The Pasadena Museum of History and The Gamble House will host a joint Valentine’s Day event on Saturday, February 14, opening both historic homes from 4 to 7 p.m. for an evening of live music, art exhibitions, sparkling toasts, and interactive activities available on a single $35 ticket.
The event, called “Romance Along the Arroyo,” pairs two of Pasadena’s notable historic buildings — the Beaux Arts-style Fényes Mansion, built in 1906, and the Gamble House, the 1908 Craftsman masterpiece designed by architects Charles and Henry Greene. Both sit along the Arroyo Seco corridor, and both are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Only a very short walk separates the two venues
At the Fényes Mansion, pianist Amy Rowe will perform light classical music on a 1907 Steinway & Sons grand piano while guests explore the house and learn about the Language of Flowers, a Victorian-era system of floral communication, according to the museum’s event page and press release. Silhouette artist Candice, of the Los Angeles-based Silhouettes by Candice, will hand-cut paper shadow portraits on site.
Two art exhibitions will be on view in the museum’s History Center Galleries: “Cha-Rie Tang: 48 Years of Artistic Innovation in Pasadena,” a retrospective of the Pasadena-based multidisciplinary artist and founder of Pasadena Craftsman Tile, and “Stories, Traditions & Designs: Spotlighting the African American Quilters of Los Angeles.” Both exhibitions run through February 22, 2026, according to the museum’s website. Guests may also step inside the Finnish Folk Art Museum, furnished as a 19th-century Finnish farmhouse, and browse the Museum Store.
At the Gamble House, guests will be greeted by docents and live acoustic guitar from musician Shane Savala, according to the event listing and press release. The house is currently displaying “From Strand to Sculpture: Contemporary Japanese Basketry,” an exhibition of bamboo art on loan from the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation that premiered February 5 and runs through April 12, according to the Gamble House and Discover Los Angeles event listings.
Poets from Typewriters Anonymous, a Los Angeles-based collective of typewriter and performance poets, will compose custom poems for guests on the spot. The Gamble House Bookstore will offer handcrafted Valentine’s Day gifts and treats.
Admission is $35 per person for general admission and $30 for Pasadena Museum of History and Gamble House members. Attendees must be 21 and over with valid identification. Check-in is available at either location. Tickets were listed through Eventbrite; the Gamble House website indicated the event time was sold out as of early February.
The Pasadena Museum of History is at 470 W. Walnut St., Pasadena. The Gamble House is at 4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena. Free parking is available at both venues.
The Gamble House, a National Historic Landmark, was built as a winter home for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter & Gamble Company and is owned by the City of Pasadena and operated by The Gamble House Conservancy. The Fényes Mansion, designed by architect Robert Farquhar, was the home of artist and art collector Eva Scott Fényes and her family and has housed the Pasadena Museum of History since 1970.
The event links two buildings that represent distinct chapters in Pasadena’s architectural history — one Beaux Arts, one Craftsman — separated by two years and a short walk along the Arroyo.
