Top: Isabelle Greene, FASLABottom left to right: Ted Bosley, Kelly McLeod, FAIA, Mark Allen (Machine Project)
December 2014
Dear friends and supporters of The Gamble House,
As I reflect on the year’s activities I can truly say that it has been an exciting and busy year at 4 Westmoreland Place! I can also say that it would not have been possible without the interest and support shown by so many in The Gamble House family of friends. Many of you have given time, others have given financial support, and quite a few have given both. You have also taken part in programs organized for members and the public alike and for that I am truly grateful. Your direct and generous involvement has made possible several exciting initiatives in particular, including forward progress on our landscape rehabilitation and restoration, near-completion of a forthcoming new book on The Gamble House (watch for publication in the spring), and an exciting contemporary art collaboration that happened here this fall. The generous support of dedicated friends has made all the difference. Today I’m writing to ask that you continue the tradition of support for The Gamble House by making a special year-end gift.
This summer, a Cultural Landscape Report compiled by Historic Resources Group and funded by the Fidelity Foundation provided us with a wealth of valuable historical information about the evolution of the gardens since Gamble family stewardship began in 1907. Some of the recommendations emerging from the report include hardscape features to reinstate, fence sections and trellises to re-construct, and historic plants to reestablish, all with an eye to presenting the landscape in better historical context. The next phase of the landscape project is now possible, too, thanks to a major grant from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and to others who have made commitments toward the installation of a new garden inspired by the original flower beds behind the historic garage structure. Beautifully designed by landscape architect Isabelle Greene, FASLA (Henry M. Greene’s granddaughter), we expect work to begin soon on this exciting new garden.
As part of the Pasadena Arts Council’s 2014 AxS Festival of art and science, The Gamble House was happily overrun by a fresh new audience in late September and early October. Working with Machine Project (a Los Angeles-based arts organization), more than 50 artists created inventive new works specifically for The Gamble House. The 17-day festival transformed the house into a vibrant art zone, with programming ranging from nighttime laser projections on the exterior, to a room-by-room videotaped psychic reading, to a giant dream-vortex disc suspended from the northeast sleeping porch. Did I mention the bird choir in the attic? While it was truly fun to see the house thus transformed, it was even more exciting to witness the scores of young people in their 20s and 30s who were experiencing The Gamble House for the first time! This was possible thanks to key support from the Steve and Kelly McLeod Family Foundation, as well as gifts from other sources.
In short, exciting new things have been happening at The Gamble House! I am deeply grateful for your past support, and I hope that you will take a moment now to make a special year-end gift, using either the enclosed reply card or by going to www.gamblehouse.org.
With thanks, and warmest wishes for the holiday season,
Edward R. Bosley
James N. Gamble Director
