Holy Grail of Woodworking!

[Alan DuBoff]

Well, after seeing DaVinci Code, I can't help but think that I'm visiting one of the Holy Grails of woodworking...to me anyway! ;)

I've been before, but going back to the Gamble House (http://www.gamblehouse.org/) again tomorrow.

I've been down in L.A. on training this week, and just couldn't pass up an opportunity to visit again.

[Ryan Lee]

That house is amazing. Once I win the lottery, i'll build a replica back in Indiana.:D

[Alan DuBoff]

That house is amazing. Once I win the lottery, i'll build a replica back in Indiana.:DYou and me both! I wouldn't build a replica, but would incorporate ideas from the home into my own...same with some of the other famous Greene & Greene homes, like the Blacker house that was refurbished not long ago (but it's privatelly owned and one is limited to available pics). Granted, there's a lot of documentation on that house when it was restored, but still, nothing like experiencing the home first hand as the Gamble House offers.

[Corvin Alstot]

Its one of my favorite places to visit when I am in the area.
Wish there was a monograph with all the furniture in the Gamble and
Blacker house. It would make a great reference guide for new ideas.

I doubt I would like to copy any of these house as there are many new
ideas that I am influenced or interested, but they are certainly very
powerful spaces.

[Alan DuBoff]

Its one of my favorite places to visit when I am in the area.
Wish there was a monograph with all the furniture in the Gamble and
Blacker house. It would make a great reference guide for new ideas.

I doubt I would like to copy any of these house as there are many new
ideas that I am influenced or interested, but they are certainly very
powerful spaces.Corvin, I agree but there are a lot of pics on the gamblehouse.org website. There could always be more pictures, but much of it has been photographed and available, and I'm certainly thankfull for what is available already.

[Vaughn McMillan]

I live about 20 minutes away from the Gamble House, but it wasn't until I heard about it on SMC that I realized it existed. Thanks for the reminder that I need to get over there and take the tour.

- Vaughn

[Alan DuBoff]

I live about 20 minutes away from the Gamble House, but it wasn't until I heard about it on SMC that I realized it existed. Thanks for the reminder that I need to get over there and take the tour.

- VaughnVaughn, I grew up not far from you, in the SF Valley (I guess Tujunga is on the north end of the valley). It wasn't until I moved away that I got interested in woodworking, but lucky I had been to the Gamble House once before I got interested in woodworking.

This time I'll be making more notes.

FWIW, you can reserve a spot for the 2:00pm tours, one week ahead of time. I'm taking my parents there with me, thought they might enjoy it. They live up in Newberry Park now. Weather was nice this week, even had clear air for a day or two after the rain last Sunday.

[lou sansone]

well.... the house seems to be "real" as opposed to the "fiction" of the DaVinci Code

lou

[Mark Singer]

It has inspired a woodworker or two in LA...even a few architects...me too!:confused:

[Corvin Alstot]

Corvin, I agree but there are a lot of pics on the gamblehouse.org website. There could always be more pictures, but much of it has been photographed and available, and I'm certainly thankfull for what is available already.
Alan/ Photographs are great but I was thinking more drawings - elevations, sections, etc. I am often curious about the proportions and dimensions of the pieces. Just the architect in me. I like the technical drawings.

By the way, on the recommendation of SMC I purchased Peart's - Greene & Greene, Design Elements for the Workshop and Makinson's - Blacker House books. Both are good additions to the library. Which do you like better the Gamble or the Blacker?

[Chuck Nickerson]

Through a contact, my woodworking club got to visit. The effort put into restoring the house is stunning. The owner has purchased the pieces that could be purchased, payed skilled craftsmen to build the missing pieces, and is even reassembling the original grounds (at current real estate prices that's a $10 million task). Now that's the way to spend money.

[Alan DuBoff]

Alan/ Photographs are great but I was thinking more drawings - elevations, sections, etc. I am often curious about the proportions and dimensions of the pieces. Just the architect in me. I like the technical drawings.Well, there's a lot of books that show pics of the homes, and Randell Makinson has a book (could have been his first) which showed most of the homes and has there in a reference, of Greene & Greene's work. I have it at home and travelling right now, can get you the title if you like.

