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Archive for the ‘APG Events’ Category

All Aboard For Union Station!

Posted in APG Events, tagged , , , , on October 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Union.Station.Exterior.TowerThere are so many great reasons to support the work of Alhambra Preservation Group! Among them, our Fall Field Trip is one of the most popular events of the year – and it’s “members only.”

This year we have something truly extraordinary planned – a guided tour of one of the most iconic landmarks of the region, Los Angeles Union Station. The last of the great railroad passenger terminals built in America, this extraordinary feat of civic planning united three transcontinental railroads, centralized passenger travel in Los Angeles and played a key role in the development of the Southern California region. Throughout its 75-year history, Union Station’s artful blend of the Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival and Streamline Moderne architectural styles has captured the hearts and the imaginations of architectural historians, travelers, railroad enthusiasts, civic leaders, authors, artists and film makers.

On Saturday morning, November 8, Alhambra Preservation Group will host a special walking tour of Union Station. Led by docents of the L.A. Conservancy, our tour will focus on the art, architecture and social history of this remarkable landmark. Approximately two and one half hours in length (from 10 a.m. to 12:30), the tour covers about one mile in total distance and is wheelchair accessible.

APG will underwrite the cost of admission for the first 30 members who reserve a spot to attend this private tour. If you are not already a member, but would like to participate in this tour, it’s not too late!  You can join APG now. Just visit us online.  Please give generously to support our vital work. Then give us a call at (626) 755-3467 so that we can reserve space for you. Don’t delay! Space is limited and this event will soon be filled to capacity. We will confirm your participation by phone or email, providing you with suggestions on how to get to Union Station, as well as information on where to park and where to meet our tour group.

“We live in a diverse, multiracial and less-certain city of tomorrow that the poised and confident architecture of Union Station never dreamed of. Among the many things Union Station is today – glamorous symbol of Depression-era optimism, movie character actor and marketable real estate – it’s also a working time machine. For those who enter, Union Station can take them back to see the illusions and realities from which Los Angeles was made and perhaps allow those time travelers to reflect on who we were and what we might yet become.”
                                                                 ~ D.J. Waldie, cultural historian

Thank you for your generous support of Alhambra Preservation Group! We hope you can join us on our tour of Union Station, and we look forward to seeing you at future APG events and activities throughout the year.

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Making the Grade

Posted in APG Events, tagged , , , , , on May 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Old.Classroom.Phil.RoederTaking Alhambra from Failure to Excellence in Preservation 101

Join Alhambra Preservation Group for its spring event where we’ll host a conversation with Los Angeles Conservancy’s Director of Advocacy, Adrian Scott Fine, on the steps Alhambra can take to improve its annual preservation grade. Together we’ll learn how we can transform Alhambra from a municipality at the bottom of the Preservation 101 class into a city that receives straight A’s in the preservation and protection of its architectural resources!

Here’s the when and where:

When: 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 5, 2014

Where: The Auditorium at The Alhambra (the former C.F. Braun campus), 1000 South Fremont Avenue, Alhambra, CA  91803

Validated parking will be available; enter through the kiosk on Fremont Avenue.

Please RSVP at (626) 755-3467 or e-mail us at info@alhambrapreservation.org to reserve your spot at this important event.

Photo courtesy of Phil Roeder via flickr.com/creativecommons

 

 

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Judson Studios’ Alhambra Connections Explored

Posted in APG Events, tagged , , , , , on March 27, 2014| 4 Comments »

Judson.StudiosOn a beautiful spring morning in early March, two dozen members and friends of Alhambra Preservation Group participated in a private guided tour of the famed Judson Studios in Highland Park. An internationally-famous fine arts studio specializing in stained glass, the Judson Studios building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural landmark.

With more than a century of operation since its establishment by William Lees Judson and three of his sons in 1897, the Judson Studios have produced a remarkable body of work for installation in religious institutions, commercial buildings, and private homes. Examples of their artistry in stained glass can be found throughout Southern California and the United States, including: the rotunda skylight at the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles; Hollyhock House in Barnsdall Park and Ennis House in Los Angeles, both buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; St. James Episcopal Church in South Pasadena; All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena; the U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs; and the Stanford Court Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco.

Although a local survey of their work has never been attempted, it is more than likely that a few Judson stained glass windows still exist on display in private homes in Alhambra. Two of the Judson brothers who originally established the family-run business in the early 20th Century and worked as artists and designers also built their own homes in Alhambra and raised families here. These two Alhambra bungalows still stand, on North Electric and North Marguerita Avenues, and many of the neighboring homes built during that same period also feature stained glass windows worthy of notice and attention.

