Pasadena Heritage will host a guided bus tour on Saturday, May 10, exploring the significant Asian influences that helped define Pasadena’s distinctive Arts and Crafts architecture. The tour, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Blinn House, aims to trace the migration of architectural ideas across cultures and time periods, from traditional Asian wooden structures to iconic Pasadena landmarks.
“What makes Pasadena Craftsman architecture distinctive is in large measure, the Asian influence on it,” says Dave Nufer, board member, program developer and docent with Pasadena Heritage, when asked why this connection was chosen as particularly significant. “This presentation is really looking at the migration of cultural ideas across cultures and across times. So in this presentation, we start out with the development of traditional Asian wooden architecture in China, how it moves to Japan, and then to the US and Southern California, Pasadena, and then how those ideas develop over time in Pasadena.”
The tour will highlight several prominent examples of this architectural fusion, starting with the Duncan Irwin house by Greene & Greene, where the architects began developing their classic Asian-influenced style. Participants will also visit the famous Gamble House, the Blacker House, and the Culbertson Sisters’ House, all designed by Greene & Greene, as well as the Freeman House by Heinmann and Heinmann, and the Thompson and Lee House.
Mid-century modern structures will also be featured, including homes by Buff & Hensman, Richard Nora, and Craig Elwood, along with numerous examples of craftsman bungalows in the Bungalow Heaven neighborhood and elsewhere throughout Pasadena.
These Asian influences are evident in signature elements like low-pitched roofs, harmony with nature, meticulous craftsmanship, and spatial planning concepts that would come to define Pasadena’s architectural identity. According to research provided by Pasadena Heritage, Charles and Henry Greene were exposed to Japanese pavilions at the 1893 World’s Fair, which significantly influenced their architectural approach.
Nufer compares this phenomenon to fusion cuisine: “A lot of times we talk and think about fusion cuisine, which is combining ideas from a number of different national cuisines in Pasadena. And to a certain extent, the Asian influence on American arts and crafts architecture is fusion architecture where you’re having ideas that move over space and time from China to Japan to Southern California. And then the development of those ideas over time in different eras from early in the 20th century with craftsmen, arts and crafts through mid-century modern American architecture.”
“And that’s just reflective of the cross-cultural exchanges that you have in past today,” Nufer adds.
The tour begins at the historic Blinn House at 160 N. Oakland Ave., which now serves as Pasadena Heritage’s headquarters. Founded in 1977, Pasadena Heritage works to preserve the city’s diverse architectural legacy through advocacy, education, and tours.
Tickets for the tour are available through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/
