To spot the Evanston Inn, just look ahead for a large, white wooden building with a wraparound porch, tall windows, and lots of charming details-it's tucked right behind the big palm tree at the Evanston street sign.
Now, step closer and imagine you’re back in 1897. This inn, standing proudly at 395 S Marengo Ave, was Pasadena’s answer to the “just right” amount of luxury-think of it as the Goldilocks of hotels. While the grand hotels were dazzling with gilded chandeliers, this place was cozy, filled with laughter, the smell of baking bread, and maybe a squeaky floorboard or two. The inn was built in styles called Queen Anne and Colonial Revival, so you’d see fancy shingling and wide porches just perfect for telling ghost stories at night. As more and more visitors followed the California dream, wings sprouted in 1898 and 1905, like the building itself was stretching to greet the newcomers.
But here’s a twist-while others vanished or were replaced with concrete giants, the Evanston Inn is now the last wood-frame hotel left in Pasadena! After some tough years, it was given a new life in 2017 as Evanston Court, a housing development that made the preservation crowd break into dance. Honored with awards, this old inn still whispers stories from the veranda. If you listen closely, maybe you'll catch an echo of a bellhop running late, or the giggle of someone sneaking out past curfew. Quite the survivor, don’t you think?
