Honoring Its Founders, Pasadena Heritage Opens Its 50th-Anniversary Year

Pasadena Heritage will open its 50th-anniversary year on Saturday, July 11, 2026, with a dinner at Castle Green honoring four people the organization credits with launching the city’s modern preservation movement, according to the nonprofit.

The event, “Honoring Our Founders: An Evening at Castle Green,” will recognize Claire Bogaard, William W. Ellinger III, Katie Harp McLane, and James Marrin, Pasadena Heritage says. Founded in 1977, the group says proceeds will support its advocacy, education, and preservation work.

The setting is itself a piece of the history the organization works to protect. Castle Green is at 99 S. Raymond Ave., according to the event’s ticketing listing. The building was constructed in 1898 and designed by architect Frederick I. Roehrig in a mix of Moorish, Spanish, and Victorian styles, according to the City of Pasadena.

Pasadena Heritage describes all four honorees as advocates whose work helped preserve many of the city’s treasured places. Two have documented preservation roles. Bogaard, a founding member of Pasadena Heritage, was recognized by the city in 2022 when the Pasadena City Council renamed the City Hall Courtyard for her and her husband, former Mayor Bill Bogaard. Ellinger, a historic architect, designed and oversaw the restoration of the pergola at the group’s Blinn House headquarters.

Since 1977, the organization says, its preservation efforts have contributed to saving Old Pasadena, the Colorado Street Bridge, the Rose Bowl, the Civic Center, City Hall, and the Central Library. The group says it holds more than 80 historic preservation easements, which it describes as the largest such program west of the Mississippi.

Dr. Bridget Lawlor became the organization’s executive director on Dec. 1, 2025. Asked about her approach when she was appointed, Lawlor said her first priority, where feasible, was adaptive reuse, telling Pasadena Now that “the greenest building is the one that’s already built.”

The Bogaards’ civic standing was underscored at the 2022 courtyard dedication. “Bill and Claire Bogaard are in a league of their own,” then-Mayor Victor M. Gordo said. Then-District 6 Councilmember Steve Madison, who led the renaming effort, said Claire Bogaard’s work “preserved sacred icons like City Hall.”

A dinner reservation costs $350 through the ticketing platform Zeffy. Sponsorships are also available, ranging from $1,500 to $10,000, with the top Founders Circle level including a pre-event reception at Castle Green, according to Pasadena Heritage. The organization lists Kyle Grimes as the sponsorship contact at (626) 441-6333, ext. 103. A start time for the evening has not been announced; Pasadena Heritage lists event and ticket details on its website.