Join us for an evening with Professor Ronald Steen, and independent art historian, educator, and curator. For the past twenty years, he has been a specialist in contemporary Southern California painting, drawing, sculpture, limited edition prints, photography, and conceptual and site-specific art.  He conducts private art history study classes as part of the Steen Art Study, and is the Curator of Exhibitions, Programming, and Education at Judson Studios. Professor Steen is an art advisor to the evening’s hosts, whose plein air art and drawing collection includes artists Elmer Wachtel, Sam Hyde Harris, William Lees Judson, Paul Grimm, William Dorsey, John Nava, and Joseph Frey. The magnificent collection will be bequeathed to PMH. The couple lives in a 1950s California ranch house designed by “dean of modern ranch house architects” Cliff May.

Prior to incorporation in 1886 local businessmen recognized that fire was a threat to the city’s wooden structures. However, they were unable to raise the funds ($761) to equip a volunteer crew. Then in 1885 the laundry at the corner of Fair Oaks and Colorado burst into flames with the Chinese laborers inside. A bucket brigade contained the blaze but an angry mob formed, incensed by the rumor that the fire was caused by a worker smoking an opium pipe. (It was later learned that the fire was caused by vandals. Despite being vindicated, the Chinese community was banned from the area.) The memory of this fire led to fundraising efforts to establish the Fire Department. This is just one of the fascinating stories that will be shared by Victor Laveaga, Engineer, Search and Rescue Team Specialist with the Fire Department.  The program will take place at a old firehouse that has been converted into a residence.

During the 19th and 20th Century, California architects and builders attempted to create a unique California style. Though the intent was to create a vernacular that has been distinctly Californian, the outcome was the repetition of other well-developed national and international styles. Our speaker is Matt Berkley, a realtor with Crosby Doe Associates, a firm that specializes in architecturally and historically significant properties, and the 2010 Chair of the Cultural Heritage Committee of the Pasadena-Foothills Association of Realtors. Matt will share a set of conceptual and visual tools for analyzing buildings and architectural images; discuss an overview of issues faced by architects in the last fifty years; and review the major periods and developments in American history that directly impacted its architecture.  The program will take place at a 1925 craftsman home.