btw, i sometimes think we give too much credit to people who live in san marino homes, esp when we're talking about immigrant families. a majority of them have no idea about the special character of their neighborhood. i would bet money that they don't know the difference between their 1920's san marino house vs a 2000's mcmansion in arcadia. if SM residents were <em>allowed to</em>, you better believe a lot of people would have razed their classic homes and built a new china palace to replace it. to many, san marino is better because the homes are more expensive or SM high is better than arcadia high. if they build Irvine Ranch mcmansions in that area, they would be gobbled up just as fast.
the house i lived in was a ranch-style colonial (?). i don't know if thats the proper terminology but it was a one-story layout. the exterior had real brickworking that is common in the area, and a bk-approved detached rear garage. we sold to a chinese family. the new owners turned the grassy area in front of the circular driveway into a landscaped mound with tropical plants, birds of paradise, and short palms. that was not as bad as the small grecian fountain! the fountain was removed (probably at the request of the city) but the tropical landscaping is still there today.