50th Anniversary

SAVE THE DATES!
Gamble House 50th Anniversary Celebration Week
September 21 – 25, 2016

January 14, 2016 marks the 50th Anniversary of the gift of the Gamble House from the Gamble family to the City of Pasadena and the University of Southern California. This generous gift agreement allowed the Gamble House to open its doors to the public in September of the same year. In the half century since then, The Gamble House has become one of the most beloved premier historic sites in America. 

A series of celebratory anniversary events will take place throughout September 2016 including an invitation only dinner for major donors; a fundraising reception to kick-off a new endowment campaign to raise funds to continue to protect the Gamble family’s generous legacy gift to the public with another decade of conscientious preservation; a reception to recognize the contributions of Gamble House docents through the years; a 50th Anniversary public celebration on Sunday, September 25, with self-paced tours and family-friendly activities and entertainment; and very importantly an Alumni Day Open House for former Gamble House Scholars in Residence and the USC School of Architecture on Saturday, September 24.

50th ANNIVERSARY GALA DINNER
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 • 6pm-10pm
at the Gamble House (4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena, CA 91103)

$250 per person, ticketed seating is limited
Honored guests will join us in an evening of celebration at this gala fundraiser for the Gamble House with a goal towards reaching a soon-to-be-announced endowment campaign. We are also excited to announce that we will be previewing the new documentary film The Gamble House, produced by longtime Disney producer, Donald Hahn (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, etc.) and dedicating the Nancy Greene Glass Garden, designed the Isabelle Greene.

6:00pm
: Cocktail Reception

7:00pm
: Dinner & Program with special guests

Terry Tornek, Mayor, City of Pasadena

Michael Quick, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, USC

Qingyun Ma, Dean, Della & Harry MacDonald Chair, USC School of Architecture

Katherine Malone-France, Vice President, National Trust Historic Sites

Cocktail Attire. 

• Sponsorship Opportunities Available – Click here for more information.

PARKING INFORMATION: Complimentary event parking is located at Parsons Corporation with parking entry on Pasadena Avenue (for GPS location please use 100 West Walnut St). Shuttles will take guests from Parsons to the Gamble House on regular intervals. As a courtesy to our neighbors, please do not park in the residential areas surrounding the Gamble House. Guest drop-off will be available on Orange Grove Blvd., please drop-off guests and proceed to Parsons for parking with shuttle service.

DOCENT APPRECIATION WINE RECEPTION
Thursday, September 22, 2016 • 5:00pm-7:30pm
Part homecoming, part family reunion, this invitation only wine reception celebrates 50 years of the Docent Council of the Gamble House. This extraordinary group of volunteers have dedicated tens-of-thousands of hours towards educating the public about the work of Charles and Henry Greene and the sharing the beauty of the Gamble House with the public made possible by the Gamble family’s generous gift in 1966.

Docents past and present may RSVP by calling 844-325-0812.

PARKING INFORMATION: Complimentary event parking is located at Parsons Corporation with parking entry on Pasadena Avenue (for GPS location please use 100 West Walnut St). Shuttles will take guests from Parsons to the Gamble House on regular intervals. As a courtesy to our neighbors, please do not park in the residential areas surrounding the Gamble House. Guest drop-off will be available on Orange Grove Blvd., please drop-off guests and proceed to Parsons for parking with shuttle service.

SPECIAL SCHOLARS-IN-RESIDENCE CELEBRATION BRUNCH
Saturday, September 24, 2016 • 10am-12pm
We kick-off the USC Family Day, with an invitation only reunion brunch at the Gamble House to honor former Scholars-in-Residence.

If you are a former Scholar-in-Residence (SIR) or are in touch with any former SIR for which we may no longer have contact information, with their permission, please advise us of their name and either a phone number, address or email address.

Contact us by email at info@gamblehouse.org or by calling 626-793-3334 x10

PARKING INFORMATION: Complimentary event parking is located at Parsons Corporation with parking entry on Pasadena Avenue (for GPS location please use 100 West Walnut St). Shuttles will take guests from Parsons to the Gamble House on regular intervals. As a courtesy to our neighbors, please do not park in the residential areas surrounding the Gamble House. Guest drop-off will be available on Orange Grove Blvd., please drop-off guests and proceed to Parsons for parking with shuttle service.

USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE FACULTY, STAFF AND ALUMNI OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, September 24, 2016 • 12pm-2pm
We are proud to set aside a portion of our USC Family Day especially for USC School of Architecture students, faculty, staff, and their families. Come join us for self-paced tours of the Gamble House with $1 admission, food trucks, family activities, live music and more!

PARKING INFORMATION: Complimentary event parking is located at Parsons Corporation with parking entry on Pasadena Avenue (for GPS location please use 100 West Walnut St). Shuttles will take guests from Parsons to the Gamble House on regular intervals. As a courtesy to our neighbors, please do not park in the residential areas surrounding the Gamble House. Guest drop-off will be available on Orange Grove Blvd., please drop-off guests and proceed to Parsons for parking with shuttle service.

USC TROJAN FAMILY OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, September 24, 2016 • 2pm-4pm
USC Family Day is a special celebration for all our USC family. The day includes self-paced tours of the Gamble House with $1 admission, food trucks, fun family activities on the lawn and live music!

