Pasadena Architecture Tour Features Masters of American Arts & Crafts Movement

Mark Thompson READ TIME: 3 MIN.

PASADENA, CA - This coming Earth Day, architecture buffs are in for a Greene and Greene (and green) treat.� On Sunday, April 22, 2012, The Gamble House will present Arroyo's Edge: Greene and Greene Interiors 2012, a rare opportunity to visit six privately-owned properties designed by Charles and Henry Greene between 1902 and 1915. �

Featuring acclaimed architectural features and design by the masters of the American Arts & Crafts movement, the five private homes and one private garden will be open for touring along Arroyo Terrace and North Grand Avenue in Pasadena, all within easy walking distance of The Gamble House.

It has been twenty years since a "Greene and Greene Interiors" tour featured the interiors of houses in the historic Park Place neighborhood. �On April 22 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. (last entry 4 p.m.), this remarkably intact enclave of the Greenes' work - once known as "Little Switzerland" for its woodsy, chalet-style structures - will once again be the focus of a tour to benefit The Gamble House, a National Historic Landmark designed by Greene and Greene in 1908 and operated by the University of Southern California School of Architecture as a public site since 1966.

Thanks to the generosity of six property owners, the Arroyo's Edge tour will feature: the Duncan-Irwin house (1906-08), the Mary Ranney house (1907), the F. W. Hawks house (1906), the Van Rossem-Neill house (1903-06), the Louise T. Halstead house (1905-15) and the James Culbertson garden (1902-14), and will give participants a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Greene and Greene interiors that are rarely, if ever, opened to the public.

The Duncan-Irwin House (1906-08) is one of six exclusive private homes available during the tour of Greene & Greene designed properties in Pasadena's historic Park Place Neighborhood on Sunday, April 22, 2012 to benefit The Gamble House.

The Duncan-Irwin House is one of many large Arts and Crafts houses in the neighborhood surrounding The Gamble House, named for its first two owners, the original house was built in the 1800s and moved to the present site around 1901. Greene and Greene designed extensive additions and alterations to the original house in 1903 for Katherine Duncan and in 1906 for Theodore Irwin.

The completed vision of Greene and Greene has created an organic house that seems to have grown up from the banks of the Arroyo Seco. Rustic vine-covered retaining walls and terraces of stone and clinker brick merge with the site and massive trees seem intertwined with the broad pergolas which extend from the house.

The house features a free-flowing floor plan with an inner courtyard which features a goldfish pond. Gorgeous wood, tile, brick, stained glass and original fixtures adorn the interiors.

Built in 1908, the Gamble House is the most complete and best-preserved example of the work of renowned Pasadena architects Charles and Henry Greene. The Gamble House is an internationally recognized National Historic Landmark in the style of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Owned by the City of Pasadena, the Gamble House is operated by the University of Southern California School of Architecture.

The Gamble House is open for public, docent-led, one-hour tours Thursday�-�Sunday, noon - 3 p.m., closed on national holidays.

DETAILS:

EVENT:
Arroyo's Edge: Greene & Greene Interiors 2012 - A tour of six Greene and Greene-designed properties in Pasadena's historic Park Place neighborhood

PROGRAM:
Participants will have the rare opportunity to visit six privately-owned properties designed by Charles and Henry Greene between 1902 and 1915 that are rarely, if ever, opened to the public. The tour features acclaimed architectural features and design by the masters of the American Arts & Crafts movement.

The tour includes the Duncan-Irwin house (1906-08), the Mary Ranney house (1907), the F. W. Hawks house (1906), the Van Rossem-Neill house (1903-06), the Louise T. Halstead house (1905-15) and the James Culbertson garden (1902-14).

DATE:
Sunday, April 22, 2012
12 noon - 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:00 p.m.)

LOCATION:
Park Place Neighborhood
4 Westmoreland Place
Pasadena, CA 91103

TICKET PRICES:
General Admission: $85 per person; $50 for children under 12
Member Admission: $75 per person

INFORMATION & TICKETS:
www.gamblehouse.org or call 626 793-3334

Date: Sunday April 22, 2012
Hours: 12 noon to 5 p.m. (last entry at 4 p.m.)
General Admission: $85 per person; $50 for children under 12
Member Admission: $75 per person

To join Friends of The Gamble House visit www.gamblehouse.org or call 626 793-3334 x 16

Off-street parking is available to ticket holders.

We regret that these private homes and gardens are not wheelchair accessible.
Visitors should plan to wear sturdy walking shoes.

Proceeds benefit: The Gamble House, a National Historic Landmark in Pasadena, CA


by Mark Thompson , EDGE Style & Travel Editor

A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.

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