Streams of water splash into the pool, which was designed by Terry Morrill of Pacific Outdoor Living, at this year’s Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts.

Jane Napier Neely

Since 1965, the all-volunteer nonprofit organization known today as the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts has presented an annual, month-long event that puts the spotlight on a vintage mansion, inviting visitors to imagine living in the grand space. Prior to the annual showcase, designers are given about three months to give the estate’s rooms and exterior spaces fresh looks that might inspire homeowners to redo their own properties.

The purpose of the event is to raise funds that are in turn given as gifts or grants to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and other nonprofits. Musically oriented educational programs for youth are also key beneficiaries of the PSHA’s support, which to date has totaled more than $20 million.

For the 2015 Pasadena Showcase House of Design, 17 design groups worked on the home’s interiors and six firms are displaying their expertise on exterior portions of the property. The event began its run on Sunday, April 19. The house, event restaurant and boutique shops will be open for visitors through May 17.

In these pages you’ll find a historical look at the first owners of “The Eliot House,” as well as photos of some of the design spaces visitors will see on this year’s tour.

To purchase tickets for this year’s Showcase House of Design, visit pasadenashowcasehouse.org or call (714) 442-3872.

In 1910, John Visscher Eliot and Ellen Rowena Eliot, both trustfund babies, had a home built for themselves in the tony Oak Knoll area of Pasadena. That property is this year’s 51st Pasadena Showcase House of Design, which opened to the public on Sunday and continues into mid-May.

Two years before their home was built, the Eliots were wed in what was probably one of the most elaborate ceremonies to be held that year at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. Their wedding reception, attended by hundreds of guests, was held at the bride’s parents’ flower-filled home known as The Blossoms on that city’s famed “Millionaire Row,” South Orange Grove Boulevard.

This year’s Pasadena Showcase House of Design recalls an earlier era.

As reported in a two-page spread in the Los Angeles Times on March 4, 1908, the bride’s veil had been worn by four generations of her family. She also wore a diamond necklace that represented three generations of her mother’s family.

This photo of the Eliot House was taken in 1914 when the Eliot family was still living there. The photo appeared in the Aug. 19, 1914 issue of American Architect.

A small sign, “Please walk your horse,” can be seen in the foreground. Rowena Eliot was an avid equestrian and maintained three horse stalls below the Carriage House apartments.

Courtesy of the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts

This stained glass window that illuminates a stairwell is original to the Showcase House.

“The gifts given to the bride were numerous and magnificent,” the newspaper reported. “The bride’s stepfather presented her with a chest of silver and a fortune was represented in the jewels alone.”

John V. Eliot was the son of Edward Eliot and his wife Clara, formerly of Wisconsin, who came to Pasadena in the 1890s. John was the grandson of Harrison Luddington, former mayor of Milwaukee and governor of Wisconsin between 1876 and 1878.

Ellen Rowena Meyer Blossom (who went by her middle name,  Rowena) was the daughter of Howard Meyer and Minnie Meyer. After her father died, Rowena’s mother wed a wealthy New York City merchant, Benjamin Blossom. The Blossom and the Eliot families first ventured to Pasadena from their respective East Coast and Midwest homes to winter in sunny Southern California. They soon became socially well connected and both eventually purchased permanent homes in Pasadena.

When they were ready to build their own dream home, the newlywed younger Eliots chose a Frenchborn architect, Fernand Parmentier.

Parmentier, who immigrated to America after his Paris training, first cut his architectural teeth in Chicago working as a draftsman for the firm of Solon S. Beman, known for several of Chicago’s landmark buildings, including the Grand Central Train Station.

After five years in Chicago, Parmentier moved to Santa Barbara and joined the firm of P.J. Barber, credited with building the county courthouse.

It was not long before Parmentier moved to Los Angeles and established his own design firm. He placed his architectural and design marks on the French Hospital and the First Christian Science Church in Los Angeles, plus several other churches, private homes and apartment buildings.

