Pasadena Showcase House to Use Reservation System

For the first time since it began in 1965, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design will use a reserved ticket system to allow show-goers more time to view the house and less time to spend in long lines.

That’s the word from spokeswoman Linda Seiter of the sponsoring Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the oldest continuous design showcase in the nation, she said.

Attendance has grown from 7,500 in the first year to more than 50,000 in recent years, necessitating a system similar to that used for popular shows at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Details on the reserved ticket system can be obtained by calling 818/792-4661. Tickets, $10 before April 23, are available through Ticketmaster at May Co. or Music Plus stores.

The 9,200-square-foot La Canada-Flintridge house will be open to the public April 23 through May 21. It will be closed Monday and Tuesday, open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The house was built for Harry G. Johansing Sr. in 1924 at a cost of $75,000, on a 5-acre lot. The architecture is a mix of Italian and Spanish design elements, with oversized urns and chimneys creating a distinctive exterior look.

Harry Carlton Newton, the architect, also designed alone or in partnership with other architects many Pasadena-area houses, the Thursday Club in La Canada, the Eagle Rock Public Library and such churches as Saints Peter and Paul in Wilmington, Church of the Precious Blood in Los Angeles and St. Paul the Apostle in Westwood.

Each year, the Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Committee chooses an estate in the Pasadena area. Every design area in the house and garden is assigned to an interior designer or a landscape designer, allowing show-goers to see a variety of interior design and landscape styles in one setting.

In addition to the tours of the house and the grounds, visitors will have a chance to eat, shop in the arts and crafts boutique, listen to music and enjoy fashion shows, Seiter said.

Over the past 24 years, the committee has donated more than $3 million to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, $300,000 last year alone, she added. Money raised from the showcase house also finances youth music education programs in the greater Pasadena area.