Showcase House of Design returns to South Pasadena
By Luke Netzley
Pasadena Weekly Deputy Editor
Following a year-long hiatus due to the global pandemic, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts announced the return of one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most successful home and garden tours.
“Everything you know and love about the Pasadena Showcase House of Design is back,” said Marti Farley, 2021-22 president for Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts.
“After four decades, it’s time we return to the charming ‘City of Trees’ with a Showcase House that will highlight all that South Pasadena has to offer.”
The 57th Showcase House will reimagine South Pasadena’s Oaklawn Manor, a 1905 English Tudor mansion within a historic Greene & Greene-planned neighborhood of century-old homes. The mansion was built for Harry Hawgood, an English civil engineer whose career designing railways and waterways spanned multiple continents, and features baronial-sized rooms with rich wood interiors, ornate beamed ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling travertine fireplaces. Sunken gardens wrap around the home with scenic paths leading down to the hidden edges of the property.
“When you walk through, it’s almost overwhelming to see the beautiful stained glass windows past the entry. It also has a large ground, so we have plenty of room for our shops and restaurant as well as having outdoor garden space.”
Following four months of renovation, over 25,000 guests will tour through the numerous interior and landscape design spaces highlighting cutting-edge trends in high style living. This year’s event will also showcase local musicians, speakers and boutique and craft merchants to celebrate South Pasadena.
“It’s really core to our mission, that we’re more than just a pretty house. We’re also all about music and music education, so having these performances I think will speak to that.”
Pasadena Showcase has given more than $23 million to nonprofit organizations in support of music education and music therapy while continuing to support the LA Philharmonic and its learning programs for which the organization was founded. Though a 2021 Showcase House was not possible due to the pandemic, the organization was able to host “June Bloom,” an outdoor garden party that raised more than $250,000 in one day.
“We had over 2,000 people in one day go through three properties. We were able to open up the gardens and have garden tours along with our shops and a food truck, and that was super successful. We were thinking of ways that we could continue to stay connected with the community until we could get back to having a showcase.”
Now that the Showcase House of Design has returned, golden tickets are available on the Pasadena Showcase website, pasadenashowcase.org/tickets, ahead of the public tours that will run from April 24 to May 22.
2022 Pasadena Showcase House of Design
WHEN: Sunday, April 24, to Sunday, May 22
Public tours will be:
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday
9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
WHERE: Oaklawn Manor, a 1905 English Tudor mansion in South Pasadena.
COST: Golden Ticket: $65
Insider Package No. 1 Golden Ticket + Empty House Party: $200
Insider Package No. 2 Golden Ticket + Empty House Party + Premiere Night: $400
INFO: pasadenashowcase.org