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It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977. In 2008, a Los Angeles Times survey included the home in a list of all-time top 10 houses in Los Angeles. The Gambles moved into the completed home in 1909 and lived there until their deaths in the 1920s.
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The triple front door and transom feature a Japanese black pine motif in plated (more than one layer) leaded art glass, highlighting the Asian influence that runs throughout the house. The brothers studied metal and woodworking at the Manual Training School of Washington University in St. Louis and graduated in 1888. In 1893, their parents moved to Pasadena, California, and asked their sons to relocate. Their father was a physician studying the effects of sunlight and fresh air on health, which would influence the indoor-outdoor connections of their designs. While traveling to California, the Greene brothers stopped at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where they saw an exhibit on Japanese architecture.
Holiday Tours at the Gamble House Things to do in Los Angeles - Time Out
Holiday Tours at the Gamble House Things to do in Los Angeles.
Posted: Wed, 07 Dec 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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The video shows myriad examples, including intricate stained glass windows and woodwork that allows for secret doors to seamlessly blend into the walls of the house. The Gamble House has developed a special one-hour tour of the house’s grounds and exterior. Your guide will lead an exploration of the house’s context and history throughout the gardens and terraces. The strong ties to the outdoors are brought to the interior as well, through flowers and trees which are engraved in the windows, doors and lanterns.
About the Greene and Greene Architects
One of the wooden panels in the entry hall is actually a concealed door leading to the kitchen, and another panel opens to a coat closet. Here & Now's Scott Tong talks with Princeton historian Julian Zelizer about Johnson's gamble with far-right Republicans — and whether he'll keep his job. Overseeing fundraising to support and sustain The Gamble House, its ongoing operations and programming, and to fund endowments for key staff positions and periodic major restoration, preservation and maintenance initiatives.
The Details
At this time, the house passed to the eldest son, Cecil Gamble, and his wife, Louise, who temporarily tried to sell the dwelling in 1945. To avoid this, a cousin of the Gamble heirs--James Gamble--spearheaded the family effort to preserve the mansion. In 1966, the Gamble Family made an agreement with the City of Pasadena, CA, and the University of Southern California (USC) to maintain the house, and its furnishings, in perpetuity. It highlights a few of the elements that make the house exceptional and offers a brief tour and primer for those who haven’t been lucky enough to visit in person. Driving around Pasadena, with its idyllic tree-lined streets and clusters of historic craftsman homes, it’s hard not to...
During these conversations, Ted mentioned that he was wanting to restore the linoleum in kitchen, but he was not totally sure about what was there in 1908. He said he had some old black and white images showing linoleum on the floor, but there was a question as to if it was original or not. Although incredibly intact, the kitchen of the Gamble House had a few details that were not reflective of the desired 1908 interpretation.
The Arts and Crafts Movement in American Craftsman style architecture was focused on the use of natural materials, attention to detail, aesthetics, and craftsmanship. The Gamble House was designed in 1908 by Pasadena architects, Greene & Greene as the winter residence for David and Mary Gamble. The Gamble House is the finest example of early 20th-century Craftsman architecture. It is preserved with all of its original furnishings which were also designed by the architects. Food and drinks are not allowed inside the house, guests are welcome to picnic outside on the grounds.
As our docent noted the iconic shape of the tsuba, the crossguard of a samurai sword, is seen throughout the home, including the shape of the dining room table, light switch plates, and more. When the home was initially built, it did not receive any acclaim and was actually the target of harsh criticism among fellow architects, critics, and neighbors. It wasn’t until after World War II that the project was rediscovered and praised by a group of architects who were embracing American design and rejecting European influence. Alongside Frank Lloyd Wright, the Greene brothers' architecture regained newfound popularity in the 1940s and inspired the American-centric Modernist movement.
Hand-carved Wood Details
The house and furnishings were designed by architects Charles and Henry Greene in 1908 for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter & Gamble Company. The house, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, is owned by the City of Pasadena and operated by the University of Southern California. The drawings of the house were completed in February of 1908, the site ground-broken in March, and ten months later the house was completed and the first custom-built piece of furniture delivered. The family moved in immediately, and the house and all of it's specially-designed furnishings were officially finished in 1910. Craftsman architecture features many hard-carved wood millwork details, including trims, columns, and decorative elements.
This integration reflects the topography, climate, and the relaxed, outdoor orientation of the southern California lifestyle. Pasadena’s lure among culturally minded and wealthy Midwesterners, combined with a building boom in the early twentieth century, made the city a viable, if short-lived, market for the Greenes’ costly work. The oft-published houses of Greene and Greene inspired builders of more modest dwellings, and the brothers’ work would soon be conflated in the popular imagination with more modest craftsman bungalows.
Critical acclaim for their work did not come again until after World War II, when it was almost too late for the brothers to enjoy it—Henry died in 1954, and Charles followed in 1957. In a 1950 issue of House Beautiful, Elizabeth Gordon and Jean Murray Bangs resurrected the Greenes’ work as a vital link between the decorative excesses of Victorianism and the clean expressions of American Modernism. The early projects of Greene and Greene reflected the traditional tastes of their clients, but in time they achieved recognition for developing the California bungalow to a high art, as well as for creating houses with the quality of fine furniture.
David and Mary lived in the house until their deaths in 1923 and 1929, respectively. Cecil Huggins Gamble and his wife Louise Gibbs Gamble began living in the house after Julia’s death in 1944, and briefly considered selling it. They soon changed their minds, however, when prospective buyers spoke of painting the interior teak and mahogany woodwork white! The Gambles realized the artistic importance of the house and it remained in the Gamble family until 1966, when it was deeded to the city of Pasadena in a joint agreement with the University of Southern California School of Architecture. At the same time the Gambles were selecting their lot on Westmoreland Place, a house designed by the firm of Greene & Greene was being built for John Cole on the adjacent property.
Since 1978, the Gamble House has been owned by the city of Pasadena and run by the University of Southern California. Celebrating a diverse mix of art, architecture and history of the Arroyo Seco area, MOTA Day features five unique... The living room was designed without any entry doors so that the room would be as open and inviting as possible. It also consisted of a spacious sitting room, which was decorated with five rugs that were designed by Charles Greene using watercolor.
Across from the fireplace, there is a window that leads to the terrace, which overlooks the garden. The expansive window was designed to let light brighten the room during the late afternoon. At the far end of the room lie bookcases, a small games table, and a piano to offer entertainment and leisure.
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