Scripps Hall, which had held part of the Pasadena Waldorf School, was a large

American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. ...

or Arts and Crafts-style house located in the foothills of the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

, in

Altadena, California Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, California, Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtow ...

, United States. It was built in 1904 as the central feature of the Scripps Estate, and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It was badly damaged by the 2025

Eaton Fire The Eaton Fire was a highly destructive wildfire in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in Southern California. The fire began on the evening of January 7, 2025, in Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains, and a powerful S ...

, with the upper school at 209 East Mariposa Avenue completely destroyed.

History and significance

Scripps Hall was built by William Armiger Scripps. The house is a three-story Arts and Crafts style residence designed by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Charles W. Buchanan. Scripps lived in a small bungalow on his property near the intersection of Mariposa Street and Fair Oaks Avenue in 1904 while his three-story mansion was built. He planted citrus and olive groves on his 'Scripps Estate' located in the community then known as North Pasadena. After William died Scripps Hall was subsequently passed to his grandson. The western portion of the property was subdivided. In 1979, with the residence threatened with demolition, the Altadena Heritage Association coordinated the historic home's sale to the Pasadena Waldorf School, one of many

Waldorf Schools Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is Holistic education, holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic ...

around the world. Scripps Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 under Criterion A for its representation of local history and development patterns (''#99000893''). The nomination notes that the property is significant for its "design by a well-known local architect, C. W. Buchanan (only one of two of his major works still standing in Altadena); its high state of integrity; its association with a regionally significant long-term original owner, the Scripps family; and its prominence within the historic context of Altadena's residential growth and development during the first decades of the 20th century. It is the most intact example of the estates that once lined Altadena's 'Millionaire's Row.'"

William A. Scripps

William Armiger Scripps was the son of James Mogg Scripps. His father was a prominent

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of building a book, usually in codex format, from an ordered stack of paper sheets with one's hands and tools, or in modern publishing, by a series of automated processes. Firstly, one binds the sheets of papers alon ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and came to America in 1844 with six motherless children. Scripps grew up on a

Rushville, Illinois Rushville is a city in Schuyler County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Schuyler County. It was first settled by Euro-Americans in 1823. History In 1823, Calvin Hobart and his fami ...

farm, where his father remarried. William moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, where he and his brother George opened a print shop. His other siblings and half-siblings, such as E. W. Scripps and James E. Scripps, owned and operated major

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s around the country. After the original print shop was destroyed by fire, William Scripps moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, being financially supported by the family newspaper empire, the

E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company, also known as Scripps, is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglom ...

. Scripps spent some time with his siblings in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

, before moving to Altadena in 1904. William Scripps' sister was

Ellen Browning Scripps Ellen Browning Scripps (October 18, 1836 – August 3, 1932) was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E. W. Scripps, E.W. Scripps creat ...

, also involved with the founding of the E. W. Scripps Company, who become a prominent

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

in founding: the

Scripps Research Institute Scripps Research is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institute has over 170 laboratories employing 2,100 scientists, tec ...

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pr ...

, and the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. William also became involved in community philanthropy and founded 'Scripps Home' in Altadena for the elderly.

References

External links

Scripps Family Research Collection

Pasadena Waldorf School
{{National Register of Historic Places in California Houses in Altadena, California Bungalow architecture in California American Craftsman architecture in California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Scripps family Buildings and structures destroyed by the January 2025 Southern California wildfires 1904 establishments in California 2025 disestablishments in California

History and significance

William A. Scripps

See also

References

External links