Telepeer

Pasadena mid-century modern ‘Stromberger Residence’ seeks $2.9M

March 11, 2026

The entry patio. (Photo by Cameron Carothers)

1 of 13

The entry patio. (Photo by Cameron Carothers)

For the first time in 42 years, a mid-century modern home in Pasadena’s upscale Linda Vista neighborhood is on the market for $2.85 million.

The two-story house, known as the Stromberger Residence after its first owner, an advertising executive, reflects the work of architect Henry Lawrence Eggers and landscape pioneer Garrett Eckbo. Within the home’s 2,286 square feet are three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Eggers was known for designing homes that blended seamlessly with their surroundings, and here, glass walls connect the interior with the mostly flat, nearly three-quarter-acre lot across two parcels. While the listing agency claims the lot size is one of the largest available in the area, its value lies in its preserved postwar modernism.

The interior features clerestories and warm Habillo wood paneling, while anchoring the backyard is a geometric “trapezoid” pool and a pool house with two changing rooms and a half bathroom.

Mature oak trees, a lawn and patios surround the house.

Visitors enter through the upper level into an open floor plan with the kitchen, with room for a casual dining, to the left. A butler’s pantry connects it to the dining room, which provides direct access to a balcony.

The living room has a fireplace.

There two bedrooms with built-in storage on this level. The third bedroom is on the lower level, alongside a family room .

Parking is by carport.

Records show the property last sold in June 1984 to the late Bryce Nelson, a former Los Angeles Times reporter and a longtime USC journalism professor, and his wife, Martha Steiff Nelson, a children’s therapist, who died in December 2002 at 63.

Nelson, who remarried Mary Shipp Bartlett, died in August 2022 at 84. His widow is now listing the home.

Before it sells, the California Garden and Landscape History Society will host a public tour on Saturday, March 21, with limited tickets priced $30 to $50.

Matthew Berkley of Engel & Völkers has the listing.

Eggers designed several notable Southern California homes, including the Dreyfuss House, famously photographed by Julius Shulman. The architect also designed his own residence nearby where his family still lives.

Eckbo, often called “the dean of West Coast modern landscape architecture,” designed the grounds with the same asymmetrical geometry and social modernism he brought to Case Study Houses and the estates of Gary Cooper and Louis B. Mayer. Landscape updates were later attributed to the firm of C. Jacques Hahn and J. Charles Hoffman.

In 2012, Pasadena added the Stromberger Residence to its list of Historic Designated Gardens.

Pasadena mid-century modern ‘Stromberger Residence’ seeks $2.9M Orange County Register

News Details

Pasadena mid-century modern ‘Stromberger Residence’ seeks $2.9M

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS