FINE FI NE LIVING IN THE GREATER GREA EATER TER ER PASADENA PA PASA SADEN SAD ENA AREA
March 2016
HOME IMPROVEMENTS Get the Most Bang for Your Buck
HISTORICAL HOMES FROM $1 MILLION TO $10 MILLION
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING GARDEN The Plusses of Potted Plants
POP’S POP Duchamp and the Pops at The Norton Simon
NOW OPEN: GLENDALE | BEVERLY HILLS | SOUTH COAST PLAZA VILLAGE | MGBWHOME.COM FEATURING: CARA SOFA, LUCY SWIVEL CHAIRS, YORK ROUND COCKTAIL AND SIDE TABLE, PETRA LAMP, SQUARE WALL SCULPTURE, GLASS KNOT OBJETS, POWERSHAG RUG
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arroyo
VOLUME 12 | NUMBER 3 | MARCH 2016
15
PHOTOS: (Top) Don Lewis; (bottom left) Anne Gibson; (bottom right) Tom Queally, courtesy of Cynthia Bennett and Associates
50
HOME AND LAND
53
15 HISTORICAL HOMES
From a Craftsman bungalow to a Paul Williams estate, this is what you get for $1 million to $10 million in Arroyoland. —By RICHARD CUNNINGHAM
46 POP’S POP A new Norton Simon show traces Marcel Duchamp’s influence on the equally iconoclastic Pop Art movement. —By SCARLET CHENG
50 THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING GARDEN Container gardening brings food, color, health, art, design and native appeal to small spaces. —By BRENDA REES
53 HOME REMODELING Which improvements give you the most bang for your buck? —By BETTIJANE LEVINE
DEPARTMENTS 10
FESTIVITIES L.A. Chamber Orchestra Gala, Oscar-nominated costumes at FIDM, Tuskegee Airmen Fly at the Pasadena Playhouse
11
LEON BING On the street where she lives
19
ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX
56
KITCHEN CONFESSIONS Restaurant women face huge challenges if they want to have a family.
58
THE LIST Swing-era sounds at the Alex, cherry blossoms at Descanso and more
ABOUT THE COVER: Exterior of Paul R. Williams estate in La Cañada Flintridge, photo by Wayne Ford
03.16 ARROYO | 7
EDITOR’S NOTE
Some investors look to real estate as a way to escape the turbulent stock market, but we’re taking a different approach in this month’s Home and Land Issue. Some years ago, I interviewed a Condé Nast shelter magazine editor, who described publications brimming with luscious interiors as “girl pornography.” That sounds about right to me (although that other gender is also welcome to partake, if so inclined). I’m a closeted HGTV watcher, prone to fantasy house-hunting (but enough complaining about the carpet and paint, already. Just fix it!). So this month Arroyo brings you our latest installment in fantasy house-hunting in “Historical Homes: What you get for…,” by Richard Cunningham. The purchase prices are pretty steep, but imagination costs nothing, so have at it! Readers who are already homeowners can find useful remodeling tips in Bettijane Levine’s story about which improvements give you the most bang for your buck. Of course, your choices will depend on whether you’re planning to sell soon or stay and enjoy your investment. But when it comes to the most recommended projects, the fundamental things still apply: kitchens and bathrooms, baby. Horticulturists will want to check out Brenda Rees’ story about a big trend this year — container gardening. Potted plants may be easier to protect in the El Niño storms meterologists are still forecasting for Southern California. But that’s just the beginning: container gardening offers aficionados multiple ways to stretch their creativity. Whether you’re a novice or master gardener, Rees has you covered. —Irene Lacher
EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher ART DIRECTOR Carla Cortez ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Torres PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Rochelle Bassarear, Richard Garcia EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine COPY EDITOR John Seeley CONTRIBUTORS Leslie Bilderback, Leon Bing, Martin Booe, Michael Cervin, Scarlet Cheng, Richard Cunningham, Carole Dixon, Lisa Dupuy, Lynne Heffley, Kathleen Kelleher, Rebecca Kuzins, Brenda Rees, John Sollenberger, Nancy Spiller ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dina Stegon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Lisa Chase, Brenda Clarke, Leslie Lamm ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bruce Haring HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker PAYROLL Linda Lam CONTROLLER Kacie Cobian ACCOUNTING Sharon Huie, Teni Keshishian OFFICE ASSISTANT Ann Turrietta PUBLISHER Jon Guynn 8 | ARROYO | 03.16
arroyo FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA
SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING V.P. OF OPERATIONS David Comden PRESIDENT Bruce Bolkin CONTACT US ADVERTISING dinas@pasadenaweekly.com EDITORIAL editor@arroyomonthly.com PHONE (626) 584-1500 FAX (626) 795-0149 MAILING ADDRESS 50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91105 ArroyoMonthly.com
©2016 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.
03.16 | ARROYO | 9
FESTIVITIES
Anne Carrere
Honoree K. Eugene Shutler and Ann Mulally.
LACO Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, Pat and Sandy Gage
Jacqueline West and Paco Delgado 10 | ARROYO | 03.16
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra painted the Millenium Biltmore Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom in warm pink light Feb. 13 for “La Vie en Rose: An Evening in Paris,” honoring LACO Board Chairman K. Eugene Shutler. More than 300 guests converged on the historical downtown L.A. hotel for LACO’s annual gala, where the entertainment — including performances by can-can dancers and Edith Piaf devotee Anne Carrere — had a distinct French accent. The event, co-chaired by Pat and Sandy Gage, raised $475,000 for the orchestra’s artistic and education activities… Seven former Tuskegee Airmen turned out for the Jan. 31 opening of the Pasadena Playhouse production of Fly, which celebrates their experiences as the country’s first African-American Army Air Corps fighters during World War II. The audience, which included Angela Bassett, gave them a standing ovation…Oscar-nominated costume designers Jacqueline West ( The Revenant) and Paco Delgado ( The Danish Girl) were among the stylish crowd that packed the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising opening of its 24th annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition on Feb. 6. The show of more than 100 costumes from 23 films runs through April 30 at FIDM’s downtown L.A. campus.
A view of the 24th Annual “Art of Motion Picture Costume Design” exhibition, FIDM Museum, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles.
Angela Bassett
The cast of FLY and Sheldon Epps and FLY creators Ricardo Khan and Trey Ellis
PHOTOS: Jamie Pham (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra); Earl Gibson lll (Pasadena Playhouse); Alex J. Berliner (24th annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design)
Can-Can fun at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s (LACO) annual fundraiser
LÉON BING
ON THE
STREET
WHERE I LIVE
–continued on page 12
PHOTO: Gabriel Goldberg
I
made up my mind to move to Pasadena in 1989, shortly after I signed my fi rst book contract. At the time I was living in Silver Lake in a cottage so drenched in charm that I was willing to overlook the owner’s eccentricities. But with the publisher’s advance, I decided to get away from crazy landlords. It didn’t take long to find the perfect place: another one-bedroom cottage, this one built in the late ’20s and maintained in immaculate condition. There were peg-and-groove floors, a wood-burning fireplace, high beamed ceilings and the original octagonal terracotta tile flooring in the kitchen and dining room (complete with French doors leading to a small patio area). A fountain splashed outside my tall living-room windows, and there was a charming arch of mullioned glass panes near the top of the slanted 15-foot ceiling of the dining room, which I decided to use as my office. The rent was $700 a month and dogs were welcome. I signed the lease, called Bekins and started to pack. I lived happily in that small cottage and wrote four books and a number of magazine features there until 2010, when the rent, which had been raised at reasonable intervals and at impeccably fair rates, suddenly zoomed up by $200 a month. My Mister didn’t waste a moment: he moved me, my beloved service dog, Bobbie, and all our stuff into his much larger apartment (large but equipped, sadly, with gray polyester wall-towall carpeting and low ceilings sprayed with a substance that appears to be cottage cheese). But, hey — I was damn happy to be with the Mister and to be made to feel so welcome. Now it’s six years later and we’re looking to buy a condo. Not so easy, it turns out. On a whim, we decided to take a look in downtown L.A. — and I mean the real downtown — you know, Spring Street, Broadway, like that. The first place we saw had a beautiful lobby: marble floors and bronze lighting fi xtures. We were stoked. Then we saw the advertised “loft” — there were wood floors, all right, and one might have been able to see the grain if the years of accumulated dirt were sanded off. The sleeping area faced (by inches) the grubby windowless kitchen, and what few windows there were afforded a riveting view of the brick wall of the adjoining building. The price for this inviting piece of real estate? More than 550,000 bucks. We trudged on. The next place we saw was a former hotel that could easily have been where the Black Dahlia spent her last night on earth. We looked at the rust-stained sinks and shower, the miniscule closet covered with a skimpy length of cloth and silently agreed. Enough. So here we are, back with the polyester and the cottage cheese. But after the beauts we checked out, our apartment looks — well, almost looks — pretty good. Okay, at least better. And the good news? Pasadena is growing. Everywhere you look, and I mean everywhere, there are houses in various states of decrepitude being torn down (three on our street alone) and earth movers, cranes and porta-potties moving in. We
CHARM FARM: The author musing in her quaint Pasadena Cottage 03.16 | ARROYO | 11
LÉON BING
–continued from page 11
just learned that a fairly large condo complex will go up in that space. But the Mister and I have our eyes on a vast three-story Victorian house near Old Pasadena that is in the process of not being destroyed. It’s being renovated, cellar to roof, and sectioned off into spacious condos. One can only hope that the contractors will sand and polish floors that are more than likely parquet, refurbish all those wainscots along the walls and freshen up the crown moldings around the luxuriously high ceilings. Then there’s the jewel of Crown City: Castle Green. I think everyone of us who lives in Pasadena has at least driven past that extraordinary monument built before the turn of the 20th century.
PASADENA IS GROWING. EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK, AND I MEAN EVERYWHERE, THERE ARE HOUSES IN VARIOUS STATES OF DECREPITUDE BEING TORN DOWN (THREE ON OUR STREET ALONE) AND EARTH MOVERS, CRANES AND PORTAPOTTIES MOVING IN. The new places going up are, in the main, condominiums, tall-windowed and balconied. And one can see, sprouting all along Lake Street and Colorado Boulevard, spanking new shops displaying the latest must-haves in trendy fashion. There’s a charming place that sells only hats — and good ones (I got the Mister a fine black fedora there for Christmas) — and always, those two temples of beauty: MAC and Sephora. I think the first time I became aware of the changes was when that big movie theater on the corner of De Lacey and Colorado became (almost overnight, it seemed) a rather large Tiffany & Co. And then I noticed that the myriad of small bookshops along Colorado were disappearing like falling dominos, replaced by yogurt shops and exotic restaurants, a couple of them very good. Still, I miss those dust-moted bookstores with their sagging shelves and unsteady stacks of old Life magazines. But why grumble? Our public library on Walnut still stands, a tribute to 1920s Spanish-style glory — its Christmas tree, reaching proudly up toward the ceiling of the reading room each December, further proof that some things remain constant. And Vroman’s, one of the best book-sellers west of the Strand in New York remains, stuffed with the newest books, reissues of older favorites and pride in its Pasadena authors. The jade-green strip of bas-relief that graces the Colorado-facing walls above the windows is a tribute to Art Deco, and it glides along for at least a half-block, a reminder that this city appreciates beauty — both old and new. So every time I drive past all those newly built condos (some still unfi nished) on Pasadena Avenue, I remind myself that the regrowth, or renewal, or whatever you want to call it is a good thing. And I’m reminded of those Con Ed signs I used to see near open manhole covers in Manhattan. They read: “Dig We Must For A Growing New York.” Those signs seemed to be everywhere. Well, now it’s Pasadena’s turn and, in the timeless words of Yogi Berra, it’s déjà vu all over again. |||| Léon Bing is the author of Do or Die; Swans and Pistols: Modeling, Motherhood and Making It in the Me Generation; Smoked: A True Story of the Kids Next Door; and A Wrongful Death: One Child’s Fatal Encounter with Public Health and Private Greed.
She lives in Pasadena. 12 | ARROYO | 03.16
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H I S TO R I C A L
HOM ES
What You Get For... BY RICHARD CUNNINGHAM
$1 million HOW MUCH: $1,500,000 WHERE: 1255 Morada Pl., Altadena WHAT YOU GET: Four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms SIZE: 3,295 square feet
PHOTOS: Shawn Bishop
PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $455 OVERVIEW: This 1912 two-story Craftsman house was designed by Harold Doolittle, a local engineer, artist and president of the Pasadena Society of Artists, for anti-Prohibition crusader George Coes Howell, who authored The Case for Whiskey in 1928, and his wife, Susan. Classic hardwood floors and millwork have been carefully retained throughout the home: the living room features built-in bookcases, box-beamed ceilings and a wooden inglenook by the fireplace. The dining room has a built-in china cabinet with leaded-glass doors, as well as a built-in buffet and plate rail, while leaded-glass doors open onto the library, which features a fireplace and built-in bookcases on each wall. The kitchen, which was remodeled in 1946, has a cheerful breakfast room. There are three bedrooms upstairs, as well as a smaller fourth room currently serving as an office. Outside, a large patio for entertaining, abutting a vegetable garden, is surrounded by mature landscaping. Attached to the garage is an artist’s studio, brightened by a high ceiling with skylights. CONTACT: Ted Clark of John Aaroe Group, (626) 817-2123 03.16 | ARROYO | 15
H I S TO R I CA L
HOM ES
$5 million HOW MUCH: $4,980,000 WHERE: 1233 Wentworth Ave., Pasadena WHAT YOU GET: Seven bedrooms and six bathrooms SIZE: 6,319 square feet PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $788 OVERVIEW: This 1917 estate built in the Cotswold Revival style earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The Lydia C. Edmands House, named for the wealthy widow who commissioned it, was designed by Pasadena’s other prolific architect-brothers, Arthur S. and Alfred Heineman, who are credited with inventing the motel. The exterior is embellished with a large gable, half-timbers and rolled-roof edges (which called for boiling shingles in linseed oil when the roof was replaced 15 years ago). Inside, the first floor is divided into grand common areas, including a solarium and wood-paneled office, lavishly adorned with woodwork. Other historical details include leadedglass windows, a large Batchelder fireplace and original hardwood floors. The sprawling storybook home, approved for the Mills Act tax reduction, sits alongside a guest house and swimming pool on a .62-acre lot in Pasadena’s historic Oak Knoll District.
PHOTOS: Cameron Carothers
CONTACT: Matthew Berkley at Crosby Doe Associates, (626) 665-3699
16 | ARROYO | 03.16
HOW MUCH: $5,595,000 WHERE: 453 Somerset Pl., La Cañada Flintridge WHAT YOU GET: Five bedrooms and seven bathrooms SIZE: 7,234 square feet PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $773 OVERVIEW: Eminent architect Paul R. Williams (Beverly Hills Hotel, Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills) designed this classic 1927 English Revival estate on more than an acre of land richly populated with mature oaks. The home was extensively but sensitively updated in 2004, retaining historical details like classic hardwood floors, beamed ceilings and leaded-glass windows. The first floor’s common areas include a living room with fireplace, a family room, a grand dining room with a custom chandelier and and a sunroom that offers a 180-degree view of the foothills. The stylish kitchen features a generous cook-top island under a skylight, as well as a walk-in pantry. All bedrooms are on the second floor, including the master suite, which has a massive walk-in closet and fireplace. A stairway leads to a large rooftop deck. An expansive stone patio with a built-in barbecue abuts the backyard, which boasts mountain views, a swimming pool and lighted tennis court. A roomy pool house and 380-square-foot guest house with a Murphy bed and kitchenette provide additional living space; the detached three-car garage complex houses a full gym.
PHOTOS: Top, Wayne Ford; bottom three, Don Lewis
CONTACT: Janice T. McGlashan at Coldwell Banker, (818) 949-5230
03.16 | ARROYO | 17
H I S TO R I CA L
HOM ES
$10 million HOW MUCH: $9,890,000 WHERE: 1905 Lombardy Dr., San Marino WHAT YOU GET: Seven bedrooms and six bathrooms SIZE: 8,734 square feet PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $1,132 OVERVIEW: This stately 1925 San Marino home on a 1.14-acre lot near the Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens is on the market for the first time in 45 years. The sprawling property designed by Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury, local architects behind the Pasadena Museum of History and Pacific-Asia Museum, has a grand foyer two stories high. Besides an elegant living room, formal dining room, family room and kitchen, the first floor includes such historical touches as a cloak room, a parlor, a library, a conservatory and sunroom. All bedrooms are on the second floor. The expansive front lawn is framed by a circular driveway. The lush backyard features a large outdoor dining patio, a pool and spa, a 626-square-foot pool house and a covered pavilion.
PHOTOS: Chris Considine
CONTACT: Janice Lee at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, (626) 943-7303
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arroyo
™
~HOM E SALES I N D EX~
ALHAMBRA ALHAMBRA (NEW) Homes Homes Sold Sold Median Price Median Price Median Sq. Ft. Ft. Median Sq. ALTADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. ARCADIA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. EAGLE ROCK Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. GLENDALE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. LA CAÑADA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SAN MARINO Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SIERRA MADRE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SOUTH PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. TOTAL Homes Sold Avg Price/Sq. Ft.
JAN. ’15 JAN. ’14 N/A n/a N/A n/a N/A n/a JAN. ’15 33 $620,000 1406 JAN. ’15 15 $1,115,000 2221 JAN. ’15 5 $605,000 1413 JAN. ’15 63 $600,000 1491 JAN. ’15 11 $1,175,000 2670 JAN. ’15 77 $615,000 1432 JAN. ’15 4 $2,250,000 2720 JAN. ’15 4 $2,250,000 2720 JAN. ’15 7 $880,000 1884 JAN. ’15 230 $525
2016 HOMES SOLD
NO CHANGE
2016
292
AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT.
jan.
HOMES SOLD
+26.96%
jan.
230
HOME SALES
JAN. ’16 JAN.’15 24 $561,500 $498,750 1518 1320 JAN. ’16 19 $765,000 1640 JAN. ’16 14 $977,000 1853 JAN. ’16 12 $670,000 1189 JAN. ’16 95 $630,000 1446 JAN. ’16 15 $1,555,000 2389 JAN. ’16 109 $612,000 1372 JAN. ’16 8 $1,880,000 2592 JAN. ’16 9 $895,000 2592 JAN. ’16 11 $850,000 1831 JAN. ’16 292 $525
HOME SALES ABOVE RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE PASADENA WEEKLY FOOTPRINT ADDRESS
ALHAMBRA 1203 North Monterey Street 208 Sevilla Court 228 Sevilla Court 201 East Grand Avenue 704 Novelda Road ALTADENA 1585 East Altadena Drive 1784 Midlothian Drive 969 East Mt. Curve Avenue 1969 Allen Avenue 2259 Glen Canyon Road 2749 Lake Avenue 514 Punahou Street 3359 Canyon Crest Road 3087 Fair Oaks Avenue 915 East Poppyfields Drive ARCADIA 1734 Oakwood Avenue 1418 Oaklawn Road 1228 North Baldwin Avenue 1645 Old Oak Lane 538 South 2nd Avenue #B 300 Alster Avenue 818 Camino Grove Avenue 2332 South 4th Avenue 72 Sierra Madre Boulevard 1820 South 1st Avenue 821 Othello Street EAGLE ROCK 1746 North Avenue #46 1955 Escarpa Drive 1549 Silverwood Drive 4610 Corliss Street 1124 Arbor Dell Road GLENDALE 1655 Grandview Avenue 1952 Rimcrest Drive 826 Harrington Road 2322 East Chevy Chase Drive 1740 Cielito Drive 1837 Sherer Lane 2501 Hermosita Drive 3271 Buckingham Road 1483 Belleau Road 3346 Figueroa Street 222 West Kenneth Road 1651 Ramona Avenue 1605 Hillside Drive 3600 Rosemary Avenue 1431 Stanford Drive 1419 Andenes Drive 2604 Montrose Avenue 5211 New York Avenue 426 East Randolph Street 1116 Esmeralda Drive 4011 Altura Avenue 1365 Thompson Avenue 1340 Justin Avenue 2431 Montrose Avenue 840 Calle La Primavera 3748 Los Olivos Lane 1260 Bruce Avenue
CLOSE DATE
PRICE
BDRMS.
SQ. FT.
source: CalREsource
YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE
01/06/16 01/07/16 01/15/16 01/22/16 01/05/16
$1,900,000 $957,000 $897,000 $858,000 $775,000
2 0 0 4 2
1121 0 0 2756 1569
1949
1914 1948
01/21/16 01/25/16 01/21/16 01/06/16 01/21/16 01/27/16 01/12/16 01/26/16 01/21/16 01/04/16
$1,625,000 $1,587,500 $1,055,000 $1,052,000 $1,015,000 $805,000 $800,000 $790,000 $776,000 $765,000
5 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 3
3720 3526 2569 1598 2108 1865 1640 2094 1663 1416
1929 1952 1924 1926 1946 1965 1922 1946 1906 1928
01/21/16 01/27/16 01/14/16 01/29/16 01/22/16 01/28/16 01/12/16 01/06/16 01/22/16 01/14/16 01/19/16
$2,800,000 $2,600,000 $1,685,000 $1,360,000 $1,260,000 $1,180,000 $1,039,000 $915,000 $910,000 $905,000 $850,000
0 4 4 3 0 5 3 3 3 4 4
0 2616 2582 2206 0 2434 1860 2233 1608 1791 1823
1958 1970 1949 1951 1951 1965
01/14/16 01/29/16 01/08/16 01/15/16 01/07/16
$901,000 $865,000 $800,000 $780,000 $772,500
2 3 2 2 4
1708 1943 1137 1056 1719
1940 1956 1950 1923 1952
01/28/16 01/07/16 01/07/16 01/04/16 01/22/16 01/29/16 01/06/16 01/05/16 01/21/16 01/22/16 01/13/16 01/29/16 01/15/16 01/21/16 01/15/16 01/26/16 01/12/16 01/14/16 01/22/16 01/28/16 01/28/16 01/27/16 01/20/16 01/14/16 01/07/16 01/28/16 01/25/16
$2,750,000 $1,795,000 $1,650,000 $1,600,000 $1,570,000 $1,330,000 $1,329,000 $1,310,000 $1,295,000 $1,226,000 $1,150,000 $1,070,000 $1,025,000 $998,000 $962,500 $960,000 $960,000 $953,000 $940,000 $895,000 $892,500 $880,000 $875,000 $860,000 $857,000 $820,000 $820,000
4 4 5 4 3 4 4 3 4 2 4 4 2 3 3 2 6 3 3 3 3 3 3 7 4 5 4
3137 3359 3772 3258 3040 4790 2526 2370 2446 2643 2980 1977 1208 1650 2128 1631 2438 2357 3060 1438 1825 1446 1987 2055 1720 2182 2606
1949 1981 2006 1929 1963 1926 1920 1930 1960 1952 1980 1940 1940 1930 1963 1939 1958 1965 1980 1951 1960 1925 1925 1940 1993 1948 1941
1957 1953 1970
PREV. SOLD
$650,000
11/26/2014
$800,000 $951,000 $675,000 $799,000 $905,000 $455,500 $225,000
04/07/2000 08/25/2014 08/27/2015 11/23/2009 05/12/2015 10/30/2009 03/11/1994
$640,000 $105,000
04/12/2013 12/02/1982
$1,300,000 $2,450,000 $1,680,000 $960,000
08/21/2013 09/18/2013 10/27/2015 12/28/2006
$835,000
07/27/2011
$348,000 $333,500 $755,000
10/29/1993 04/21/2010 11/29/2006
$495,000 $533,000 $255,000 $539,000 $480,000
10/01/2010 04/28/2004 01/30/2002 05/03/2010 07/30/2003
$410,000 $1,625,000 $1,579,000
08/12/1982 12/22/2006 11/30/2012
$1,055,000 $975,000 $630,000 $950,000 $300,000 $350,000 $302,500 $242,400 $768,000 $340,000 $690,000 $490,000 $615,000 $265,000 $890,000 $618,000 $431,000 $765,000 $797,500
11/26/2014 09/20/2013 03/22/2013 02/05/2007 06/12/1985 06/21/1994 06/10/1992 09/23/1994 04/10/2014 04/01/1997 10/27/2004 09/24/2003 04/29/2003 08/10/1994 09/04/2015 11/09/2011 04/18/2003 07/17/2013 12/13/2012
$697,000
05/31/2013
–continued on page 20
The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia and Alhambra. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2016. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly.
