Pasadena : Blacker House Offer Rejected

The final chapter in the story of attempts by preservationists to regain control over the landmark Blacker House appears to have been written, and the ending is not a happy one for the home team.

Barton English, a wealthy Texas rancher who bought the house last May for $1.2 million and stripped it of about 50 valuable original light fixtures, rejected the preservationists’ offer to purchase the property at a meeting last week in Seattle, where the National Trust for Historical Preservation held its annual conference.

In July, English turned down an offer by Pasadena Heritage for an option on the house until a buyer could be found who was willing to keep the fixtures in the house. But preservationists, led by a delegation from Pasadena Heritage and Edward Stone, administrator of the White House Preservation Fund, met with English in Seattle, hoping that he would accept an offer to buy the property. English, who was a panelist at the Seattle conference, said he rejected the overture because it came too late and he already has made other plans for his acquisition. Neither side would disclose terms of the offer.

The Blacker House was built in 1907 by noted architects Charles and Henry Greene, pioneers of the Craftsman style of design, also known as California Bungalow. The house is considered to be one of the Greenes’ masterpieces and their custom-made lighting fixtures are viewed by experts as an integral part of the building’s architectural design.