Parmentier’s architectural career was cut short when in 1914 he went to visit his sister in France. By the time he reached London, World War I had been declared and he immediately volunteered for military service in the French Alsatian 74th Infantry. He was later promoted to corporal and was part of a French expeditionary force fighting at the Dardanelles where he was fatally wounded and died in 1915 at the age of 50.

The Eliot House was the only residence in Pasadena that Parmentier designed. It is a testament to his brilliance that in its 105-year history very few significant changes have been made to his original design for this house, which incorporates English Tudor and Craftsman elements in harmony.

The 9,400-square-foot main residence boasting 21 rooms was built with the principal entrance overlooking the interior garden rather than the street. A 2,600-squarefoot carriage house that had three horse stalls and a hayloft was also constructed. The carriage house also included an upstairs apartment that once housed the chauffeur and the coachman. The 1 ⁄2-acre property later became known for its beautiful flower gardens, mature trees, koi pond, outdoor kitchen and a wisteria arbor.

One of the must-have items in the home was a burglar proof safe where Rowena’s silver and jewels could be kept. That same safe can be found behind cupboard doors today in the dining room.

Building costs for the Eliot’s new home totaled $32,927, according to Tim Gregory, a Pasadena-based researcher known as “The Building Biographer.”

The Eliots, along with their son John Jr., born in 1909 and daughter Mary Jane, born in 1913, only lived in this now venerable home for five years. They remained in the Pasadena area, however, living in other homes.

John and Rowena Eliot became as socially prominent as had their parents. They belonged to the Valley Hunt Club and Annandale Country Club. Both of them were champion golfers and Rowena was an expert horsewoman and rifle marksman. She was also a member of a small Pasadena theater group, the Pasadena Players.

With cabinets and hardware that evoke the first quarter of the 20th century, the kitchen designed by Cynthia Lambakiss and Samantha Williams of Ederra Design Studio and Jan Ledgard of Yorkshire Kitchens Inc. is crisp and bright.

By 1921, the Eliots once again made a Times’ headline: “Pasadena Rich Man Divorced.” The article reported that Rowena told the court she wanted her husband to stay at home in Pasadena, but he didn’t wish to because he wanted to live on his ranch near Covina. The court awarded Rowena full custody of their minor children.

A striking area rug lays the foundation for the Craftsman-themed master bedroom; the look carries through into the adjoining dressing area and master bath.

The Palais de Glace, located at Ingalsbee, had just opened about a week earlier, to much fanfare. High-society luminaries, the Leland Stanfords, Hancock Bannings, E.L. Dohenys and Alexander Pantages were among those attending the ice palace’s opening.

The death of John V. Eliot, who at one time had been Pasadena’s millionaire police and fire commissioner, came in 1949. He was 69 and had married several times after his divorce from Rowena. Over the years he experienced financial difficulties and died with his last job being a custodian at several public schools.

This Showcase House of Design at the one-time Eliot House — subsequently home to a series of other wealthy owners — is an encore for the estate, as it also served as the 1993 Showcase House. Visitors to this year’s month-long event at the property will have the opportunity to see how it has evolved over the years since the newlyweds John and Rowena Eliot first called it home, a full century ago.

The Artist’s Retreat is a peaceful space to commune with an art muse. Dana Triano of Dana Triano Designs has transformed what used to be a sleeping porch into a delightful place to escape.

Hours and more

Showcase House of Design opened April 19 and continues through May 17.

Prime-time hours (requiring premium tickets) are from 9 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekends.

Weekday matinee hours are from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays; from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; and from 2 to 7 p.m. on Fridays.

Garden tours are offered at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily.

The gardens, shops and restaurants remain open for one hour after the house closes each day.

Parking is off-site, at the Pasadena Rose Bowl, Lot I, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd. Pasadena, except for on Sunday, May 10 and Sunday, May 17, when visitors are asked to park in the Parsons Corp. lot, 100 W. Walnut St., Pasadena. A continuous free shuttle service will run from both sites to the Showcase House. For tickets visit pasadenashowcase house.org or call (714) 442-3872.

Showcase House is closed Mondays.