Freeway Threat Puts S. Pasadena on List of Endangered Places

Citing a danger to elegant Craftsman and Mediterranean Revival-style homes because of construction of the Long Beach Freeway, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed South Pasadena among its 11 endangered historic places nationwide.

The nonprofit organization, which claims 250,000 members, called for federal legislation to protect historic buildings and places such as those along the proposed 6.2-mile freeway corridor through South Pasadena.

A state Department of Transportation plan would force the destruction of 1,500 homes, including 52 historic structures in the northern part of the city. They include homes in the Mission Street, Buena Vista and Prospect Circle sections of South Pasadena.

Eight-Lane Freeway

The plan would largely wipe out the Mission Street historic district, refurbished in recent years by merchants and young professionals, and run an eight-lane freeway through the area. The district includes Wynyate, a widely admired Queen Anne Victorian home built more than a century ago by the city’s first mayor.

“These places tell us who we were and who we are,” said J. Jackson Walter, National Trust president. “They deserve our protection.”

South Pasadena is the only California site on the list of 11 historic places that, according to the group, face development pressure. The freeway project is “a good example of how devastating projects like this can be for communities like South Pasadena,” Kathryn Burns, director of the preservation group’s nine-state Western region, said Tuesday.

South Pasadena residents have fought the freeway, which would connect the 10, 110 and 210 freeways, for about 30 years, claiming that it would “destroy the spirit of the city.” At the request of the city and environmental groups, a federal injunction was placed on the project 16 years ago. South Pasadena officials have vowed to keep it there.

Caltrans Under Pressure

Caltrans, under pressure from neighboring cities to complete the freeway, expects approval this month from the Federal Highway Administration of its final environmental impact statement. Caltrans says the project will cost $425 million; critics put it closer to $1 billion.

South Pasadena Mayor Samuel Knowles said he considers the city privileged to be on the list. But he said it is more of a public relations coup than a significant development in the fight to stop the freeway.

“Realistically, I think we’re dealing with people who pretty well have their minds made up,” Knowles said of Caltrans officials. “These people tend to develop answers to conclusions they’ve already reached.”

Jeff Bingham, Caltrans chief of environmental planning, said the preferred route for the freeway, the so-called Meridian Variation, had been designed specifically with the idea of preserving historic structures.

“The whole point of developing the Meridian Variation was to reduce the impact on historic structures,” Bingham said. “The original Meridian Route had 102 historic structures in its path. The Variation cuts that in half.”

ENDANGERED HISTORIC PLACES The nation’s 11 most endangered historic places, listed alphabetically: Site Antietam National Battlefield Park, Maryland Cedar Creek Battlefield, Virginia Columbus landing site, St. Croix, Virgin Islands Deadwood Historic District, Lawrence County, S.D. Fort Frederica National Monument, St. Simons, Ga. Old Deerfield Historic District, Deerfield, Mass. Old Kaskaskia Village, LaSalle County, Ind. Roycroft Inn, East Aurora, N.Y. South Pasadena, Calif. Vieux Carre, New Orleans, La. West Mesa Petroglyphs, Albuquerque, N.M. Source: The National Trust for Historic Preservation.