For most of the year, the mansion on South Orange Grove Boulevard keeps to its work — Grand Marshal announcements, Rose Queen briefings and Rose Bowl Game logistics handled behind closed doors, as Pasadena Now has reported.
On Thursday afternoons this summer, those doors open to anyone who reserves a spot.
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses opens Tournament House — the historic Wrigley Mansion at 391 South Orange Grove Boulevard — for free guided tours every Thursday at 2:00 p.m. through August 27, the association’s website states. The home has served as headquarters for the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game since 1958, when, upon Ada Wrigley’s death, the Wrigley family gave the property to the City of Pasadena. The next tour falls on July 2.
Reservations are required. Each visitor must register for a complimentary ticket at least one day in advance through the Tournament of Roses website, the association says. Tours run rain or shine, and children are welcome when accompanied by an adult.
The house carries the name of William Wrigley Jr., the chewing-gum magnate and Chicago Cubs owner who kept it as a winter home with his wife, Ada. Designed by architect George Lawrence Stimson and completed in 1914, the Italian Renaissance residence is described in local accounts as holding a 400-pound Honduran mahogany front door, hand-painted foil wallpaper by the Gracie company, and ornate plasterwork ceilings. Outside, the roughly 4.5-acre Wrigley Gardens hold more than 1,500 varieties of roses, camellias and seasonal blooms.
Volunteer members of the Tournament’s Heritage Committee lead the walk-throughs, according to local accounts, sharing the history of the house and the traditions of the parade and the game, the association says.
David Eads, chief executive officer of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, has framed the open-door tradition in community terms. “We say this is not just the tournament’s house,” Eads told Pasadena Weekly in 2024. “It’s the community’s house.”
Eads has also pointed to the home’s long sightline on the parade itself. “This was her favorite place to be on New Year’s Day,” he said of Ada Wrigley in the same interview. “She could watch the parade lineup in front of her house.”
Need to know: The Tournament House Tour runs every Thursday through August 27, 2026, with the next date on Thursday, July 2, at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free, but reservations are required, with each guest registering for a complimentary ticket at least one day in advance through the Tournament of Roses website at 2026tournamenthousetours.rsvpify.com. The location is Tournament House and Wrigley Gardens, 391 South Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91105. No parking is permitted on Orange Grove Boulevard; street parking is available on Arbor Street, Grand Avenue and Lockhaven Street, with a two-hour limit on Lockhaven Street. Limited accessible parking is reachable via the driveway off Orange Grove Boulevard or Arbor Street. Food and drink are not permitted during the tour, and a small gift area is located in the office lobby. Picnicking on the grounds is welcome, though public restrooms are not available. For more information, call (626) 449-4100; group tours for parties of more than 20 can be arranged by emailing membership@tournamentofroses.com.
A long time ago, a family asked that their home become the city’s. “We have a long history of being here,” Eads said. “We grew up with Pasadena over the last 135 years.”
Wrigley Mansion (Tournament House) Tours — every Thursday at 2 PM, so July 2 falls in the window. Tours of the Tournament of Roses headquarters at 391 S. Orange Grove Blvd. https://www.visitpasadena.com/events/summer-of-music-other-festivals/ Visit Pasadena
