Two Historic Gardens in Pasadena
Winifred Starr Dobyns Estate
Mrs. Harry Gray Estate
Saturday, May 19, 2018
This event provides a rare opportunity to experience TWO historic properties associated with significant figures in architecture and landscape design, both in an unrestored and little-altered state. Expert historians will provide the commentary at both locations.
Winifred Starr Dobyns Garden
Winifred Starr Dobyns, known to garden historians for her seminal 1931 book, California Gardens documenting many of Southern California’s magnificent gardens, was also a garden designer in her own right. A native of Chicago, Mrs Dobyns and her husband Fletcher Dobyns, moved to Pasadena in 1925 where they built a California Mediterranean style house overlooking the Arroyo Seco in the fashionable Linda Vista neighborhood. The house was designed by Joseph Kucera, a local architect, and Dobyns designed the garden.
Recently discovered, both the house and the garden exemplify the themes illustrated in her book: courtyards, patios, loggias, outdoor rooms, balconies, water features, and in this case, a spectacular view across the Arroyo Seco to the San Gabriel mountains. Both house and garden remain largely intact, with few changes since they were completed in the late 1920s.
Mrs. Harriet Gray Estate
The Mediterranean style estate for Mrs. Harriet Gray was designed in 1924 by architects Johnson, Kaufmann & Coate, in collaboration with landscape architect Katherine Bashford. (see Eden, Fall 2013). Bashford's landscape plan for the house featured walled gardens with arched doorways to create intimate spaces within the garden. Originally designed with her signature flower-lined walks, another unique feature is a small outdoor room with a sculpture by Maud Daggett, the "Goose Girl." This is a rare opportunity to see an original Katherine Bashford garden in its original, unrestored state.
10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Winifred Starr Dobyns Estate
11:45 to 12:30: Lunch at Mrs. Harriet Gray Estate
(Please bring your own lunch -- beverages will be provided)
12:30 to 1:30: Mrs. Harriet Gray Estate
Cost: $20 for CGLHS members/$30 for non-members
