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12:50 p.m. PDT
12:50 p.m. PDT
Serving San Marino, Pasadena, San Gabriel, Alhambra, Arcadia, South Pasadena
The East Village, by Carrie Benuska
Published 09/24/2010
- 11:02 a.m. PDT
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After weeks of winding our way through the varying sections of our city, this article will conclude my series on “Our San Marino Neighborhoods” with an exploration of the East Village. Nestled right below Huntington Drive and to the East of San Marino Avenue, this neighborhood is serviced by Carver Elementary School and is conveniently located right below many Huntington Drive businesses. Walking to the San Marino Grill for breakfast, getting a birthday present at San Marino Toy and Book or picking up a prescription at Huntington Pharmacy are all a snap if you live in the East Village. As I thought about how to present this part of town, I decided to break it up into three smaller areas. Each area is wonderful, but much more than the solid architecture, fresh paint jobs and lovely gardens are the incredible people who live there.
The western portion of the East Village is quite similar to Lower Huntington, with the fabulous Roanoke Road, Melville Drive, Adair Street, Sherwood Road and Lorain Road serving as its basis. These tree-lined streets are scenic and are filled with great homes and wonderful people. As I think of this section of the East Village, my mind instantly goes to some of our very best friends, Leonard and Ann Brazil. We met through our sons during their second grade year (now they are seniors!), and we have been fast friends ever since. Sherwood Road residents since the 1980’s, the Brazil’s home has been a center of activity for their three kids and their friends. Ann, a kid at heart, encouraged her kids to plan fun, creative and healthy activities at their house. The Brazil kids were well-known for their fantastic “slip and slide”, that was regularly set up on their sloping front lawn to beat the summer heat. With the hose running and happy screams and laughter coming from the participants, soon quite a group would be enjoying this fun summer activity. Ann also helped to facilitate a very elaborate yearly haunted house for the neighborhood kids on Halloween. She encouraged her kids to take the helm, though, and a huge amount of work and planning went into this yearly event. The Brazil’s home is truly beautiful, and I love that it has not been pampered but has been used to its fullest.
As you travel east on Huntington past Del Mar Avenue, the main streets change from east/west to north/south. With nearly perfect access to San Marino High School, streets like Rubio Drive, Bellwood Drive and VanDyke Road run from Huntington down to Lorain. These streets feature primarily one-story homes with Traditional architecture. My favorite of these streets is the lush and tree-filled Bradbury Road, and my favorite home on this street happens to belong to a lovely San Marino family, the Bensingers. Drawn by the San Marino Schools, Kerry, Pegine and their two kids made the move to their Bradbury Road home a decade ago and have not looked back. The Bensingers have been great supporters of the San Marino schools - from theatre, to Chamber Choir, to football. Pegine, possessing the patience of Job, was one of the key parents in charge of the Huntington Musical, “Oklahoma”. Pegine not only ran that play like a fine timepiece but also showed so much kindness and understanding to the kids and parents alike. The Bensingers have carefully updated their darling home and have a lovely garden, which is a bright spot on their already gorgeous street.
The southern portion of the East Village has streets that are far more confusing and circuitous, with Rose Avenue running at a diagonal through it. One of my favorite streets in this part of the East Village is Robin Road, because of the sweet homes, the quiet feel and the great people who live there. Some of my favorite people, Tony and Donna Thacher, live on Robin Road. We met Tony, a San Marino native, when he was the coach for my daughter’s softball team over a decade ago. The kindness and patience with which he taught my daughter the game of softball made me an instant fan. After a bit of a hitting slump, my daughter made a very small hit (more like a bunt) down the third base line, making it to first base. Coach Thacher not only made a fuss of her during the game but also highlighted her hit in his write-up in the San Marino Tribune. He made her feel like a winner, and I will never forget him for this. We have remained friends since that softball season and have had the pleasure of being entertained in their lovely one-story Robin Road Traditional, which also happens to be Tony’s childhood home.