Photo courtesy of Debra Boudreau.

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Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden Captivates

Posted in APG Events, tagged , , on November 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Storrier-Stearns.1Did you miss out on APG’s Fall Field Trip to the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden in Pasadena? It’s not too late to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of this nearby historic treasure, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On Sunday, November 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the Garden will hold its last Open Day of 2013.  Admission is $7.50 per person in advance, and reservations can be made by calling (626) 399-1721.

The appreciation and adoption of Japanese design concepts and aesthetics began in this country in the late 19th century, and became a major cultural phenomenon through the first decades of the 20th century — up until the outbreak of World War II.  The Storrier Stearns garden is a superb Storrier-Stearns.5example of the many private gardens that contributed to that phenomenon – and one of the few that survive intact today.

This garden was created by Kinzuchi Fuji for prominent Pasadenans Charles and Ellamae Storrier Stearns, who allocated two acres of their large estate on Orange Grove at Arlington Drive – in the area where their tennis courts were located.  Fuji spent 7 years designing and creating the garden, from 1935 to his internment in a Relocation Camp in April, 1942.

After a very long period of decline and neglect, the current owners, Connie and Jim Haddad, decided to undertake the restoration process, which has been ongoing for at least a decade.  Their extraordinary contribution to the historical fabric of Pasadena has been recognized by official proclamation, as well as by feature stories in the Los Angeles Times and numerous photo essays in garden design and history books.

Storrier-Stearns.6Here’s a little secret — if you “like” the Garden’s Facebook page, you can visit for FREE on November 24th!

Thanks to Dale Carlson and Christine Olson for providing beautiful photos of the Storrier Stearns Garden for this post!

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Climb Aboard the June 23 Magical History Tour

Posted in APG Events, tagged , , , , , on April 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

1920s.ladies.photo.librarianAn attractive blonde woman with bobbed hair lounges on a lawn chair outside a grand Arts and Crafts-styled home, sipping lemonade and lazily leafing through the latest issue of Ladies Home Journal while she watches her friends play croquet. Notes from a new song, The Charleston, begin to waft from the house and she begins tapping her toe to the beat. Soon, everyone is dancing to the popular song, kicking and stepping, crisscrossing their knees in perfect time. A scene from the summer blockbuster The Great Gatsby? Perhaps. Or, it could also just as easily be a vignette from Alhambra Preservation Group’s upcoming Magical History Tour, scheduled for Sunday, June 23, which will transport participants to 1920s for a glimpse of Alhambra during the Jazz Age. “It’s like nothing we’ve ever done before,” stated Alhambra Preservation Group President, Christine Olson. “This tour will offer something for everyone – native or newcomer. Together, we’ll explore little-known aspects of Alhambra’s rich history.”

Aboard a chartered luxury motorcoach, tour-goers will travel back in time to 1920s Alhambra.  Among the afternoon’s activities will be exclusive tours of two Alhambra Heritage Home Award-winning residences (neither of which has been opened previously for public viewing), as well as visits to other historically significant homes and buildings.  Throughout the tour, history will come alive through in-person encounters with some of the historic figures whose influence and accomplishments shaped the development of  the entire San Gabriel Valley region.

The Magical History Tour will take place between the hours of noon and 4:00 on Sunday, June 23, 2013.  Space will be limited for this exclusive event.  The $50 admission will cover the cost of a four-hour tour 1920sBusTour.brizzle.born.and.bred.lgaboard a comfortable, air conditioned motorcoach, a light lunch, opportunities to win prizes and to learn surprising facts about Alhambra’s history and some of the people who made it happen.

“We are excited about this new and different event,” says Olson.  “We encourage our fellow Alhambrans and all those who enjoy APG’s Historic Home Tours to, ‘Get on Board with Historic Preservation’ by joining us for what we know will be a day of fun, adventure and learning.”

All proceeds from this fundraising event will support the educational mission of Alhambra Preservation Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2003, to ensure that the historical, architectural and cultural resources of Alhambra are identified, protected and celebrated for their contributions to Alhambra’s heritage, economy and environment.

For more information and to purchase tickets, contact Alhambra Preservation Group at (626) 755-3467.

Photos courtesy of the photo librarian and brizzle born and bred.