03.16 ARROYO | 19
–continued from page 19 ADDRESS
CLOSE DATE
GLENDALE 1426 Fairfield Street 01/13/16 1400 North Pacific Avenue 01/22/16 944 Eilinita Avenue 01/15/16 1312 East Harvard Street 01/13/16 3719 Altura Avenue 01/14/16 1822 Canada Boulevard 01/15/16 1239 Berkeley Drive 01/28/16 3922 Vista Court 01/19/16 3370 East Chevy Chase Drive 01/14/16 LA CAÑADA 4838 Viro Road 01/15/16 01/21/16 1210 Journeys End Drive 5239 Harter Lane 01/08/16 5241 Gould Avenue 01/20/16 261 Starlane Drive 01/29/16 4730 La Canada Boulevard 01/15/16 4939 Angeles Crest Highway 01/20/16 5080 Walmar Avenue 01/08/16 2125 Via Venado Street 01/11/16 5289 Haskell Street 01/21/16 4340 Beulah Drive 01/29/16 265 Starlane Drive 01/08/16 4843 Hampton Road 01/12/16 4329 Purtell Drive 01/20/16 PASADENA 1645 Orlando Road 01/15/16 326 Glen Summer Road 01/08/16 850 Huntington Circle 01/29/16 780 Fairfield Circle 01/04/16 3110 San Pasqual Street 01/05/16 3277 Barhite Street 01/22/16 470 Bellmore Way 01/13/16 1370 North Arroyo Boulevard 01/06/16 381 South Sierra Bonita Avenue 01/21/16 1625 Hastings Ranch Drive 01/15/16 1650 Kinneloa Mesa Road 01/08/16 85 Glen Summer Road 01/22/16 3288 Vosburg Street 01/27/16 669 Arbor Street 01/08/16 590 Linda Vista Avenue 01/12/16 333 Anita Drive 01/04/16 617 South Oak Knoll Avenue 01/12/16 1069 South Los Robles Avenue 01/20/16 1320 North Mar Vista Avenue 01/26/16 1120 North Chester Avenue 01/25/16 840 East Green Street #303 01/27/16 655 Del Monte Street 01/27/16 1550 Atchison Street 01/29/16 615 Eaton Drive 01/29/16 1274 Sinaloa Avenue 01/29/16 116 North Meridith Avenue 01/05/16 3670 Alder Lane 01/28/16 100 Anita Drive 01/05/16 1618 Walworth Avenue 01/27/16 815 North Hill Avenue 01/14/16 424 South Oak Avenue 01/05/16 121 Carlton Avenue 01/07/16 888 South Orange Grove Blvd.#3E 01/22/16 317 Tamarac Drive 01/05/16 772 East Elizabeth Street 01/15/16 1137 Lincoln Avenue 01/13/16 1408 North Hill Avenue 01/15/16 SAN MARINO 1235 Adair Street 01/15/16 01/22/16 1257 San Marino Avenue 1442 Bedford Road 01/15/16 2750 Ardmore Road 01/08/16 2105 Lorain Road 01/15/16 1930 Marino Terrace 01/05/16 1789 Bedford Road 01/29/16 564 Plymouth Road 01/21/16 SIERRA MADRE 410 West Montecito Avenue 01/05/16 01/25/16 678 Manzanita Avenue 762 Valle Vista Drive 01/26/16 380 Foothill Avenue 01/26/16 61 Holdman Avenue 01/13/16 62 East Carter Avenue 01/27/16 SOUTH PASADENA 1603 Hill Drive 01/14/16 01/21/16 408 Mission Street 1311 Oak Street 01/13/16 827 Oneonta Drive 01/12/16 727 Meridian Avenue #V 01/20/16 1010 Sycamore Avenue #210 01/07/16 1901 Hill Drive 01/15/16 2032 Alpha Street 01/29/16 1425 Lyndon Street #E 01/08/16 1723 Hill Drive 01/26/16 20 | ARROYO | 03.16
PRICE
BDRMS.
SQ. FT.
YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE
$799,000 $795,000 $790,000 $784,000 $780,000 $775,000 $752,000 $750,000 $750,000
5 5 4 5 2 2 3 3 3
2319 3009 1550 2201 1646 1556 1344 1670 2402
1937 1926 1956 1910 1961 1947 1928 1988 1958
$1,011,000 $2,200,000 $2,150,000 $1,880,000 $1,775,000 $1,757,000 $1,600,000 $1,560,000 $1,555,000 $1,550,000 $1,388,000 $1,100,000 $1,100,000 $835,000
4 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 3 3 4 3 5 3
1831 3172 4317 2706 2138 3802 3140 2264 2578 2465 2368 1930 2389 1666
1949 1948 1995 1956 1966 1963 1948 1954 1954 1968 1949 1966 1936 1983
$5,020,000 $2,505,000 $2,375,000 $2,340,500 $2,020,000 $2,019,000 $1,750,000 $1,710,000 $1,692,000 $1,498,000 $1,400,500 $1,395,000 $1,325,000 $1,225,000 $1,188,000 $1,175,000 $1,105,000 $1,100,000 $1,050,000 $1,015,000 $1,010,000 $1,010,000 $1,000,000 $960,000 $925,000 $906,000 $895,000 $895,000 $891,000 $883,000 $880,000 $850,000 $849,000 $840,000 $807,000 $765,000 $760,000
7 3 3 4 3 4 5 3 4 3 2 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 8 3 2 5 7 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 3 6 3 2 2 3 3
7134 3767 3306 3604 2580 4311 3471 3426 3189 2479 2506 2301 2058 1971 2400 2385 1700 1979 2832 1841 2193 2584 3359 2402 1216 1404 1929 2094 1667 2003 2024 2156 2029 1807 1404 1655 2786
1976 1939 1928 1925 1948 1995 1929 1953 1932 1965 1950 1947 1957 1964 1970 1939 1921 1954 1911 1915 2006 1922 1924 1938 1924 1908 1955 1949 1912 1921 1930 1965 1960 1949 1940 1953 1923
$3,000,000 $2,880,000 $2,700,000 $1,910,000 $1,850,000 $1,750,000 $1,630,000 $1,220,000
5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3
4070 3503 3523 2692 2457 2492 1697 1437
1926 1941 1936 1928 1938 1958 1953 1925
$1,450,000 $1,305,000 $1,235,000 $1,005,000 $895,000 $848,000
3 3 3 3 4 3
2614 2702 2448 2232 1871 1128
$1,618,000 $1,500,000 $1,050,000 $1,005,000 $905,000 $850,000 $850,000 $850,000 $825,000 $795,000
4 3 4 3 3 2 4 5 4 3
3120 3029 2111 2310 1831 790 1397 2190 1628 1778
PREV. SOLD
$303,000
07/17/1991
$525,500 $450,000
04/23/2009 12/29/2011
$150,000 $662,500 $625,000 $500,000
09/26/1980 03/23/2006 12/28/2007 10/02/2002
$1,875,000 $1,750,000 $1,580,000
11/14/2013 12/01/2009 07/07/2005
$1,500,000 $460,000 $855,000 $1,050,000 $1,137,500
04/11/2011 08/03/2001 05/28/2003 05/04/2015 04/08/2010
$730,000
05/16/2007
$4,200,000 $812,000 $2,239,000 $445,000
09/29/2010 09/29/1989 04/06/2010 07/31/1987
$320,000 $1,050,000 $1,320,000 $900,000 $530,000 $300,000 $1,000,000
08/05/1983 02/09/2015 03/08/2011 07/29/2015 04/27/2001 06/19/1996 03/09/2007
$970,000 $985,000 $365,000 $580,000 $865,000 $328,000
02/16/2007 01/05/2010 08/18/1992 06/16/2003 10/26/2005 04/28/1995
$525,000 $820,000 $975,000 $605,000 $300,000 $264,000 $870,000 $475,000
05/06/2014 04/15/2015 06/18/2013 03/23/2015 03/05/2003 12/24/1997 11/05/2007 10/27/2004
$352,500
11/18/1993
$660,000
06/23/2009
$674,000 $570,000 $185,000
07/26/2006 05/29/2015 03/13/2001
$2,115,000
11/10/2005
$825,000 $282,000 $350,000 $980,000
08/14/2003 01/07/1983 06/30/1986 06/03/2011
1939 1928 1968 1945 1955 1922
$1,150,000 $1,020,000 $184,000 $355,000 $240,000
10/10/2008 05/21/2015 12/14/1978 11/06/1987 01/27/1988
1947 1938 1922 2007 2005 2006 1950 1923 1985 1981
$300,000 $1,400,000
07/21/2010 09/09/2014
$725,000 $830,000 $420,000
02/08/2011 08/17/2007 08/27/2015
$310,000 $628,000
03/29/1989 12/22/2005
03.16 | ARROYO | 21
arroyo ~HOM E SALES I N D EX~
25 - MONTH A N A LY S I S
AVERAGE PRICE PER SQ. FT. - ALL AREAS
HOMES SOLD - ALL AREAS 550
$610K
500
$590K
450
$570K
400 $550K 350 $530K 300 $510K
250
$490K
200 JAN. ’14
JAN. ’15
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’16
ALTADENA MEDIAN PRICE
JAN. ’15
ARCADIA MEDIAN PRICE
EAGLE ROCK MEDIAN PRICE 850K
$
1.5 M
$
750K
$
JAN. ’16
1.4 M
$
700K
$
800K
$
1.3 M $ 1.2 M $
650K
$
750K
$
1.1 M
$
600K
$
700K
$
1.0 M
$
650K
$
900K
$
550K
$
800K
$
500K
$
600K
$
700K
$
450K
$
600K
550K
$
$
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’15
JAN. ’16
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’15
JAN. ’16
JAN. ’14
750K
$
1.9 M $ 1.8 M
$
650K
$
1.7 M $ 1.6 M
$
600K
$
$
$
700K 650K
$
1.5 M 1.4 M
$
550K
$
600K
$
1.3 M
$
1.2 M
$
500K
$
JAN. ’16
PASADENA MEDIAN PRICE
LA CAÑADA MEDIAN PRICE
GLENDALE MEDIAN PRICE 700K
$
JAN. ’15
550K
$
1.1 M
$
450K
$
1.0 M
500K
$
$
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’15
JAN. ’16
SAN MARINO MEDIAN PRICE 3.0M
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’15
JAN. ’16
1.3 M
$
$
1.2 M
$
2.8 M
$
1.0 M
$
1.1 M
$
2.6 M
$
900K
$
2.4 M
$
2.2M
1.0 M
$
900K
$
800K
$
$
2.0M
$
800K
$
700K
$
700K
$
1.8 M
$
600K
$
1.6 M
$
1.4 M
JAN. ’15
SOUTH PASADENA MEDIAN PRICE
SIERRA MADRE MEDIAN PRICE 1.1 M
$
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’16
$
500K
600K
$
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’15
JAN. ’16
500K
$
$
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’15
JAN. ’16
JAN. ’14
JAN. ’15
JAN. ’16
These charts reflect home sales data from January 2014 through January 2016 provided by CalREsource and as reported in the Arroyo Home Sales Index for Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra Madre and Arcadia. Each graph displays the actual data as well as a linear trend line as an overview of activity or price. Data for Alhambra is incomplete, so that market was not included. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly © Arroyo 2016.
