The Women’s Committee of the Pasadena Symphony Association opens this year’s Holiday Look in Virtual Home Tour on Saturday, December 5, offering participants a rare chance to experience four elegant Pasadena homes in what used to be an actual guided group tour throughout December but now has to be online due to the pandemic.
Now on its 53rd year, the annual Holiday Look in Home Tour has become a popular community celebration in Pasadena, drawing visitors from all over to admire four distinctive homes that have been decorated for the holiday season by prominent floral designers.
There is no charge to enjoy this first-ever Virtual Home Tour, but the organizers are asking for donations to help support the Pasadena Symphony and POPS annual concert series, as well as the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras, whose continued success is the reason the Holiday Look In Tour exists.
Pasadena Symphony Music Director David Lockington will be narrating the virtual tour, with accompanying music by the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras.
The 2020 Holiday Look In Tour will feature these four homes:
The Magnolia House is a regal Federal style home that pays tribute to its history while residing gracefully in the present. Built in 1912 by architect Reginald Johnson, this stately two-story residence has a large colonnaded veranda and is sheltered by a large magnolia tree and a towering pine tree. It is appropriately located on Magnolia Street with artistic embellishments throughout the home paying tribute to the stately Magnolia tree. This home represents true Southern California living at its best.
The House of a Thousand Dreams is a magnificent Basque country villa designed in 1929 by Edward M. Fowler, with exquisite, detailed attention to the beautiful Basque estates in the Pyrenees. Located in the Linda Vista neighborhood of the Upper Arroyo in Pasadena, the house offers a spectacular view of the Pioneers and the Colorado Street Bridges. The home was designed around a central courtyard providing a view of the lovely garden from almost every room of the house and includes the original stone tiles that carry over into the loggia.
The F.W. Griffith House, on Hillcrest Ave., is a sublime Mediterranean-style home designed in 1925 by Roland E. Coate, one of the most distinguished designers of Spanish architecture in the 1920’s. It is an outstanding example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, featuring textured white-washed adobe exteriors, mission-style arches and batten shutters. The house is centrally located in Pasadena’s Landmark Oak Knoll District, adjacent to the celebrated Langham Hotel.
Villa Verde, located on S. San Rafael Ave., has elegant iron scroll gates that open to a winding drive which leads up to this magnificent Mediterranean estate. Created in 1927 by architect Sylvanus Marston of the firm Marston, Van Pelt and Maybury, the property was built for E. A. Hardy, who was the past chairman of B. F. Goodrich. In 1984, the house was placed in the National Register of Historic Places as the best representative of his Mediterranean architectural style. The 22-room, 8,500 square-foot home sits on beautifully landscaped grounds atop a knoll overlooking the Arroyo Seco and affords 40-mile views over Pasadena, Altadena, Mt. Wilson, and Old Baldy.
Aside from supporting the Pasadena Symphony and POPS annual concert series, proceeds from the annual Holiday Look in Tour will also go to educational outreach and community engagement programs offering robust musical training and personal development for young musicians throughout the San Gabriel Valley.
For more information and to register, visit www.pasadenaholidaylookin.org/
Both the tour and the Holiday Look in Boutique will be online from December 5 to 31.
