The Upton Sinclair House is a historic house at 464 N. Myrtle Avenue,

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...

. Built in 1923, it was the home of American novelist

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

(1878-1968) between 1942 and 1966, and is where he wrote many of his later works. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

and was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1971. It is a private residence.

Description and history

The Upton Sinclair House is located in the foothills of the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

, north of the center of Monrovia at the southeast corner of North Myrtle Avenue and East Scenic Drive. It is a Neo-Mediterranean building in a district of similar houses. It is made of poured concrete and includes "ball-and-ribbon" concrete moldings and Batchelder tile. Its main entrance is set in an ornate archway, with an iron balcony above. The entrance and flanking windows are set in round-arch openings. To the rear right of the house is a period garage. The house was designed by California architect Frederick H. Wallis and built in 1923. It was purchased by Upton Sinclair in 1942, seeking a quieter location than

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

, where he had been living. Sinclair is best known for his exposé style of writing, epitomized by ''

The Jungle ''The Jungle'' is a 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States. However, most readers wer ...

'', his 1906 novel exposing unsavory practices in the meatpacking industry. Sinclair was awarded the

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

in 1943. Many of Sinclair's later works were written while he lived here, in a studio space created in the garage. The grounds also include a concrete vault where he kept all his papers. The house sustained damage during the

1991 Sierra Madre earthquake The 1991 Sierra Madre earthquake occurred on June 28 at with a moment magnitude of 5.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (''Very strong''). The thrust earthquake resulted in two deaths, around 100 injuries, and damage estimated at $33.5� ...

(5.6M) and was nearly torn down by its owner; however, California's

state historic preservation office The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is a state governmental function created by the United States federal government in 1966 under Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The purposes of a SHPO include surveying an ...

denied the demolition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Upton, House Houses in Los Angeles County, California Houses completed in 1923 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Historic Landmarks in California History of Los Angeles County, California Monrovia, California San Gabriel Valley Mediterranean Revival architecture in California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California

Description and history

See also

References