold in the early 1920s, the steel tank inside the tower was removed and the wooden structure converted into a house. Now fronting on Grace Terrace, it is one of Pasadena’s most distinctive residences. It commands sweeping views toward the San Gabriel Mountains and remains a landmark visible above the surrounding trees.

Another surviving structure is the 1908 building Roehrig designed as a garage for Stanton’s automobiles and a residence for his chauffeur. Located at Grace Terrace and Brocadero Place, the building — now a triplex — combines Shingle Style and Mission Revival elements.

Grace Terrace itself reflects the neighborhood’s earlier era. Its narrow width recalls its origin as a carriage road built decades before the automobile, and many of the stone retaining walls date from that time.

On the north side stands a towering Italian stone pine from the estate period, said to be among the largest of its species in California. One of the oldest and largest Moreton Bay figs in California is also said to remain on the property.

At Grace Terrace and Fair Oaks Avenue, tall palms that once lined the entrance to the carriage lane still stand. Farther uphill, where Grace Terrace curves toward the summit, a stairway known as Grace Walk climbs the slope. Near the top of Grace Hill stand large Moreton Bay fig trees with massive serpentine roots planted as part of the estate’s landscaping. Another enormous fig behind the mansion — also from the Stanton era — is said to be among the oldest and largest of its species in California.

A Neighborhood Shaped by Its Past

Since the 1920s the neighborhood has changed only incrementally. Commercial uses along Fair Oaks have evolved, and scattered infill has appeared on residential lots. Because of its central location, views, and quirky charm, the neighborhood remains desirable and well maintained.

Beyond these historic features, Grace Hill has qualities that contribute to its distinctive character and livability. Narrow streets that temper the dominance of cars, relatively high density, and homes set close to the sidewalks create intimate public spaces that encourage walking and neighborly interaction. The historical forces that shaped Grace Hill created a neighborhood whose livability embodies many of the qualities that planners today seek to recreate.

Tom Priestley, a resident of Grace Hill, is a retired environmental planner and an advocate for redesigning Pasadena’s streets to make them safer and more welcoming for pedestrians.

Grace Walk looking West (Photo – Tom Priestley)