The Blinn House was built for a lumber baron. On the evening of May 30, it will be filled with poker chips, jazz and craft cocktails instead.
Pasadena Heritage, the nonprofit preservation organization headquartered in the 1905 Prairie School residence at 160 N. Oakland Ave., is hosting a two-day “Roaring 20s Weekend” that turns the organization’s own landmark into a 1920s-themed fundraiser on Saturday night, then sends guests into the Playhouse Village on Sunday morning for a newly researched architectural walking tour. The Blinn House — designed by Chicago architect George Washington Maher and listed on the National Register of Historic Places — is the only known Maher residential structure built west of the Mississippi River.
“Roaring 20s Weekend is an opportunity to reimagine Pasadena during one of its most defining periods of growth and change, while also inviting people to experience these historic spaces with accessibility in mind,” said Nick Giovanazzi, Pasadena Heritage programs director.
Poker Night at the Blinn: A Roaring 20s Fundraiser runs from 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 30. The evening features a Texas Hold’em tournament, live jazz by Art Deco Entertainment, a roaming magician and an outdoor cigar lounge. The tournament is self-dealt with rotating dealing responsibilities; staff and volunteers will be on hand to assist. Period attire is encouraged.
Poker tournament entry costs $250 and includes early VIP access beginning at 4 p.m. General admission is $100. Both ticket levels include craft cocktails, beer and wine, and food and small bites throughout the evening. Tournament seating is limited. All proceeds support Pasadena Heritage’s preservation work.
The next morning, a new edition of the Playhouse Village Walking Tour begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 31. The 90-minute, one-mile tour explores the Pasadena Playhouse Historic District, which encompasses approximately 34 buildings reflecting the city’s eastward expansion during the 1920s and 1930s — a period when Pasadena shifted from its agricultural roots into a center of tourism, culture and design. Stops include the Scottish Rite Cathedral, the United Artists Theatre and the Warner Building, with architectural styles spanning Art Deco, Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival.
The tour was developed with new research and timed to the 30th anniversary of the Playhouse Village Association, which was formed in 1996 as the Playhouse District Association and manages a 32-block business improvement district in the heart of Pasadena.
“We are excited to relaunch our Playhouse Village Walking Tour with substantial new research, created in support of our friends at the Playhouse Village Association as they celebrate their 30th anniversary,” Giovanazzi said. “Do not mistake this for the return of an existing tour, it is really an entirely new experience centered on 1920s/1930s design, development, and the transformation of the district that Pasadena Heritage calls home.”
Pasadena Heritage is a nonprofit organization founded in 1977 and dedicated to historic preservation in Pasadena. The organization advocates on behalf of historic resources, educates the public about local history and the benefits of preservation, and holds more than 80 historic preservation easements, according to its website. In 2021, the Women’s City Club of Pasadena dissolved and transferred ownership of the Blinn House to Pasadena Heritage, which completed rehabilitation and moved its offices there in 2022.
Roaring 20s Weekend: Poker Night at the Blinn: A Roaring 20s Fundraiser, Saturday, May 30, 5–10 p.m. (VIP entry at 4 p.m.), the Historic Blinn House, 160 N. Oakland Ave., Pasadena. Poker tournament entry, $250; general admission, $100. Playhouse Village Walking Tour, Sunday, May 31, 10–11:30 a.m. Dogs are not permitted on Pasadena Heritage walking tours. For tickets and information, visit pasadenaheritage.org/events-tours or call (626) 441-6333.
The Blinn House has stood on Oakland Avenue for 120 years now, outlasting the lumber baron, the women’s club and the chains that once blocked the street to keep the neighborhood exclusive. On Saturday night, the doors will be open to anyone with a ticket and, ideally, a period-appropriate hat.