Which do you like better the Gamble or the Blacker?That's a loaded question. Both have great aspects of them, but the Gamble House has something that none of the other 6 do, that being that it is open to the public as it was donated back to the city of Pasadena by the family. It is the only Greene & Greene home like it which can be toured. The style of the timberframe and straps are pretty cool on the Blacker home, to me. The Gamble house was built for $50k in 1908 (a tremendous amount of money back then). It was on the market for $20k for a short while, but when the family overheard a prospective buyer mention they would like to paint it white, they pulled it off the market and the family decided to donate it to the city of Pasadena.

When I talk of the 6, I speak of the 6 homes that Greene & Greene worked on during the early 1900s which also incorporated all of the furniture. The Blacker house was one of them as well, and had a full restore done on it, but the Gamble house is pretty much original with the exception of a few things over the years. The Gamble House looks out over the Arroyo Secca valley, althoug some of the trees have matured and block some of the view. Again, the majority of homes are privately owned, with the exception of the Gamble House. Some brothers in Pasadena were said to have built most all of the furniture in the 6 homes. Any of them would be incredible example of the Greene & Greene work. But, OTOH, the interesting cloud lifts (the tour was surprised I knew they were cloud lifts;-) are most interesting in the Gamble House, and they incorporated a cascade on them. Exceptional woodwork to say the least.

Even the David James home (not one of the 6) that was up in Carmel, is very special as it's designed into the side of the cliff. But it's not really in the traditional Greene & Greene style.

There were several books on Arts & Crafts architected homes in the bookstore, and you can find a lot online with some searching.

And there was one very bad design flaw with the Greene & Greene style homes, although not catastrophic...but the eaves always stuck out quite a ways from the roof, and were exposed. This is a known problem and the Gamble house experienced it, and I'm sure the Pratt house in Ojai did as well as a company Pacific Post & Beam in San Luis Obispo (http://www.pacificpostbeam.com/tour/ojai/ojai_a.html) I got a DVD today that I'm curious to watch. I left my jaw on the floor of the living room, then picked it up and dropped it in the entry way and then each of the rooms got a slight smacking of my jaw...need I say more. So, if you like to see stuff in the raw wood, the Gamble House is the place.

Talk about beautiful Bhurma Teak panelling, mahogany furniture, ash furniture, maple in the kitchen on the counters, floor, and trim, sleeping porches even have Bhurma Teak panelling. Nice tight grained fir also used for much of the timberframe...and the door is really special on the Gamble House, but so was it on the Blacker and Pratt houses also.

[Eric Murphy]

Alan/ Photographs are great but I was thinking more drawings - elevations, sections, etc. I am often curious about the proportions and dimensions of the pieces. Just the architect in me. I like the technical drawings.


I posted some Greene & Greene design questions on another forum and got this as a response from Bob Lang...There will be a book of measured drawings of Greene & Greene furniture coming late in the fall, God willing and the river don't rise.

This would be the Bob Lang of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture.

I just checked Amazon and found this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1892836297/qid=1148823322/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10/104-7255303-4055963?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[Corvin Alstot]

I posted some Greene & Greene design questions on another forum and got this as a response from Bob Lang...There will be a book of measured drawings of Greene & Greene furniture coming late in the fall, God willing and the river don't rise.
Eric / Thanks for the information, at $14 dollars how can one go wrong. I have Makinson's book - Greene & Greene, Furniture and related designs, but wished that the drawings were a little larger with more detail. This like it will be a good addition to the library.

[Jim Watts]

Well, after seeing DaVinci Code, I can't help but think that I'm visiting one of the Holy Grails of woodworking...to me anyway! ;)

I've been before, but going back to the Gamble House (http://www.gamblehouse.org/) again tomorrow.

I've been down in L.A. on training this week, and just couldn't pass up an opportunity to visit again.

I was half-watching 'Back to the Future' for the zillionth time this morning. I was admiring the design details of the door that Marty was talking to a disbelieving Doc through, and became curious. I then recalled a mental image of what Doc's house looked like, and realized that it looked a LOT like the Gamble House (though I've unfortunately never seen in person). Lo and behold, a quick visit to IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/trivia) confirmed my suspicions.

[Michael Flores]

If i remember correctly the out side of the house in back to the future is the gamble house but the inside should be the blacker house, except for the garage which is the gamble house and is currently the book store.