Historic Pasadena bungalow filled with Batchelder tile asks $849K

This mail-order house in Pasadena is anything but generic.

Assembled in 1916, the bungalow came prefabricated from The Aladdin Company, a Michigan-based company that, like Sears, but even before it, sold precut homes in catalogs distributed across the U.S.

Its original owner was Fauntleroy “Bud” Compton, the chief colorist and assistant to artist Ernest Batchelder, according to real estate agent Steve Haussler. The prolific Pasadena ceramicist is credited with ushering in “the golden age of California tile making,” and his handiwork is sprinkled throughout Compton’s bungalow at 745 East Rio Grande Street.

The fireplace mantel was a wedding gift from Batchelder, according to city records. His tile, with animal and plant motifs, bedeck the sunroom. They can be found outside too, on brick pathways and on a patio fountain.

Measuring 1,550 square feet on a 8,208-square-foot lot, the dwelling holds three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. Other features including bay windows, original wood floors, multi-pane wood windows, and built-ins. A detached garage, which served as Compton’s workshop, is preserved in the backyard.

Compton, who died in 1980, lived in the home for more than six decades. It was designated a Pasadena landmark in 2007 and is now listed for $849,000.