Helping the neighborhood age gracefully

I enjoyed reading Katherine Yamada’s article on the Rossmoyne neighborhood that I live in (“Rossmoyne: Created to age gracefully” April 25).

One really important reason I moved into the neighborhood seven years ago was the amazing architecture and beautiful charter of each home. I am so glad that the residents created the historic designation last year that will save so many homes from being destroyed and ripped of all tradition and character.

Unfortunately, my home is just across the street and not included in the historic district. I would love to see all the neighborhood designated as a historic district with a southern boundary at Glenoaks Boulevard and a western boundary at Brand Boulevard, then we can save more of these precious homes from being remodeled and overbuilt into modern monstrosities.

I urge both the Glendale News-Press and Glendale’s city government to help educate and inform city residents and owners why these homes are so special and how you can modernize the interior of the home without destroying the character of the home. I’ve walked through several open houses and I’m horrified by the destruction of the original character with no regard to the architecture and tradition of the home.

Glendale needs to inform new homeowners why these homes are national treasures and how to upgrade and modernize bathrooms and kitchens so that they harmonize with the exterior architecture. Residents also need to know that the home values increase when keeping the neighborhood architecture as it was built so long ago so that all of Glendale’s neighborhoods from the 1920s and ’30s can continue to “age gracefully.”

Mark Satterlee
Glendale