PARKING INFORMATION: Complimentary event parking is located at Parsons Corporation with parking entry on Pasadena Avenue (for GPS location please use 100 West Walnut St). Shuttles will take guests from Parsons to the Gamble House on regular intervals. As a courtesy to our neighbors, please do not park in the residential areas surrounding the Gamble House. Guest drop-off will be available on Orange Grove Blvd., please drop-off guests and proceed to Parsons for parking with shuttle service.

GAMBLE HOUSE 50th ANNIVERSARY 
Sunday, September 25, 2016 • 12pm-4pm
Advance Reservation Ticketing is SOLD OUT. A very limited number of walk-up tickets will be available the day of the event. All ticketing is first come, first serve. Walk-up ticketing available while supplies last.
For our public celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Gamble House being a museum, we’re going back to 1966! The day includes self-paced tours of the Gamble House with $1 admission! We’ll also have food trucks, fun family activities on the lawn such as kids woodworking workshops, live music and much more!

PARKING INFORMATION: Complimentary event parking is located at the Elks Lodge Pasadena located at 400 W. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105. Shuttles will take guests from the Elks Lodge to the Gamble House on regular intervals. As a courtesy to our neighbors, please do not park in the residential areas surrounding the Gamble House. Guest drop-off will be available on Orange Grove Blvd., please drop-off guests and proceed to the Elks Lodge for parking with shuttle service.

Celebrating a Milestone

The Gamble House in Pasadena Celebrates Milestone

50th Anniversary as a Museum

Gamble Family Bequeaths House to the City of Pasadena and USC 
on January 14, 1966

January 14, 2016 marks the 50th Anniversary of the gift of the Gamble House from the Gamble family to the City of Pasadena and the University of Southern California. The Gamble House is the most complete and best-preserved example of American Arts and Crafts style architecture. The house and furnishings were designed by famed architects Charles and Henry Greene in 1908 for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter & Gamble Company. The house, designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1978, is owned by the City of Pasadena and operated by the University of Southern California School of Architecture. The Gamble House is open for public, docent-led tours and for specialty tours and programs.

On January 14, 1966, members of the Gamble family, the City of Pasadena, and the University of Southern California signed a formal gift agreement, and in September of that year the doors of the Gamble House were opened to the public. In the half century since then, The Gamble House has become one of the most beloved premier historic sites in America.

A series of celebratory anniversary events will take place throughout September 2016 including an invitation only dinner for major donors; a fundraising reception to kick-off a new endowment campaign to raise funds to continue to protect the Gamble family’s generous legacy gift to the public with another decade of conscientious preservation; a reception to recognize the contributions of Gamble House docents through the years; an Alumni Day Open House for former Gamble House Scholars in Residence and the USC School of Architecture; and a 50th Anniversary public celebration on Sunday, September 25, with self-paced tours and family-friendly activities and entertainment.

Visitors continue to visit, week in and week out, from around the world to marvel at the beauty imbedded in every square foot of The Gamble House. They come to experience what Charles Greene called “architecture as a fine art.” Hailed by the American Institute of Architects as “formulators of a new and native architecture,” Charles Sumner Greene (1868–1957) and Henry Mather Greene (1870–1954) designed houses and furnishings a century ago that established a new paradigm for the art of architecture in the United States. Drawing on the skills of outstanding craftsmen, as well as their own polytechnic training, formal architectural education, and natural artistic sensibilities, Greene and Greene created legendary living environments that were beautiful, functional and modern.

The flowering of the Greenes’ careers together was brief and typically benefited a discriminating and wealthy clientele. They produced their most characteristic work between 1906 and 1914, primarily in and around Pasadena. Of their fully coordinated houses with interior furnishings, only the Gamble House survives intact.

About the Gamble House

The Gamble House was designed in 1908 by architects Greene & Greene. It was commissioned by David and Mary Gamble, of Cincinnati, Ohio, as a winter residence.

David Berry Gamble, a second generation member of the Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati, had retired from active work in 1895, and with his wife, Mary Huggins Gamble, began to spend winters in Pasadena, residing in the area’s resort hotels. By 1907, the couple had decided to build a permanent home in Pasadena. In June of that year, they bought a lot on the short, private street, Westmoreland Place, passing up the more fashionable addresses on South Orange Grove, known at that time as “Millionaires’ Row.”

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 a nearby lot. Perhaps meeting the architects at the construction site, and certainly impressed with the other Greene & Greene houses in the Park Place neighborhood, the Gambles met with the brothers and agreed on a commission.

The architects worked closely with the Gambles in the design of the house, incorporating specific design elements such as the family crest among its motifs. Drawings for the house were completed in February 1908, and ground was broken in March. Ten months later, the house was largely finished, the first pieces of custom furniture were delivered, and The Gamble House became the winter home to David Gamble, his wife Mary, and their youngest son Clarence. (Their oldest son Cecil was already working for Procter & Gamble, and their middle son Sidney was at Princeton University.) Mary’s younger sister, Julia, also came to live with the family. By the summer of 1910, all the custom-designed furniture was in place.

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 legendary interior 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.