Monday, June 23, 2025

Threatened Historic Homes Find New Life in Altadena

Standing in the living room of an aging but elegant house in Los Feliz, interior designer Gwen Sukeena broke down.

“When I walked in, I just started crying,” she remembers. “It’s so magical.”

In about three weeks, that century-old structure will be cut into four large pieces, lifted onto giant steel cribs, and hauled through winding foothill roads in the dead of night to a cleared lot in fire-ravaged Altadena—where Sukeena plans to rebuild her life after the Eaton Fire destroyed her home.

Sukeena — who is President of the Pasadena chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers — is turning to an unconventional rebuilding strategy: relocating a historic home threatened with demolition, rather than constructing a new one.

The approach represents an intersection of economic necessity, environmental consciousness, and historic preservation, and it offers Sukeena a faster and more affordable path forward.

The economics are compelling. A two-story, 2,500-square-foot historic home can cost roughly $550,000 to move and restore—while rebuilding from scratch often runs double or triple that in the current market.

The January 7 Eaton Fire devastated Altadena’s residential neighborhoods, leaving hundreds of families like Sukeena’s searching for solutions to an increasingly expensive rebuilding process. Traditional reconstruction faces challenges of soaring material costs, lengthy permitting delays, and a strained construction workforce.

Enter Brad Chambers, who has helped coordinate the relocation of similar homes into the area in an effort to retain Altadena’s historic character. The practice isn’t new to the region—historic homes have been moved before to make way for development projects.

For Sukeena, the discovery of the Los Feliz house felt like fate. She had lost her home just ten days after moving in with her partner, Jacques.

Buoyed by their passion for vintage, recycling, reducing waste and rebuilding responsibly, the pair decided to move an old home onto their property rather than build new.

“We had just found our forever home. And then to lose everything… it takes a physical and emotional toll,” she said Sunday, wiping away tears.

The night of the fire, Sukeena recalls sleeping in a car at the Rose Bowl with Jacques and their dog, not yet realizing their home was gone for good.

“We thought we’d go back in the morning,” she said. “We didn’t even pack anything—just sleeping bags.”

The house Sukeena found and is relocating has an amazing history.

Built in 1910 and lived in by Mary Pickford, it was owned by pioneering businesswoman Alice Blackburn. When the 101 Freeway was constructed decades ago, Blackburn had the house moved to its current Los Feliz site—a relocation documented in a vintage Life magazine article that Sukeena now keeps close by. The house’s remarkable past has been chronicled in multiple publications over the years.

On July 14—”steel day” as it’s known—the first cut will be made into the old house, beginning its journey piece by piece to a new life in the Altadena foothills.

Sukeena gathered friends and neighbors for a candlelight evening at the house on Sunday, June 22 for a farewell before its journey begins.

Sukeena isn’t alone in choosing this path. Brooke Lohman-Janz, a singer, and her husband Michael Janz, director of development for a Los Angeles-based philanthropic organization, lost their rental home of seven years in the fire.

“As a renter, there’s no guarantee you can come back,” Brooke said. “But we couldn’t see ourselves living anywhere else.”

The couple took a leap, pursuing a land loan to buy a vacant lot in Altadena. After beating out a cash offer, they secured the property and are now hoping to relocate a vintage home onto it, consulting with Chambers since January.

“We’re hoping to spend around $300,000 to $350,000 on relocating a smaller home,” Brooke said. “It’s actually within reach, which almost never happens here.”

That practicality resonates with Lynelle Bryant, a designer and builder and president of MasBuild Design Solutions, who lost her Altadena home alongside her husband Charles. Now rebuilding and advising others doing the same, Bryant has observed changing priorities among fire survivors.

“We’re seeing people think more practically,” she said. “They’re designing homes not just for today, but for aging in place—wider doorways, accessible bathrooms, even elevators.” She’s also noticed community-wide interest in preserving Altadena’s architectural heritage. “People are adding ADUs for family members, for parents who might need care, or even to help their adult kids stay in the area,” Bryant said. “It’s all very thoughtful.”

The historic home relocation trend offers environmental benefits as well. “It just makes sense,” said Michael Janz. “It’s greener, it’s faster, and it preserves these beautiful homes that might otherwise end up in a landfill.”

Yet Bryant noted the architectural constraints that come with such homes. In areas of Altadena like the historic Jane’s Village, porches were high and interiors cramped—layouts no longer suited to modern life.

“Those old homes were beautiful but small,” she said. “Now we’re helping people build for the way we live today—but still honor what came before.”

For many residents, the idea of simply replacing what was lost with a generic new build feels wrong. The relocated historic homes help preserve the community’s character while providing a practical solution to the housing crisis created by the fire.

“There are so many deserving homes,” said Brooke Lohman-Janz. “They were built to last, and they deserve a second chance—just like we do.”

For Sukeena, the upcoming move represents more than just practical rebuilding. “It’s not just about rebuilding,” she said. “It’s about reclaiming something—about finding light in the middle of all this loss.”

As she prepares for steel day, Sukeena reflects on the journey ahead. The 1910 house will soon have its forever location in Altadena, where a quiet but determined wave of resilience is taking shape—one century-old house, at a time.