2012 Pasadena Showcase House of Design
Overview of the Estate
The Architect
John Winford Byers, 1875-1966, serious self-taught practitioner of pure Spanish Colonial Revival Style designed
the estate in 1927. Mr. Byers graduated from the University of Michigan in 1898 in Electrical Engineering, yet
taught French and English in Montevideo, Uruguay where he may have cultivated his interest in Spanish
architectural styles. He came to California in 1902, taught and was a part owner at the Hitchcock Military
Academy in Santa Monica and later taught at Santa Monica High School. In 1919 he established the John Byers
Mexican Handmade Tile Company, using Mexican artisans to create roofing and floor tiles and adobe bricks
adapted to modern construction standards and began to design homes. . His “designs set an example which
others followed to good effect, making northern Santa Monica an architectural monument of traditional images
of the twenties and thirties.” Many of his houses attracted the attention of critics and were regularly featured in
such publications as The Architectural Digest. As his fame spread, Byers attracted such celebrity clients as Norma
Shearer, Irvin S. Cobb, Constance Talmadge, Joel McCrea, Buster Crabbe, Shirley Temple, and J. Paul Getty.
While, Byers lived to be 91, he effectively retired before World War II.
Location
La Cañada Flintridge, California. The city is bordered by the Angeles National Forest on the North and the
cities of Pasadena and Glendale on the East and South.
History of the Estate
On June 26, 1927, The Los Angeles Times announced the impending construction of the Robbins house as “a
beautiful Spanish home,” a “sixteen-room villa…will grace a site of approximately two acres.” This home was
built as the winter home for Hunter Savidge Robbins, his wife Margaret K. Robbins, their four children and
one male French-born servant. Mr. Robbins’ family dates back to Colonial America and is listed in DAR
records. The family fortune in Michigan was based upon lumber. Hunter Robbins was also an alumnus of the
University of Michigan. Mr. Robbins occupation was listed in 1930 as a theater owner. Both he and his wife
were avid tennis players and active with the Flintridge Country Club. Mrs. Robbins was a local champion golfer
and in charge of the women’s golf activities at the Flintridge Country Club.
In the 1940’s the Robbins separated. Mr. Robbins moved to San Marino but continued to visit his home in
Spring Lake, Michigan. Mrs. Robbins remarried Donald G. Neuman and continued to live in the house. She
maintained her interest in golf, joining the Annandale Golf Club and winning several championships in Palm
Springs. There have been two additional owners of the estate including Mr. and Mrs. Myrl R. Scott. The
current owners purchased the property in 1996.
Drawings, photographs, and published material about the Robbins house are available in the collections of the
University Art Museum at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The home is potentially eligible for listing
on a local inventory of significant properties and perhaps on the California Historical Resources dues to its fine
design by a noted architect, its good state of preservation and its contribution to the architectural and historical
context of its La Cañada Flintridge neighborhood.
The House
Glen O. Winget, Pasadena, who served as the contractor for many well-known architects, including Paul
Williams built the 6,429 square feet house with 8 bedrooms and baths. As an example of Spanish Colonial
Revival, the Robbins house has architectural elements from Spain, Mexico, but also Italy and the Islamic
world of North Africa. Such houses were conceived as sculptural volumes attached to the land.
Research by Tim Gregory, The Building Biographer