Consultants identify roughly 225 eligible buildings and 10 potential historic districts in East–West Glendale survey

Consultants working for the city presented preliminary findings from the East–West Glendale historic resources survey at the Glendale Historic Preservation Commission meeting on July 16.

Mary Ringhoff of Architectural Resources Group told the commission the scope included a new historic context statement and parcel‑level survey across roughly 22,000 developed parcels in East–West Glendale. "So as of now, we have about 225 potentially eligible individual properties and 10 potentially eligible historic districts, which contain a total of approximately 437 properties," Ringhoff said during the presentation. The consultants categorized potentially eligible resources by type — residential, commercial, industrial and civic — and noted many qualify for listing on the Glendale register and some for state and national registers as well.

Adam Rochford of Historic Resources Group walked commissioners through example properties, from early‑20th‑century stone houses and courtyard apartment buildings to industrial campuses and civic resources. He highlighted examples intended to show the range of the survey, including mid‑century modern residences, the San Fernando Bridge (one of several New Deal–era bridges), and Brand Park, with its multiple historic layers and relocated structures. "For particularly outstanding examples, we also noted eligibility for listing in not only the Glendale register, but also moving it up to the California and national registers," Rochford said.

Commissioners and members of the public pressed the consultants on coverage and time cutoffs. Staff and consultants said reconnaissance and an intensive‑level survey were part of the methodology and that the East–West findings supplement a 2019 South Glendale survey; the East–West work uses a 2000 cutoff for some eligibility evaluations. Staff encouraged public comment and additional outreach: the survey will return to the HPC on Aug. 20 for formal review and recommendation to city council, with final findings due by Sept. 30.

Public commenter Alan Disch commended the scope but asked whether the survey had identified social‑history sites tied to Glendale’s Armenian community from 1980 to 2000. The consultant team said they had identified some churches but noted a gap in identifying businesses and other community sites from that period and asked for more community submissions. "We were hoping to have more information from community members about businesses in particular," Ringhoff said.

What happens next: staff will accept written comments and community suggestions, the consultants will revise the findings as appropriate, and the commission will consider the draft at its Aug. 20 hearing before forwarding recommendations to city council. There were no votes taken on the survey at this meeting.