Tournament House Opens Its Doors a Final Time This Season With a Free Thursday Tour

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses opens the Wrigley Mansion to the public for the last time this season Thursday, Aug. 27, at 2 p.m., closing a run of free guided tours that began May 7 and has run every Thursday afternoon since.

Volunteer members of the association’s Heritage Committee lead the 90-minute walk through Tournament House, the Italian Renaissance residence that has served as headquarters for the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game since 1958. Docents cover the history of the house and the traditions of the parade and the game, pointing out a 400-pound Honduran mahogany front door original to the building, hand-painted foiled wallpaper by the Gracie company and Romanian Circassian walnut paneling.

Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. bought the property in 1914 for $170,000 and wintered there with his wife, Ada. After her death in 1958, the family gave it to the city of Pasadena on the condition that it become the Tournament’s permanent home.

The house has no elevator. Upper floors are reached by the original staircase, and a video of those rooms is available on the main floor. Outside, the 4.5-acre Wrigley Gardens hold more than 1,500 varieties of roses, camellias and seasonal annuals.

Tournament House Tour, Thursday, Aug. 27, at 2 p.m. Admission is free; each guest must have a complimentary reservation registered at least one day in advance, and 90 places are available. Guests are asked to arrive ten minutes early. Tours run rain or shine, and food and drink are not allowed during the tour. Tournament House, 391 S. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. Limited accessible parking is available in the lot reached from the Orange Grove Boulevard or Arbor Street driveway; street parking is available on Arbor Street, Grand Avenue and Lockhaven Street, where a two-hour limit applies. Reserve at 2026tournamenthousetours.rsvpify.com. For more, call (626) 449-4100 or visit tournamentofroses.com/house-tours.