City Keeps Local Landmark on the Map : Renovation: Former home of feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman is relocated, where it will be refurbished and sold as low-income housing.

The 100-year-old Victorian rumbling down Pasadena’s streets early one morning was getting a new lease on life.

Turn-of-the-century feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s modest home painstakingly had been put on steel beams for the four-hour journey to the Lincoln Triangle neighborhood. There, the city is refurbishing it, and in a few months will sell it to a low-income family in an effort to provide more affordable housing in Pasadena.

Saving the home was made possible by developer Hugh Smith, who bought the house at 239 S. Catalina Ave. six years ago.

He wanted to build on the property, but as a member of the preservationist group Pasadena Heritage, Smith was determined to save the Gilman home, designated a city landmark in 1980.

Although he had the choice to demolish it, the preservationist side of him and the city Cultural Heritage Commission won out. For the last two years, he has worked with city officials and Pasadena Heritage to find a way to save the house, donating it to the city and paying 75% of the $10,000 relocation costs.

“It’s a dream when you know you’ve done the right thing. It’s like passing the baton when you give something back,” said Smith as he watched the move May 4 with Mayor Rick Cole, a handful of preservationists, a prospective buyer and curious neighbors.

The move was a joint venture by the city and Pasadena Heritage. Heritage volunteers are fixing up the house with materials donated by local contractors.

“This housing project achieves three worthwhile objectives,” said Pasadena Housing Administrator Phyllis Mueller. “It preserves an important historic building, helps revitalize the historic Lincoln Triangle neighborhood and provides an ownership opportunity for a low-income family.”

A writer, lecturer, intellectual--and grandniece of Harriet Beecher Stowe--Gilman gained prominence in the women’s liberation movement when she wrote “Woman and Economics” in the late 1890s.

For seven years, she edited “The Forerunner,” a magazine that promoted socialist and feminist ideals. “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a novella that Gilman wrote in 1892, was recently produced for KCET Public Television. Gilman lived out her years at the house, which was owned by her daughter, until she died in 1935.

“The style of the Gilman house was a key factor in choosing to move it to the Lincoln Triangle neighborhood. It fits right in with the other homes there,” said Elizabeth Neaves, an architect and associate director for Pasadena Heritage’s Preservation Fund. She is overseeing restoration of the house.

As the house was readied for relocation to its new home at 438 Cypress Ave., with its windows boarded up and paint stripped, it didn’t look much like a historical landmark. But in about six months, restoration of the two-bedroom house will be completed and the attic space renovated to accommodate a third bedroom and a bathroom.

The city will then put the Gilman House up for sale for $123,000. To make the house more affordable, the city is deferring $40,000 of the selling price for five years with no payments, or interest.

For buyers to qualify, they must have a down payment of 5% plus closing costs (about $11,000), have three to six people in their household and earn a maximum of $44,800 annually. Those who are now renting in Lincoln Triangle will be given preference.

Jesus Huerta joined about 50 people who watched the big move. An apartment manager, he has lived in Lincoln Triangle for 14 years. The building he manages is also owned by Smith, who told him the house was for sale.

“For sure I’m interested in buying the house. My wife and I are already fixing up the garden in our minds,” said Huerta, one of two people who has already applied to buy the house.

The relocation and restoration of the Gilman House is part of an ongoing collaboration between the city and Pasadena Heritage.

In 1985, Gartz Court, a six-unit bungalow court, was relocated through a similar joint venture. The bungalows were restored and sold by lottery to first-time homeowners with moderate incomes.

For the last few years, Pasadena Heritage has focused much of its efforts on the Lincoln Triangle neighborhood, an area that is home to several historic homes, but threatened by redevelopment and deterioration.

The group has also been involved in the restoration of Castle Green, a former hotel in Old Town Pasadena that was converted to apartments in 1926 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Founded in 1977, Pasadena Heritage’s first project was the restoration of the Easton House, a Craftsman-style bungalow on South Marengo Avenue that was scheduled for demolition.

* HISTORIC EXHIBIT: An exhibit about Gilman and the house restoration project is being held at the central Pasadena Library, 285 E. Walnut St., through the end of May.