For Christmas this year, we flew to Pasadena. The plan was to open gifts at my brother-in-law’s house and then drive to Palm Springs for the following four days. Palm Springs was wonderful, but Pasadena is pretty cool too.
Gamble House
One of the biggest draws to Pasadena is the Gamble House. Unfortunately, we didn’t book tickets ahead of time. Upon arrival, we learned tickets to tour the house were sold out until late that afternoon, well after we would depart for Palm Springs. However, the staff did encourage us to walk around the property and look inside the windows.
Built in 1908 for Mary and David Gamble (son of James Gamble, one of the founders of Proctor and Gamble), the house represents the Arts and Crafts movement popular at the time. You may notice that the house resembles a precursor of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs. That’s because Wright was heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, which dominated from 1880 to 1920.
The Arts and Crafts Movement featured hand-crafted details, mostly using natural materials such as wood. Craftsman and bungalow-style architecture are closely related. Arts and Crafts houses typically display low-pitched roofs, exposed beams, wide front doors, and built-in units.
My brother-in-law and his family own a home with a similar style in nearby Altadena (pictured to the left). Thankfully, their house is still standing after the devastating wildfires which occurred just two weeks after our visit. Many houses in the neighborhood did not survive.
The Gambles hired the firm of Greene & Greene to design the house as a winter residence. The two Greene brothers borrowed heavily from Asian styles of architecture including the use of interlocking wood pieces or dougong. Although visually appealing, it is also earthquake-resistant.
The Greenes used cloud lifts, in which a horizontal plane (for example, the top of a door, window, or piece of furniture) rises slightly by an arch or notch. These hand-crafted details directly opposed the mass-production elements of the Industrial Movement.
Multiple terraces encourage outdoor living. Behind the house, the gardens reflect Japanese architecture with a peaceful pond, lily pads, and stepping stones. Members of the Gamble family stayed in the house until deeding it to the city of Pasadena in 1966. In 1976, the house earned a National Historic Landmark designation and is one of the few Greene & Greene houses open to the public.
Old Town Pasadena
We headed to Old Town Pasadena, the main commercial district along Colorado Street near Fair Oaks Avenue. Founded in the 1880s, Pasadena was the second city incorporated in Los Angeles County.
Most people associate Pasadena with the Rose Bowl Parade. The Tournament of Roses began in 1890 by the Hunt Valley Club members to showcase California’s mild winter weather to New Yorkers battling snow and cold temperatures. Before the games (which included tug-o-war and ostrich races), people decorated their carriages with rose flowers. Soon, the Rose Parade grew in size to include marching bands and floats and, later, the Rose Bowl football game. The parade route begins at Orange Grove Blvd and turns onto Colorado Blvd, which continues for most of the 5.5-mile route. On our visit, bleachers lined the street edges in preparation for the parade just seven days away.
You wouldn’t know it, but Old Town Pasadena experienced a significant decline from the 1950s-1980s. Through a successful revitalization project, Old Pasadena is now brimming with popular shops like Sephora, Lullulemon, Anthropologie, Allbirds, and Apple. There are also many restaurants, coffee, shops, hotels, and condos.
Pasadena City Hall
We noticed a Spanish Baroque tower with a red-tiled dome in the distance. We walked north of E. Colorado for a few blocks before coming upon City Hall. The richly detailed Beaux-Arts structure was constructed in 1927 at a cost of $1.3 million (good thing it was completed before the Great Depression!).
The building was open to the public, so we walked past the large Christmas tree and into a grand vestibule under the rotunda. The rosettes carved into the curved ceiling and the detailed clock hanging from a balcony took my breath away.
The vestibule led the way to a large exterior courtyard surrounded by arched walkways and three-story towers. With a fountain as the centerpiece, the area felt more like an Italian village than a government building in California.
We climbed the stairs in one of the towers and walked along the second-floor arcade to the rotunda area. Unfortunately, the six-story rotunda is not open to the public.
Pasadena Robinson Memorial
Exiting City Hall, two bronze sculptures faced us. These honor brothers Mack and Jackie Robinson. Mack represented the US at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin and took home a silver medal in track and field. Jackie became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball.
In Conclusion
Book tickets for Gamble House online before arriving. Pasadena City Hall is open to the public.
We only had a few hours in Pasadena. However, on previous visits, we’ve toured Descanso Gardens and the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. I highly recommend both of those spots if you’re in the area.