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| The 2024 Pasadena Showcase House of Design |
THE PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE LEGACY OF PHILANTHROPY
For 59 years, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, the annual fundraiser of the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts (PSHA) held during the Spring season, has provided financial support that benefits the Los Angeles musical arts through the creation of diverse music programs funded primarily by gifts and grants. These programs for decades have successfully nurtured the study and appreciation of music, provided music as a vehicle toward health, healing and music education, and underscored that music enhances other academic subjects as well cultural enrichment for both youth and adults.
This philanthropic legacy first began in 1948 when the Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee made plans to raise money for the Continuance Fund – later named the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (LAPA) – to help pay for the series of concerts performed in the City of Pasadena by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
The original founding members consisted of 18 women who met their early fundraising goals with a series of traditional "society" social events -- a shipwreck party, a casino night, an assortment of bridge tournaments and gatherings around a popular new fixture in their homes in the 1950s, the television set. The TV parties were particularly popular because they provided an added attraction for guests who often "dressed up" as their favorite TV stars such as Lucy and Desi, The Honeymooners, Matt Dillon, Perry Mason, "Kookie" and Joe Friday. During those early years, these social events brought in $3,000 to $5,000 annually -- which amounts to between $32,000 and $54,000 in today’s dollars -- and which went a long way towards LAPA's philanthropic endeavours in the 1950s.
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| Students arriving at Walt Disney Concert Hall for the Pasadena Showcase House Youth Concert |
The Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition has awarded over $500,000 in prize money since it began in 1985. The Competition is open to string, woodwind, and brass musicians ages 14 through 19 years of age who are full-time students and who reside and attend high school in Los Angeles County, who compete for individual prizes that range from $500 to $4,000 to further their education. The judging panel includes members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and prize monies for the Instrumental Competition are drawn from the proceeds of the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts’ annual fundraiser, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design.
Now in its 59th year, due to the dedication of PSHA members, the countless hours they volunteer, the talent and financial commitment of the designers and so many others who donate their time, services, products and money, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design has become one of the oldest, largest and most successful home and garden tours in the USA. Since its inception, it has raised over $25-million in support of its dedication to cultural enrichment through the furtherance of music education and performances.
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| Grand Foyer Amy Peltier Interior Design & Home 2018 Pasadena Showcase House |
HISTORY OF THE PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE OF DESIGN
The idea for the Pasadena Showcase House of Design was suggested in 1965. This idea turned out to be brilliant and fortuitous, not only because it utilized local resources, local mansions and the many local area interior designers, but also because it appealed to the rapidly-increasing number of newly-married Baby Boomer housewives in the Greater Los Angeles area who were interested in ideas for beautifying their homes and gardens. It was no surprise that when the Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee, later known as Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts (PSHA), opened the doors to the first Showcase House in 1965, that the public showed up in droves.
Responding to the collaboration of imagination and hard work from the Committee and the participating local creative resources, community support was immediately enthusiastic and generous. More than $11,000. was raised that first year, which is approximately $110,000. in 2024 dollars. Admission to the first Showcase House was $1.50 per person, which included coffee and cookies. Approximately 7,500 people attended. Street parking in Pasadena predictably was in short supply, so automobiles often camped on a neighbor’s lawn. (By contrast, today’s tickets range from $35.00 to $65.00, and visitors are shuttled to/from the Showcase House by chartered buses serving several nearby locations.)
The designated Showcase House has historically been open to visitors during the Spring season from mid-April through mid-May, including on Mother's Day when a special catered Brunch is offered along with other celebratory activities.
In 1970, “Art Sales,” provided by two local artists, was added to the event. Now called "The Shops at Showcase", features around 25 vendors situated on the landscaped grounds of the Showcase House who come from throughout California and who have been carefully selected to offer visitors unique designer jewelry, a selection of gourmet food items, clothing that ranges from avant-garde to classic, garden items, and an assortment of housewares from practical to luxurious, inter alia.
Refreshments initially evolved over the years from free coffee and cookies to lunches provided by PSHA members. Next came a cafeteria, and thereafter a full-service restaurant, a Gourmet-to-Go station, al fresco dining, wines and pubs. Celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck have even provided the catering.
What does it take to be a Showcase House? There is no ideal house that meets all the criteria; however, having two staircases is at the top of the must-have list, along with a wide road for the shuttles, sufficient space on the grounds for Shops at Showcase, porta-potties, trash, and the like, are the practicalities that influence the selection. Over the years, houses selected have also been located in nearby neighboring communities such as La Canada Flintridge in the foothills north of Pasadena where many homes pre-date those in Pasadena, and where Louis B. Mayer had his very first motion picture production facilities prior to his establishing M-G-M Studios in Culver City.
Sometimes there are grand mansions and other times charming homes on a smaller scale are chosen. No matter the amount of the interior square footage, each estate is renovated from top to bottom by leading designers using the latest concepts and materials.
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| Dining Room Samantha Williams Interior Design 2019 Pasadena Showcase House |
THE 2024 PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE OF DESIGN
Featured as a Showcase House twice previously during the past 59 years, in 1975 and 1996, the 2024 Pasadena Showcase House of Design may look familiar to many since it has frequently been a setting for movies, television shows and advertisements. “Eleanor and Franklin,” “Foul Play,” “The Christmas Box,” and “Bachelor Party,” are some of the movies it has appeared in, while television shows include “McCloud,” “Falcon Crest,” “Quantum Leap,” and “Remington Steele.”
The stately English Tudor Revival Style home boasts a significant historic background, several storied owners and even a prestigious designation as a Pasadena City Landmark. It was once named “El Roble” by one of its prominent residents, a Spanish translation in honor of a stately oak tree that once graced its magnificent front lawn. Commissioned by Gertrude Potter Daniels, wife of a wealthy Chicago businessman, the home was originally built in 1902 by Joseph J. Blick, one of Pasadena’s pioneer architects, as a “winter home” for the Daniels and their two young sons. The graceful, shingle-style structure cost $15,000 to build, a significant amount for that time.
Just three years later in 1905, the home was sold to Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes, again to serve as a winter home. Mrs. Holmes gained fame as the “Silver Queen” after her late first husband named Emery, had struck it rich in Utah organizing the Silver King Mines. Upon her acquisition of the house, and with no expenses spared, a new set of distinctive architectural changes were made. The Holmes' entertained lavishly in their winter home for many years and in 1922 decided to make it their sole residence. Inspired by her European travels during the years, Mrs. Holmes hired the Postle Company of Los Angeles, builders of the now-famous Pasadena Playhouse, to completely remodel the home into the English Tudor Revival Style mansion that exists today, at a cost of $37,000 -- the equivalent of $680,000 in US dollars 102 years later in 2024. Although the home bore little resemblance to its former version, it was one of the most impressive houses in Pasadena.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Visiting the Pasadena Showcase Houses over the years has always been a favourite annual Spring activity of mine. I personally attended the Opening Ceremonies of at least 15 of the Showcase Houses while living in Los Angeles, stood right in front of Merlin Olsen as he cut the ribbon for public entry on the first Sunday of Showcase, and even had a client who was one of the selected Interior Designers -- during the "animal print", "painting/stenciling of rugs on the upper hallway floors" and the "etched glass kitchen window panes of Charlie Chaplin" years. The Showcase Houses are "etched" fondly in my memory.
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(Primary Source: Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts)
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