Gamble House Celebrates Its Centennial
Photo/Tim Street-Porter
Completed in 1908 and occupied in 1909, the Gamble House today is an icon of Craftsman architecture. Deeded to the City of Pasadena in a joint agreement with the USC School of Architecture in 1966, the house is open to the public and welcomes approximately 30,000 visitors every year.
In the 2008-09 academic year, a series of exhibitions in Southern California and around the country – timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the landmark residence – will celebrate the Gamble House and its architects Greene & Greene.
On Saturday, the exhibition “A New and Native Beauty: The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene” will open at the Huntington Library in San Marino, before traveling in 2009 to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. “A New and Native Beauty” is the first major exhibition of the work of Greene & Greene on the East Coast.
In addition, both the Pasadena Museum of California Art and the Pasadena Museum of History have exhibitions during the centennial year about the work of Greene & Greene.
Part of a large migration of wealthy patricians who wintered in Southern California or sought dry air to combat the effects of tuberculosis, David and Mary Gamble commissioned the Gamble House in a then-unfashionable part of town from brothers Charles and Henry Greene, themselves transplants from the Midwest.
Today a protected National Historic Landmark, the Gamble House has been called the “ultimate bungalow” and contains all of the original furniture and fixtures designed for it by Greene & Greene. Painstakingly hand-finished natural materials, organic shapes and Asian motifs complement scenic views of the outdoors throughout the home, which features more than 10 types of wood.
During an extensive exterior conservation effort in 2004, rot and diseased wood in the exterior beams and 262 Douglas fir rafter tails were removed using handheld instruments such as dental tools.
The house was almost sold in the 1940s, until Louise Gibbs Gamble chanced to overhear a prospective buyer talk about painting the interior wood white. The house was taken off the market.
For more information about the 100th anniversary celebration of the Gamble House – including a full-day conference at the Huntington Nov. 8 – visit http://www.gamblehouse.org/centennial. The full-day conference is preceded by an evening plenary lecture by Rosalind Blakesley of Cambridge University Nov. 7.
Also at the Huntington Library, Edward R. Bosley, director of the Gamble House and co-curator of “A New and Native Beauty,” will present the lecture “Greene & Greene: An Arts and Crafts Conundrum” Nov. 19.
Latest stories
- A Pill Against Chemo? February 9, 2010 10:21 AM
- Fall Applications Up Slightly at USC February 9, 2010 8:12 AM
- For-Profit Colleges Focus of New Book February 9, 2010 8:08 AM
-
For Journalists »
-
USC in the News
for 2/9/2010 »-
Los Angeles ran an op-ed by Bill Deverell of the USC College about looking to the past in order to move on to the future. “You can do better, Los Angeles. You’ve heard it before: admonishment from the lecture hall pulpit or the pages of a book or magazine. History matters. You should pay closer attention,” Deverell wrote. “The history of Los Angeles reflects and illuminates American and world history all at once. With a little effort, something powerful happens: historical sensibility provides perspective on the here and now. Who wouldn’t want that?” The column is the first in a series for the magazine’s new CityThink section, L.A. Observed reported.
SoCal Minds featured the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, in which USC faculty and staff donate money for programs benefiting the neighborhoods surrounding the USC campus. The program was launched under the direction of USC President Steven B. Sample in reaction to the Los Angeles riots, the story noted. The campaign raised a record-breaking $1.2 million in donations this past year, despite tough economic times, the article stated. The story reported that several university units had 100 percent participation, including the USC Rossier School, KUSC-FM, the USC Fisher Museum of Art, the Office of the Treasurer, the Office of the Senior Vice President, Administration, the Health Sciences Libraries and USCard Services.
CNN cited research conducted by Adam Rose of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development for USC’s Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events. Rose’s study found that the standard economic costs of the 9/11 attacks, estimated at $25 billion, were exceeded by the costs of behavioral reactions far from the site of the attack (for example, an additional $85 billion due to a decrease in demand for air travel).
Variety reported that the 22nd annual USC Libraries Scripter Award was given to “Up in the Air” novelist Walter Kirn and to USC alumnus Jason Reitman and Shelton Turner, who adapted Kirn’s book for the screen. In his acceptance speech, Reitman noted that his father, Ivan Reitman, used USC’s Doheny Memorial Library as a stand-in for the New York Public Library in “Ghostbusters.” The Wrap noted that Catherine Quinlan, dean of USC Libraries, emceed the ceremony.
National Public Radio’s “13.7” ran a commentary by K.C. Cole of the USC Annenberg School about the role of science in diplomacy. “We all know that the technology produced from scientific research can make international conflicts more deadly than ever. But can science help stop war?” Cole said. She mentioned that she recently took part in a USC Center on Public Diplomacy conference on science diplomacy and the prevention of conflict.
-
-
Campus News
- Capital Connections
- USC faculty, staff and alumni in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento
- In Print
- New and recent books written or edited by USC faculty and staff
- Family Matters
- Achievements and awards
- Obituaries