Gamble House photos

[Mitchell Andrus]

I just stumbled on this collection of 100+ photos of the Gamble House. Thought I'd share..... enjoy!!

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/8463473_xLJkc#P-1-15

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[Brian Kent]

Has anyone here been to the Gamble House?

I love 50 miles away and have never taken advantage of the opportunity.

Brian

[Darryl Hazen]

I used to live in Pasadena and have been to the house several times. If you're a woodworker it's a must see if you happen to be anywhere in the area.

CAUTION: Woodworkers that are caught drooling will be asked to leave.:D:D

[Sam Layton]

Hi Brian, you and I are neighbors. I live in Glendora, not far from Riverside. I have visited the Gamble house. They don't build houses like that anymore.

Sam

[mike holden]

Darryl,
Is the house as dark as the pictures make it look?
The darkness has always turned me off, and although I have seen images in several mags and books (and now the internet), it always seems so dark inside.
Mike

[Don Orr]

Thanks for posting the link.

The closest I have been is seeing the G&G exhibit at the Renwick Gallery in D.C. this Spring. Cool exhibit. I was the one on the floor looking up under the furniture. The guard never took his eye off me. No touching and no photos either:mad:.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Nice photos of a great house...thanks for sharing. I wish I had room for a front door like that!!!

[Michael Flores]

The Gamble house is very nice. If the opportunity ever comes up to take a tour of the Blacker house you don’t want to miss that cause that is a private residences house so they rarely let people take a tour.


For the movie buffs, in the first Back To The Future movie they used the gamble house as the exterior of the Doc's house and the blacker house was used for the interior. Except for the garage, that was the gamble house before they put the book store in there.

[Darryl Hazen]

Mike,

Sorry for not answering sooner.

Yes the house is fairly dark inside. Most of the wood is stained medium to dark brown. It is a subdued lighting.

[mike holden]

Darryl,
Thanks for the response.
It surprises me that it should be so dark, seems so unlike the Southern California ethos.
I would have expected lots of windows to bring light in and keep it sunny and bright.
Its not bad, just surprising.
Mike

[Jeff Bratt]

The ethos was to bring nature and living spaces together. There were covered, outdoor sleeping rooms and patios, and lots of use of naturally textured materials. This was built before float glass was available, so they couldn't yet make large-pane windows. Another part of the interior darkness is that electric lighting was quite new at the time, and bulbs used were very low wattage. It was also thought that bright electric light could damage your eyesight. Authentic Arts and Crafts lighting fixtures are usually too dim for me to comfortably read by. So I build mine with (modern) three way lighting controls so I have a choice of both an authentic, warm glow, and good reading light.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Authentic Arts and Crafts lighting fixtures are usually too dim for me to comfortably read by.

A loud complaint of visitors to the Stickley museum at Craftsman Farms in NJ... not enough light. I and a few others have pieces there (my piano is in the girl's bedroom) and the docents carry flashlights to show off the furniture on dark days... the repro bulbs just don't cut it... but they are authentic.

http://www.stickleymuseum.org/girlsbedroom.php

So what's better? To show how it looked - or show how it can look? Same argument at the G&G homes, and others.

At least Frank Lloyd Wright threw in a few skylights here and there.
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[Cody Colston]

Does anyone here know how the Gamble house was received by the public when it was initially built?

Since the house is so well preserved and the grounds meticulously maintained, it wouldn't surprise me if it is more popular today than it was when new. Sometimes art isn't fully appreciated until well after the artist has died, either. I just wonder if the Gamble house is that way?

Also, while I can certainly appreciate the craftsmanship that went into it, the Gamble house, like Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture really doesn't appeal to me. The overall look is too dark and foreboding.

[Jeff Bratt]

Does anyone here know how the Gamble house was received by the public when it was initially built?

Not sure what you are asking about - when it was built, the Gamble House was private residence... Many other, smaller Arts and Crafts bungalows were also constructed around the same time. These also had dark interior woodworking and smaller windows, etc. The style was very popular. And many of them also had the dark wood interiors painted white by subsequent owners, much to the despair of current owners when they try to restore these bungalows to their original condition.

[Cody Colston]

Not sure what you are asking about -

I'm not sure which part of "how it was received by the public" you don't understand.

Even though it was a private residence, I'm assuming it was visible to the public, at least the exterior. I'm wondering what was the general opinion of the architecture since it's not your typical bungalow. If it were, I doubt that it would have been preserved as a historic building.

[Pat Germain]

I don't know how well the Gamble house was received by the general public. But I do remember reading when the original owners were selling the house, the prospective buyers also didn't like how dark it was inside. They said they were going to paint over all that dark wood with nice, white paint to brighten up the place. It was this experience which convinced the orginal owners to turn the house over to a preservation group instead of selling it outright.

[Heather Thompson]

I just got done with three days at the Woodworking In America conference "Furniture Construction & Design", on Saturday I spent two hours in Greene & Greene with presenter Jim Ipekjian. Jim has a great deal of experience with the Gamble House, you may find this link to be interesting.
http://www.gamblehouse.org/history/index.html

The conference was a great success and I got to meet five other Creekers there.

Heather :)

[Maurice Ungaro]

Mike,

Sorry for not answering sooner.

Yes the house is fairly dark inside. Most of the wood is stained medium to dark brown. It is a subdued lighting.


Actually, the woods are oiled - not stained. The Greene Brothers specified the use of about 17 different woods, based on their characteristics and location in the house. Of other interest, Tiffany's chief glass cutter quit his job in NY, in order to work on that project. His most notable contribution is the Tree of Life entry way.

[Maurice Ungaro]

I'm not sure which part of "how it was received by the public" you don't understand.

Even though it was a private residence, I'm assuming it was visible to the public, at least the exterior. I'm wondering what was the general opinion of the architecture since it's not your typical bungalow. If it were, I doubt that it would have been preserved as a historic building.


I'll tell you how well it was received. Built in 1909, it is considered to be the house that started the "bungalow" movement in residential architecture. It is wonderful to walk around the few blocks surrounding the Gamble House (built for Mr. & Mrs. Gamble of "Proctor & Gamble" fame) and see how many neighboring houses were subsequently designed by Charles and Henry Greene.