Journal Entry #13 - The First Catalog Home is Under Construction!
This week’s big update is that walls of the first Catalog home have started to go up! The Lewis, the first pre-approved plan in LA County history is being built by San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity for the Wood Family on Pine Street.
“The first Lewis” being framed on Pine Street, Altadena. October 2025
To commemorate this milestone, here’s a personal story “from the vault” looking back at when we first met with SGV Habitat.
Our first meeting with SGV Habitat was on the first Tuesday of February 2025 - very memorable because Alex (now Executive Director, then volunteer), had just left his job as an architect at a firm the day before - to dedicate his full time effort to building TFCF, to give it the legs we felt it deserved. We joked a bit about how it was necessary because otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to take a meeting at 4pm on a Tuesday. But the reality was, it was uncharted territory, suddenly being on a single income and figuring out how to get a fledging nonprofit off the ground. We walked into the Habitat SGV office in Monrovia that afternoon with a stack of old home catalogs and an idea.
After that meeting, we met with a colleague at We Olive Wine Bar in Pasadena. We talked about the grim reality that had begun to set in at the time, 2 weeks post fire. We talked about this idea, and our vision for a catalog of regionally specific home designs that could be pre-permitted. We talked about how difficult change was, especially in the permitting and building industry. We talked about how if something like this could help even one family rebuild who otherwise wouldn’t be able to, it would still be worth trying.
And last week, seeing the Wood Family’s faces light up as they placed their hands on the first wall of their home, well - it was worth it!
That first meeting in Monrovia was the beginning of a partnership and collaboration that resulted in the first three Catalog homes designed for Altadena - the Lewis, Mariposa, and Palm. This helped to catalyze the development of a new way to permit single family homes for fire rebuilds in LA County - the pre-approved standard plan program. All the while, TFCF’s team has grown and so has the Catalog, to over 20 designs and counting, with schematic designs contributed by several dozen architects and designers.
Seeing the physical walls of the Lewis go up feels like the culmination of the efforts of many, many people - and this is just the beginning.
The Lewis (and it’s variation, The Lewis II) is a classic California Bungalow with a large, open front porch, inspired by a home that once stood on Lewis Avenue in Altadena. In the Wood Family home’s case, this front porch will open up to a view of the San Gabriel Mountains. The team has spent countless hours looking at the Lewis on paper and screen, so it was really special to finally see it begin to take shape.
Team FCF on Pine
Last week, our team joined SGV Habitat on-site to help raise panelized walls alongside many other volunteer groups. Looking around at everyone hammering nails or carrying 2x6s around - one person on each side - really drove home that this recovery is a collective effort. We are looking forward to sharing the progress on Pine, and stories of more Catalog builds breaking ground soon!
Upcoming October Events
Saturday, October 25th, 12pm-5pm | 2333 Lake Ave, Suite 2A, Altadena
Hosted by CORE. Please join us at the Hub, a new community space with a focus on rebuilding. The Hub offers a variety of services — disaster case management, financing options, legal consultations, insurance advocacy, owner representation, architecture plans, and more - to help Altadenans navigate the rebuilding process.
Altadena Revealed - Halloween Special: Altadena’s Mountain View Cemetery
Thursday, October 30th 5:30pm-7:30pm | Mountain View Cemetery, entry on 2400 Fair Oaks Ave.
Join us for a special lecture on Halloween-eve, hosted on the grounds of the Mountain View Cemetery. Bring your own lawn chair, blankets, and flashlights! A portion of the ticket donations will go directly towards the restoration of the Mountain View Mausoleum.
Volunteer with SGV Habitat!
To learn more about volunteering with San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity at the Altadena rebuild site, visit https://sgvhabitat.charityproud.org/VolunteerRegistration/Calendar .
An architect’s wish
Until Next Time,
The Foothill Catalog