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APG Presents March 7 Lecture on Famed Architect Bertram Goodhue

Posted in APG Events, tagged , , , , on February 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Central.Library.Ellen.ForsythSave the Date! On Thursday, March 7, 2013, Alhambra Preservation Group will present a lecture and slide presentation by esteemed author and architectural historian Romy Wyllie on the famed architect Bertram Goodhue, whose work has defined much of the Southern California landscape.  The lecture, entitled Bertram Goodhue’s Arts and Crafts Legacy, will take place at 7 p.m. in Reese Hall at Alhambra’s Civic Center Library, 101 S. 1st Street, Alhambra, CA  91801.

Goodhue was a true Renaissance man – an architect, typographer and graphic designer. His career spanned several movements, including Arts and Crafts, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Art Deco. He was the architect of much of Southern California’s iconic architecture and is credited with designing the Los Angeles Central Library and multiple buildings on the Pasadena’s Caltech campus. His work can be found throughout the United States.

The noted lecturer and Bertram Goodhue biographer, Romy Wyllie, is a native of England and taught architectural history and interior design at the Herrington Institute of Interior Design in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles in the early 1980s. Since 1985, she has led Caltech’s Architectural Tour Services as its co-founder and chairwoman.

Alhambra Preservation Group wishes to thank The Maloney Group realty partnership for its generous sponsorship of this special event and invites you to come and learn more about Bertram Goodhue, a true architectural star. The lecture is free of charge and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served and ample public parking is available in the library’s underground parking structure.

To learn more or to RSVP for the event, please call Alhambra Preservation Group at (626) 755-3467 or follow us on Facebook.

Photo courtesy of Ellen Forsyth.

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Don’t Miss Our Fall Field Trip

Posted in APG Events, tagged , , , on October 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Make the most of your APG membership!  Every year in the Fall, Alhambra Preservation Group hosts a special “members-only” activity — a free guided tour of a Southern California architectural treasure.

This year we have a real treat in store for our members — a two-hour walking tour of the Caltech campus in Pasadena, scheduled for Friday morning, November 9th from 10 a.m. to noon.  If you’re not already a member of APG, you can join today and request to have your name added to our list of tour-goers.  A maximum of 30 participants can be accommodated on our private “behind the scenes” tour of the campus, but there are still spots available.

After a brief visit to the Caltech faculty club, the renowned Athenaeum designed in 1931 by Gordon Kaufmann, the tour will explore several original buildings on campus, some of which date to 1910.  Participants will see how architect and master planner Bertram Goodhue, using “shaded portals, sheltering walls and Persian pools,” set the tone for a campus of great beauty — so that the scientists and engineers working and studying here could become more aware of the aesthetic values of life.

Our tour guide will be Romy Wyllie, author of the foremost reference work on the history of the Institute, Caltech’s Architectural Heritage, from Spanish Tile to Modern Stone, published in 2000.  A certified interior designer and member of the International Interior Design Association, Wyllie has taught architectural history and interior design.  She is co-founder and chairman of the Caltech Architectural Tour Service.

The Caltech tour is a fairly strenuous walk, covering a distance of about 1.3 miles, and it includes flights of stairs.  Comfortable walking shoes are recommended.  We regret that strollers, walkers and wheelchairs cannot be accommodated on this tour.

The deadline for registration is Wednesday, October 31.  Call today to learn more, or to get your name on the list of tour-goers:  (626) 755-3467.

Photos courtesy of Caltech.

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Lights! Camera! Alhambra!

Posted in APG Events, tagged , , on May 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever dreamt of seeing your house on the big screen? Ever wondered how location scouts choose a site for a movie or commercial? Have you ever questioned if you could earn some additional income through location filming?

At 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 31 at the Alhambra Civic Center Library (101 S. 1st Street), Alhambra Preservation Group will feature “Lights! Camera! Alhambra!” a presentation by Kris Bunting and Kristi Frankenheimer, location managers whose combined credits include more than 50 feature films and television shows. Kris Bunting was pivotal in securing an Alhambra home used in the filming of Long Time Gone, a soon-to-be-released movie starring Virginia Madsen. The hour-long presentation will include information on what film scouts look for in homes and locations, how you can make your house more attractive to scouts, what the range of compensation for homeowners is for filming, and how Alhambra can be more film-friendly in its policies and practices.

Alhambra is certainly no stranger to the silver screen. From the 1945 National Velvet starring Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney to the 1991 Father of the Bride starring Steve Martin to the 2005 Guess Who starring Ashton Kucher and Bernie Mac, Alhambra attracts film-makers looking for architecturally diverse homes and character-filled neighborhoods. Come and learn how your home can have a starring role in an upcoming television series or movie.

To RSVP please contact Alhambra Preservation Group at (626) 755-3467, e-mail us at info@alhambrapreservation.org or visit us on Facebook.

Photo courtesy of fauxto_digit.

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