22 | ARROYO | 03.16
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ARROYO
HOME & DESIGN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
THE KITCHEN IS NOT JUST FOR COOKING New trend in kitchen designs has expanded the kitchen into an entertaining g area. BY BRUCE HARING 窶田ontinued on page 26 03.16 | ARROYO | 25
—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
–continued from page 25
YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN IT AT EVERY PARTY YOU HAVE EVER ATTENDED. THE HOST GREETS THE GUESTS AT THE DOOR AND EITHER SEATS THEM IN THE LIVING ROOM, DEN, OR PATIO. IT’S WHERE MOST OF AMERICA’S ENTERTAINING IS FOCUSED. But slowly, almost imperceptibly, the guests begin to drift away from that first location. Perhaps it’s mankind’s nature to explore, or maybe it’s the enticing aromas that trigger something in the primal brain. Whatever the cause, most guests will soon wind up in one location - the kitchen. Long considered the heart of the house, today’s kitchens serve as more than mere food preparation areas. They are designed with socializing and cooking performance in mind, allowing the chef (usually the host) to participate in party activities while dazzling the guests with their culinary flair. It is the place where memories are made, friends are toasted, and families come together to enjoy much of what make life good. Thanks to architecture’s trend toward open floor plans, the biggest trend in home design is that the kitchen is now part of the entertaining areas of the house. Thanks to the influence of popular home networks like HGTV, social media like Pinterest, and numerous blogs devoted to architecture, new kitchen designs are stepping out of the comfort zone and becoming fully integrated with everything else a home has to offer. Such an important focal point of the house deserves to be kept in top shape. It’s said that bathrooms and kitchens help maintain or increase the value of any sale. If the appliances are dated, the cabinets worn, and the counter-tops made of some material last seen in a 1950s science fiction movie, buyer ardor cools as they contemplate the additional costs that will bring your kitchen into the 21st century. Thus, it’s important for homeowners to maintain and improve this important part of the home, not only for resale value, but to enhance their current living situation. ASK THE EXPERTS If you’re thinking of updating your kitchen, the first thing to do is sit down and talk with a professional designer or architect. Not only will that save you time and money, but it may inspire new ideas on what’s possible for your living space. Debbie Kowalski, the co-owner of Modern Lighting in Temple City, recommends early planning on the appliances that will go into your new kitchen. “Get a knowledgeable contractor or designer so that all the appliances are specified early,” says Kowalski. “Then the kitchen layout and cabinet details will fit properly.” –continued on page 31 26 | ARROYO | 03.16
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30 | ARROYO | 03.16
—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
–continued from page 26
Even if some of the appliances already in place are in good shape, newer models are more energy efficient and can save money in the long run. Plus, “Often the utility companies or state will offer rebates to help offset some of the cost,” Kowalski says. And, of course, Kowalski is an advocate for good lighting in any kitchen redesign. “LED lighting is a must. It’s important to get the correct color temperature when using LED. The benefits are amazing. Not only will one get great light distribution, but also save in energy usage. And because there is no heat, even air conditioning costs are saved.” The kitchen is so much a part of modern living that many homes are creating secondary working kitchens. “That is a great idea,” Kowalski says. “First, all the mess is out of sight. And because of open floor plans, the kitchen has become part of the entertaining areas of the home. They are beautiful, warm and welcoming.” Kim Gould, the showroom manager at Saxum Tile and Design in Pasadena, says the trend toward open floor plans is now causing –continued on page 35
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PHOTO: Courtesy of Saxum Tile Design Studio
—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
–continued from page 31
many people to extend their kitchens into the living space and make them cohesive. “There are many exciting floor options to choose from that may be used in a living room and a kitchen, such as porcelain planks made to look like wood floors,” Gould says. “These offer the warm colors of wood, but give you the practicality and minimal maintenance of porcelain.” In the Pasadena area, homeowners want classic designs presented in a fresh way, Gould says. “We at Saxum are working with our tile manufacturers to step up to that challenge.” The type of kitchen that is best for you depends on your lifestyle. “Parents of young children, in particular, voice their concern with the maintenance and durability of materials more than others,” says Gould. –continued on page 36
03.16 | ARROYO | 35
—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
–continued from page 35
Riding to the rescue on that concern is innovation by the tile industry. “The industry has presented many products that mimic those that are known to require continuous care. It is amazing how we are able to fabricate products that overall give the same luxury effect of marble, but relieve any concerns over being too porous or fragile.” KEEP IN MIND Finally, there are several classic features of good kitchen design that homeowners should keep in mind if they are contemplating a change. 1. Don’t be afraid of color - While white continues to be the perennial favorite for cabinet colors, gray is the new white to many designers. And a stark combination of black and white is favored by those seeking a sleek, modern look. Soft grey with stained wood makes –continued on page 38
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03.16 | ARROYO | 37
—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
–continued from page 36
a nice accent. And many sinks and cookware are now coming in splashy colors, so keep that in mind when envisioning your space. 2. Think natural - Counter-tops in marble or granite may be expensive, but anything less will risk making a less than favorable impression. Cement and tile are coming up fast in the popularity meters. 3. Storage - You can never have enough places to put the pots, pans, utensils and dinnerware. Multi-tiered shelving and cabinets are popular, and easy pantry access is also considered a key feature for the modern kitchen. 4. Countertops are key - The key to a kitchen’s look and style. While natural stone, quartz and wood continue to be popular, keep in mind that many laminates can mimic the look at a lower cost and provide durability. 5. Don’t scrimp on the sink - It’s an important functional piece of the kitchen, but it’s also a style setter. Sinks now come in a variety of colors and can be cast-iron or stainless steel. 6. Make it work - Kitchens have always been organized around the work triangle, the axis between range, sink and refrigerator. Make sure you and your assistants can comfortably navigate this distance, and have the kitchen designed so that guests don’t have to pass through the work triangle when you’re carrying a heavy pot of hot water. While kitchen renovation can be pricey, the return on investment and enjoyment is always huge, particularly when there’s a party at your place. Just make sure to talk to a professional before embarking on your project. “I think TV makes (redesign) look easier than it actually is,” says Modern Lighting’s Kowalski. “But the good part is that consumers see that it can be done.” ||||
38 | ARROYO | 03.16
ARROYO
SUMMER CAMPS & PROGRAMS PREVIEW SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE IN OUR COMPREHENSIVE SUMMER CAMP LIST.
