2010 Programs
From Horseshoes to Louboutins: Pasadena’s New/Old Downtown
Tuesday, June 1
In 1905 the City of Pasadena spent a massive $220,000 on street improvements, including erecting electric pendants along bustling Colorado Street (Boulevard), making the City one of the best lighted on the West Coast. Just 17 years earlier, Pasadena’s business nucleus had consisted of a store, post office, blacksmith shop and meat market near the corner of Fair Oaks and Colorado. Eva and Adalbert Fenyes moved into an already-thriving community - and Eva, in particular, invested in its future. What would they think of it today? We suspect they would applaud the revitalization that turned decaying buildings into again-thriving businesses thanks to tonight's host, Raymond Spano of The Arroyo Group and Spano Architects, and others like him. How appropriate that today we can savor the tastes and shop for the couture fashions and exotic treasures that the Fenyes’ could only enjoy while embarked on a Grand Tour! Join us as we hear about some of the destinations that make Old Pasadena a virtual world bazaar, including Beyond the Olive, Distant Lands Bookstore & Outfitters, and others. At the 1909 Craftsman home of Mary Jo and Ray Spano in Altadena.
The Art of Collecting Fine Art
Tuesday, June 22
Join us for an evening with Professor Ronald Steen, and independent art historian, educator, and curator. He is a specialist in contemporary Southern California painting, drawing, sculpture, limited edition prints, photography, conceptual and site-specific art since 1979/1980 to the present and twentieth century Southern California plein-air painting. He conducts private art history study classes as part of the Steen Art Study, and is the Curator of Exhibitions/Programming/Education at Judson Studios. Professor Steen is an art advisor for this evening’s hosts Gail Balocca and Sam Adams, whose plein-Air art and drawing collection includes artists Elmer Wachtel, Sam Hyde Harris, William Lees Judson, Paul Grimm, William Dorsey John Nava, Joseph Frey, and others. The collection will be bequeathed to Pasadena Museum of History. The couple lives in a 1950s California ranch house in Glendale designed by Cliff May, named "dean of modern ranch house architects" by Life Magazine.
The Pasadena Fire Department 1887 – Present
Tuesday, September 14
This evening’s topic is the fascinating history of the Pasadena Fire Department, which begins in 1887. Prior to incorporation (1886), early Pasadena businessmen realized the danger to their wooden structure buildings from a fire that might spread quickly in the hot dry summer and fall with the winds. But because there had been no serious fires reported thus far, they were unable to raise the necessary 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 to that building 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 actually caused by vandals who threw a rock through a window upsetting a kerosene lamp. Despite being vindicated, the Chinese community was banned from the area, but that is another story.) The memory of this fire led to a successful fund raising effort to establish the Fire Department. This is just one of the fascinating stories that will be shared by Victor Laveaga, Engineer, Search and Resue Team Specialist with the Fire Department. At Old Fire House 34, with its hose tower and pole, now the private home of Judy and Randy Wilson.
Introduction to Regional Architecture- Defining California’s Unique Style
Tuesday, October 19
During the history and development of the 19th and 20th century, California architects and builders have tried to create a unique California style. And though the intent has been to create a vernacular that has been distinctly Californian, the outcome has been the repetition of other well-developed styles throughout the world. Guests this evening will receive a set of conceptual and visual tools for analyzing buildings and architectural images in general; hear an overview of issues and problems faced by architects in the last 50 years; and get a historical sense of the major periods and developments in American history that directly impacted its architecture. 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. The program will take place at the 1915 Craftsman style home and garden in Altadena built by an apprentice of the Heineman brothers and lovingly restored by current owners Rob Bruce and Greg Gill.
|
