Department of Water and Power Distributing Station No. 2

Department of Water and Power Distributing Station No. 2
Department of Water and Power Distributing Station No. 2, photo by Wikimedia Commons, 2013

Department of Water and Power Distributing Station No. 2, Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #558

Built: 1916  Declared: 04/21/1992

Constructed by Frederick L. Roehrig in 1916, the Greek Revival structure displays symmetrical pedimented doors and a projecting portico supported by Tuscan columns and was Roehrig’s only Highland Park commission. Roehrig was known as the Millionaire’s Architect, frequently using the Victorian, Queen Anne, American Craftsman, California Mission and Neo-Classical styles in his predominantly residential projects. His later institutional work gravitated towards Art Deco and Moderne. Andrew McNally, of the Rand-McNally publishing company, was one of Roehrig’s first clients, and commissioned a number of buildings with Roehrig after constructing his Altadena home, which is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Roehrig’s best known work is probably the Mission-Moorish Style West Annexes (1898; 1903) to the Green Hotel, protected as a City of Pasadena Cultural Heritage and National Register of Historic Places landmark.