Gamble House

Los Angeles, California Travel Guide

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Gamble House

Overview: From the outset, the Gamble House looks like a huge, wooden Legoland creation surrounded by nice lush, rolling grass lawns. The Gamble House, located in the west side of Pasadena just a few blocks north of Old Pasadena, exemplifies the Arts and Crafts Movement or craftsman style architecture of the early twentieth century. Built in 1908, the Gamble House stands today as a much revered and national historic site in Los Angeles County’s Pasadena.

The name and date of the house might give you an indication of the owner of the house: David Gamble of the manufacturing behemoth, Proctor and Gamble. The famous architectural firm, Greene and Greene, was commissioned to design the house for David Gamble and his wife as their retirement home.

Charles and Henry Greene, superb “craftsman” architects and designers, were influenced by the customary handicraft (i.e., carpentry) influences of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. But, they also assumed Japanese influences in architecture and design. Greene and Greene not only designed the architecture of The Gamble House but designed the smallest details of the interior – from the footrests under the tables to the carpets.

Both Craftsman and Japanese touches can be identified in The Gamble House’s low, horizontal planks and beams of the house. The house has a wide entrance and back door frame, which is directly across from the front door for cross-ventilation. These factors plus the dark teak woods, oaks and mahagony furniture give the house a dark and serene ambience. Interestingly, the rounded or soft edges of all the furniture and even the staircase add to the serenity and “retreat” environment of the house. So does the spacious back porch with the pond and foliage and a beautiful view of the San Gabriel Mountains. The raises in the window frames, doors and cabinets as well as the visible inter-connecting joints of the house reflect the craftsman influences.

There are tours for the house, every hour on the weekdays and every 20 min on the weekends. You have to make reservations for 2pm tours and for groups. You can only enter The Gamble House buy purchasing a tour ticket and taking a tour.

Interestingly, The Gamble House and the University of Southern California’s architecture department hold a competition annually, giving two winners of the competition an opportunity to live in The Gamble House for a year – rent free.

Location: 4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena, CA 91103
Site: www.gamblehouse.org
Ph: (626) 793-3334

Cost: Regular ticket $10.00/adult.
$7.00 if you can not walk upstairs to see the second floor.

Accessibility: The bookstore is to right of the house and is accessible. There are large brick stairs leading up to the porch of The Gamble House. But, there is a wheelchair lift mechanism and a wheelchair that can attach to the lift that will take you up the stairs up to the porch.

Getting There: www.metro.net