Sign in
Register
A California road trip can be surprisingly varied. You could drive the Golden State by hugging the Pacific Coast shoreline, where artsy beach communities abound, or head inland to culturally and historically significant communities.
In a three-part series, editor Kim Pemberton explores Pasadena, Laguna Beverly, and San Diego, all within an hour’s drive of each other, but each with its own unique character.
It’s mid-October and I’m walking through a California rose garden, wearing sandals and a soft sundress, admiring the pink roses in full bloom, in the aptly nicknamed “City of Roses. “
Pasadena City Hall and its not-so-secret lawn also have a gargoyle fountain in their beautiful yard, both of which I find eerily familiar (unlike the warm weather I’m experiencing, which doesn’t happen to me).
I was later informed that this iconic building, with its unique dome, has been featured in films from Charlie Chaplin’s 1940s satire, The Great Dictator, to more recent TV comedies such as Parks and Recreation and The Big Bang Theory.
It turns out that Pasadena issues about 500 movie licenses a year to film and television crews.
It’s easy to see why Hollywood fell in love with this inland California suburb, located just 16 kilometres northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Despite its proximity to Los Angeles, Pasadena has adapted to a small-town feel with wide, tree-lined streets, manicured lawns, clusters of historic homes, and, of course, the perfect City Hall, built in 1927, with its abundance of roses.
There will soon be even more roses when the annual Rose Parade, which this year celebrates its 135th anniversary, takes to the streets.
New Year’s Day in Pasadena is all about floral floats, followed by the college football Rose Bowl game, which is expected to attract about 800,000 spectators this year.
Although it would be fantastic to be in town for the Rose Parade, thanks to its Mediterranean climate, any time is a great time to visit Pasadena, especially if you’re interested in architecture, arts, and culture.
During my recent three-day visit, I visited the Huntington Library, the Museum of Art and the Botanical Garden, home to the Blue Boy painting and early editions of Shakespeare’s plays, the Norton Simon Museum, with its extensive collection of 14th-century European art. to the 20th century and Gamble House, one of the examples of arts and crafts residency in North America.
Located on Millionaire’s Row, so named because it had 15 millionaires per mile in the early 1900s, the Gamble House is unique among space museums because all of its interior furnishings were also donated through the Gamble family to Pasadena in 1966.
This architectural gem and many of its custom furnishings were designed in 1908 by brothers Charles and Henry Greene for Mary and David Gamble of Proctor.
In an attempt to keep this popular National Historic Landmark building’s interior in good order (handwoven rugs, Tiffany lights, and rare artisan pottery pieces are seemingly everywhere), the number of visitors is limited to 40,000 annually, says docent Nancy Marino, who leads our one-hour tour inside the property.
Born and raised outside of Gamble House, Marino says that as a child she remembers it simply as “the big brown house” in the neighborhood, but she came here to appreciate its architecture and its importance to the city of Pasadena after volunteering there. .
“The Gamble House has become my passion,” Marino says. “For me, it opened up a whole new level of interest. Most of our professors don’t have a background in architecture, but once you look at the Gamble House, you never look at a building the same way again. “
One of the most striking features of the space is its triple entrance door and transom, adorned with a stained glass window with a Japanese black pine pattern. Very strong Japanese architectural influence in the architectural practice of the Greenes.
Marino remembers a special moment when he came home early one morning to watch the sunrise through the traditional glass entrance.
“It’s magical,” he says.
While Gamble House has many Japanese influences, Pasadena has brought an entire ancestral apartment from Japan to the Huntington Library, Museum of Art, and Botanical Garden.
The 320-year-old, 3000-square-foot Japanese heritage Shoya House once stood at the center of a small farming village in Marugame, Japan, but has been dismantled, moved, and restored to its new home in the Huntington Japanese Garden, an eight-story home. A year’s effort to make it happen.
It was opened to the public Oct. 21.
The adventure of bringing the space to Pasadena began after a possible meeting between Robert Hori, cultural curator and director of the garden program, and its former owners, Akira and Yohko Yokoi of Los Angeles.
“There was a lot of fog and with a space like this that’s 320 years old, there were no plans, so you can’t just go into the city corridor and say, ‘I’m thinking about building this space. You need to have the blueprints, so we had to go to Japan, examine the space and see how it was built, and once we had them, we could start talking to U. S. agencies,” he says.
Now that he’s in Huntington, Hori says he’s helping to raise awareness about Japan’s contribution to global architecture.
“We have a lot to learn from the past. Japan has a long culture of wooden architecture. The oldest wooden structures are found in Japan and date back 1,200 years,” he says.
“We plan to use this space and assets as an exam room to reflect on how other cultures think about living sustainably. . . a concept that is discovered in this space and that is now expressed in Southern California is that of living indoors and outdoors. “
The Huntington Japanese Garden is one of 16 themed gardens on the 87-acre property, which was once the personal apartment of wealthy railroad worker Henry Huntington and his passionate wife, art collector Arabella.
Another of my favorite gardens in Huntington is the Desert Garden, with over 2,000 species of succulents and desert plants. The Japanese Garden and the Desert Garden were first planted more than a hundred years ago.
IF YOU GO
Where to stay
Pasadena Hotel and Pool is located along Pasadena’s Rose Parade Road, within walking distance of wonderful shops, cafes, and restaurants. Occupying an entire block, the newly renovated 161-room hotel, built in 1926, radiates a roaring ’20s vibe into its public spaces. They feature a giant rooftop pool with views of the San Gabriel Mountains and a cozy interior courtyard decorated with comfortable furnishings. Wicker furniture and palm trees: an oasis of calm in the city centre.
The Langham Huntington, opened in 1907 and originally called the Wentworth Hotel, was purchased through Henry Huntington and renamed. If you can’t stay at this five-star hotel, it’s a lovely place to visit, and that’s what I did when I stopped for afternoon tea. As with afternoon tea at Victoria’s Empress Hotel, visitors enjoy a selection of teas, as well as crustless sandwiches, scones, Devonshire cream and delicacies served at a three-level cake stand while enjoying the perspectives of the lawn from the gentle sloping hill setting.
Where to Dine
Granville is a modern yet casual restaurant with a spacious rooftop patio, great for enjoying a cocktail while watching the sunset. There are more than a dozen gin specialty cocktails to choose from on the menu. I also ordered the “sustainable” grilled salmon with creamed corn and red bell cajun sauce served over mashed potatoes. Absolutely delicious and cooked to perfection.
How to order cold cuts at Agnes Restaurant
Kim Pemberton was greeted through Visit Pasadena and Visit California, who did not review or endorse this story. Follow her on Instagram at kimstravelogue. Next week, the second component of the California highway series will explore Laguna Beach.
© 2023 Times Colonist