Stuart Pharmaceutical Company (1958) by Edward Durell Stone, with landscape design by Thomas Church.
Pasadena entrepreneur Arthur Hanisch hired Stone and Church to design a factory on the nine acre site. The building was selected by The American Institute of Architects as one of the five best designs for 1958.
The hanging discs are planters, although none of them are planted.
The employee recreation area, including patio furniture from Brown Jordan (they were based in Pasadena at the time).
Source: Julius Shulman via Pasadena Digital History Collaboration
Photo: Julius Shulman, Getty Research Institute
Photo: Julius Shulman, Getty Research Institute
1958
Photo: Julius Shulman, Getty Research Institute
The site in 1990.
Stuart Pharmaceutical Company was acquired by Merck/Johnson and Johnson in 1991. The property was put up for sale soon after. It was purchased by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1994. At several points it was under threat of demolition, including a plan by the Metro to turn it into a surface parking lot for transit riders. Squatters took up residence at the deserted building and scavengers stripped anything of value from the property. Preservationists worked to get the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which happened in 1994.
Preservation architect Robert Chattel was hired to do an adaptive reuse of the dilapidated building as part of a $54 million apartment complex project: The Stuart at Sierra Madre Villa. This included 188 units of rental housing and a performing arts center, designed by Architects Orange.
This is a success story in terms of how architectural preservation and redevelopment can coexist. The Durell building in front of the apartment complex is the common area for residents. The landscaping, lighting, and the original pool have also been saved. There is also a walking path to Gold Line light rail.
Image: BRE Properties
Time, March 31, 1958
That looks like The Stuart behind him.
Source: Time