Since 1965, the all-volunteer nonprofit organization known today as the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts has presented an annual, monthlong event that puts the spotlight on a vintage mansion, inviting visitors to imagine living in the grand space. Prior to the 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.
A La Cañada Flintridge estate that was first showcased by the organization in 1987 returns to the spotlight this year as the 2016 Pasadena Showcase House of Design.
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.
This year’s Showcase House began its run on Sunday, April 17. The house, event restaurant and boutique shops will be open for visitors through May 15.
In these pages you’ll find a historical look at some of the previous owners of the estate, 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 pasadenashow casehouse.org or call (714) 442-3872.
The young adult guest room by Stephanie Leese and Jason Lai brings different styles together with a mix of cultures and fashion in a traditional way.
For the nearly 100-yearold mansion sitting in the hills of La Cañada Flintridge, the April 17 event was another opening and another show.
This elegant Mission Revival home was a Pasadena Showcase House of Design in 1987 when it was owned by Toni Berget, the fourth resident of the 2-acre estate.
Berget, who bought the property in 1963 for $135,000 said in a recent interview that she sold the main house in 1998 for $1.9 million. She sold its guest house on a separate piece of property for an additional $875,000.
This year’s Showcase House is under the direction of Marilyn Chambers Anderson, benefit chair and Gretchen Farmer McNally, president of Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. The property will be open for viewing until May 17.
According to Tim Gregory, “building biographer” and Elegant furnishings with pops of bright color give a dramatic look to the grandparents’ suite and sitting room.
Pasadena Heritage researcher, the house, designed by an unknown architect, was built in 1917 by Pasadena builder Manson Sanford. Its first owner was Leon Riggs. It is believed that Riggs, his wife Julia and their adopted daughter, Helen, wintered here in the California sunshine.
A Feb. 8, 1920 New York Times obituary for the property’s first owner carried the headline, “Death of Leon Riggs Will be Investigated: Wealthy New York Restaurant Owner Supposedly Killed by Los Angeles Car.” The article stated that it was perhaps a street car that had hit Riggs, and he died without regaining consciousness at a Pasadena hospital.
Just days before Riggs’ death, an early February 1920 U.S. Census report shows that living in the Berkshire Avenue house by that time was Scottishborn Alexander Dryburgh, a noted Chicago hotel owner. He christened the estate “Dryborough Hall” and lived there with his wife Jeannie and their daughter Grace Louise for several years.
By 1930, a U.S. Census report shows that William J.Connery, who came from a wealthy Chicago family, had bought the estate and was living at the address with five servants.
Berget, the fourth owner of the house, said Connery told her that he was a silent film director and producer. He recounted that he had many glamor ous parties at the property attended by such luminary celebrities as John Barrymore and Charlie Chaplin.
Connery was also a kind and generous soul, Berget remembers. He kept a couple of cows on the property, and he donated their milk and butter to a Los Angeles area orphanage on a regular basis.
According to Berget, Connery was an antique collector and made many European trips to enhance his collection. She said Connery and William Randolph Hearst, famed newspaper publisher and builder of Hearst Castle, were good friends and often found themselves at auctions bidding against one another.
Connery, who was downsizing after owning the estate for 30-plus years, was eager to sell many of his antique pieces. Berget and her scientist husband, Jimmy, bought several pieces, ranging from a sketch by master artist Rembrandt to some small bronze statues that came from the Herculaneum archaeological site in Italy. Berget remembers that they paid $15 for the Rembrandt sketch.
In 1976, the house recaptured the excitement of old Hollywood when it was the setting for the film “W.C. Fields and Me” starring Rod Steiger, Valerie Perrine and Bernadette Peters. There were other films and TV shows also staged at the house over several years.
Berget said that Connery, after the sale, was a frequent visitor to their Berkshire Avenue home. Often she would find him sitting in his car in the driveway. She would invite him in and he would tell her stories about Hollywood’s early heyday and the fun parties that he would host. He also loved telling her about his trips to Europe for antiques and the treasures he found.
According to Berget, it was a tear-filled day when she and her daughters, Elizabeth and Linda, said farewell to their home of 35 years.
It was especially poignant for Toni because she and her husband considered the place their “dream home.” This was where they brought her infants to after their hospital births and it was also the place where her husband Jimmy passed away in 1971.
The main two-story house, consisting of 16,000 square feet, has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and is complemented by a 2,032-squarefoot two-bedroom/two-bath guest house. The 2 acres also include mature trees, a horse corral, an outdoor barbecue area, pool and spa.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Parking and complimentary shuttle service to the house is at the Pasadena Rose Bowl — Lot I.
Showcase House tickets cost between $35 to $45 and can be ordered by mail, online at PasadenaShowcase.org or by calling (714) 442-3872.
Over the years the success of the Pasadena Showcase House of Design has enabled Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts to make cumulative donations of more than $20 million to support outstanding music and arts programs throughout the community.