The streets of the East Village are very familiar to me. With its close proximity to my own Upper East Side neighborhood, we have made so many friends in this part of town. Play dates, team parties, PTA meetings and more have taken place at homes across this friendly part of town. The East Village is a bright spot in our truly fantastic city.
There are a total of six properties currently on the market in the East Village with an average list price of $1,482,000 and an average price per square foot of $622.
Carrie BenuskaColdwell Banker626.840.9149www.carriebenuska.com
The western portion of the East Village is quite similar to Lower Huntington, with the fabulous Roanoke Road, Melville Drive, Adair Street, Sherwood Road and Lorain Road serving as its basis. These tree-lined streets are scenic and are filled with great homes and wonderful people. As I think of this section of the East Village, my mind instantly goes to some of our very best friends, Leonard and Ann Brazil. We met through our sons during their second grade year (now they are seniors!), and we have been fast friends ever since. Sherwood Road residents since the 1980’s, the Brazil’s home has been a center of activity for their three kids and their friends. Ann, a kid at heart, encouraged her kids to plan fun, creative and healthy activities at their house. The Brazil kids were well-known for their fantastic “slip and slide”, that was regularly set up on their sloping front lawn to beat the summer heat. With the hose running and happy screams and laughter coming from the participants, soon quite a group would be enjoying this fun summer activity. Ann also helped to facilitate a very elaborate yearly haunted house for the neighborhood kids on Halloween. She encouraged her kids to take the helm, though, and a huge amount of work and planning went into this yearly event. The Brazil’s home is truly beautiful, and I love that it has not been pampered but has been used to its fullest.
As you travel east on Huntington past Del Mar Avenue, the main streets change from east/west to north/south. With nearly perfect access to San Marino High School, streets like Rubio Drive, Bellwood Drive and VanDyke Road run from Huntington down to Lorain. These streets feature primarily one-story homes with Traditional architecture. My favorite of these streets is the lush and tree-filled Bradbury Road, and my favorite home on this street happens to belong to a lovely San Marino family, the Bensingers. Drawn by the San Marino Schools, Kerry, Pegine and their two kids made the move to their Bradbury Road home a decade ago and have not looked back. The Bensingers have been great supporters of the San Marino schools - from theatre, to Chamber Choir, to football. Pegine, possessing the patience of Job, was one of the key parents in charge of the Huntington Musical, “Oklahoma”. Pegine not only ran that play like a fine timepiece but also showed so much kindness and understanding to the kids and parents alike. The Bensingers have carefully updated their darling home and have a lovely garden, which is a bright spot on their already gorgeous street.
The southern portion of the East Village has streets that are far more confusing and circuitous, with Rose Avenue running at a diagonal through it. One of my favorite streets in this part of the East Village is Robin Road, because of the sweet homes, the quiet feel and the great people who live there. Some of my favorite people, Tony and Donna Thacher, live on Robin Road. We met Tony, a San Marino native, when he was the coach for my daughter’s softball team over a decade ago. The kindness and patience with which he taught my daughter the game of softball made me an instant fan. After a bit of a hitting slump, my daughter made a very small hit (more like a bunt) down the third base line, making it to first base. Coach Thacher not only made a fuss of her during the game but also highlighted her hit in his write-up in the San Marino Tribune. He made her feel like a winner, and I will never forget him for this. We have remained friends since that softball season and have had the pleasure of being entertained in their lovely one-story Robin Road Traditional, which also happens to be Tony’s childhood home.
The streets of the East Village are very familiar to me. With its close proximity to my own Upper East Side neighborhood, we have made so many friends in this part of town. Play dates, team parties, PTA meetings and more have taken place at homes across this friendly part of town. The East Village is a bright spot in our truly fantastic city.
There are a total of six properties currently on the market in the East Village with an average list price of $1,482,000 and an average price per square foot of $622.
Carrie BenuskaColdwell Banker626.840.9149www.carriebenuska.com
