The Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts is commemorating six decades of design excellence with a special anniversary publication. This second edition, titled “60 Years of Pasadena Showcase Design Houses,” presents a comprehensive visual journey through the organization’s history with over 300 pages of photography, stories and historical context highlighting Pasadena’s celebrated architectural heritage.
The Pasadena Showcase House has long reminded Southern Californians and educated them about the region’s greatest homes and architecture.
“They have reminded us that we have an honorable architectural tradition here, despite the notion so cherished by Eastern journalists that Los Angeles, including Pasadena, is the capital of kitsch…they show us each year that Los Angeles, and especially Pasadena, have probably produced the best architecture in America,” wrote Jack Smith in the Los Angeles Times in 1980.
The new volume significantly expands upon the organization’s first book published in 2014 for its 50th anniversary. While the previous edition contained 256 pages, the upcoming release has grown to more than 300 pages to incorporate the additional decade of showcase houses.
Now available for pre-order at $60 — below the $75 retail price — the book is scheduled to ship on June 1, 2025. It chronicles how prominent industrialists including Busch, Gamble, Huntington and Wrigley established lavish estates in Pasadena, designed by renowned architects and often concealed behind fruit trees on streets such as Orange Grove Boulevard.
The publication documents how many of these winter homes still exist today as museums, nonprofit headquarters or libraries—with several having been featured in the Pasadena Showcase House of Design. Throughout its 60-year history, the organization has contributed more than $27 million to music and arts programs in the community.
Those interested can secure a copy by pre-order through the organization’s website at shop.pasadenashowcase.org.
