The house at 1050 E. Mariposa may be the most historically important house in Altadena because, except for the chimney and roof, it has never been remodeled or restored. Sometimes the best preservation is no preservation at all.
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| “Thatch Cottage” designed by Elmer Grey, 1911 The original roof shingles were woven together very closely and irregularly to give the texture of a thatched roof. |
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| The original roof is no longer visible. Today the house is called the McClintock House |
When Mrs. Effie Neustadt hired Pasadena architect, Elmer Grey, to design her home on the southwest corner of Mariposa St. and Maiden Lane, she was over 70 years old and restricted to a wheelchair. The 12 room, super-sized English country cottage, with its sweeping mountain and valley views, was made accessible to the new resident by large bay windows and covered porches. The upstairs master bedroom had an adjoining room for a nurse-companion as well as access to a sewing room and a screened area that could be used as an outdoor living room.
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| Formal gardens surrounding the McClintock house extended south to Marcheta Street |
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| View of the house from the back, looking north, about 1920 |
The architectural magazine The House Beautiful featured the home in a 1923 article: “The whole country where the house stands sloes very steeply from the north to the south; the result was that the house had to be placed considerably below the main street. This meant that the roof would be more nearly on a level with the eye of a person standing in the street that is usually the case; since, therefore, it would be the most conspicuous part of the house, the imitation thatched-roof effect was adopted to make this broad expanse more interesting.”
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| Today – view of east wing from Holliston |