03.16 | ARROYO | 39
SUMMER
ARROYO PACIFIC ACADEMY FULL DAY, HALF DAY, ARTS, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS Arroyo Pacific Academy will be offering Summer School from June 15 – July 20. July 4th is a school holiday. Class size is limited based on a first-come, first-served basis. Enrichment courses and high school readiness courses are open to seventh and eighth graders. Courses will be offered based on sufficient student enrollment. Ages: 7th thru 12th grade, Dates: June 15-July 20, Times: 8:30am-2:00pm, Tuition: $600$1500, Registration Deadline: May 31, 2016 Arroyo Pacific Academy, 41 West Santa Clara Street, Arcadia (626) 294-0661 kcdeagon@ arroyopacific.org www.arroyopacific.org
BARNHART SCHOOL SUMMER CAMP FULL DAY, ARTS, SPORTS Barnhart School provides the perfect solution to your search for a summer program for your children. Our full day summer camp begins June 13th through June 17th with another round from August 1st-August 12th. We begin our camp experience at 8am and run through 4:30pm. Lunch, snacks, and field trips are provided during the week. Visit us online for more information. Ages: 5-14 years old, Dates: June 13- June 17 and August 1- August 12. Times: 8:00am4:30pm, Tuition: $285 for the whole week. $240 if registered by April 25, 2016, Registration Deadline: June 10, 2016 240 W. Colorado Blvd. Arcadia, 91007 (626) 566-2348 jmorgan@barnhartschool.org www. barnhartschool.org
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF PASADENA FULL DAY, ARTS, SPORTS, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS We offer fun and educational games, activities to prevent summer learning loss, state-ofthe-art computer centers, recreational swimming, swim lessons, field trips, sports and athletics, free breakfast and lunch, and much more! Ages: 6-18 years old, Dates: Monday, June 6 to Friday, July 29, Times: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am-6:00pm, Tuition: $75 (tuition assistance available) for ages 6-12. Teenagers, ages 13-18, are free, Registration Deadline: First come, first served (starting May 1) until cap is reached. Slavik Branch, 3230 East Del Mar Blvd. Pasadena 91107 (626) 449-1953 Mackenzie-Scott Branch, 2020 North Fair Oaks Ave. Pasadena, (626)798-3925 Administration (626) 449-9100 info@bgcpasadena.org www.bgcpasadena.org
CAMP SHI’INI FULL DAY, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS, OUTDOOR ADVENTURE CAMP Camp Shi’ini is a 5-week Native American themed day-camp in Pasadena. Activities include horseback riding, canoeing, archery, swimming, hiking, arts & crafts, a month-long treasure hunt, and more! Campers are picked-up from home in brand-new 2016 camp vans. Camp Shi’ini was established in 1947 and has a remarkable 6:1 camper-to-counselor ratio! Ages: 4-13 years old, Dates: Monday June 20, 2016 – Friday July 22, 2016 (5 weeks), Times: 9:15 am – 3:45 pm (Extended care is 8:00 am – 5:00 pm), Tuition: $2,435 (for 5 Days per Week), $1,595 (for Monday/Wednesday/Friday only), $925 (for Tuesday/Thursday only) Registration Deadline: First-Come, First-Served 1768 East Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104 (626) 922-0945 camp@shi-ini.com www. campshi-ini.com
CHILD EDUCATIONAL CENTER’S SUMMER EXPLORATION CAMPS FULL DAY, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, SPORTS, SPECIAL NEEDS The CEC’s nine-week Exploration Day Camp offers themed activities, field trips, arts and crafts, science, and sports. Each week includes at least one field trip and a visit from a special guest. Specialty camps include Descanso Discoveries, Horse Camp, and before- and aftersummer school care for Assistance League of Flintridge and Pasadena Educational Foundation. Children swim at the Caltech pool, play outdoors, and participate in indoor activities. Ages: Children entering 1st-7th grade, Dates: June 6-September 2, Times: 7am-6pm, Tuition: 5 days: $408; 3 days: $267; 2 days: $193, Registration Deadline: June 6 140 Foothill Blvd. La Canada, CA 91011 (818) 354-3418 cec@ceconline.org ceconline.org
40 | ARROYO | 03.16
CITY OF SAN MARINO CAMP LACY FULL DAY, HALF DAY, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, SPORTS Experience a fun and enriching summer with Camp Lacy! We offer an exciting blend of activities and experiences for children entering K-8th grades. Under the guidance and supervision of experienced staff, campers learn new skills, build self-confidence, and establish new friendships. Ages: K-8th grade, Dates: June 6- August 6, Times: Half Days - 8am-1pm, 1pm-6pm, Full Day- 8am-6pm, Tuition: Check our Spring Guide for Details, Registration Deadline: One week prior to desired day 5160 Pasqualito Dr., San Marino, CA 91108 (626) 403-2200 recreation@cityofsanmarino.org www.ci.san-marino.ca.us
CLAIRBOURN SUMMER ADVANTAGE FULL DAY, HALF DAY, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, SPORTS, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS Now enrolling preschool through sixth-grade students! The Preschool & Kindergarten Programs are designed to help young students be confident, successful learners. The 1st-6th Grade Advantage Program offers over 30 academic, developmental, and creative workshops. Give your child an advantage today! Dates: June 20 to July 15. Register by May 15. Ages: Preschool to 6th Grade, Dates: June 20 to July 15, Times: 9:00 to 3:15* (varies with program selection), Tuition: (varies with program selection – rates are published on brochure at www.clairbourn.org/summer, Registration Deadline: May 15, 2016 8400 Huntington Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91775 (626) 286-3108 jhawes@clairbourn.org http:// www.clairbourn.org/summer
COLUMBIA COLLEGE HOLLYWOOD SUMMER HIGH SCHOOL FILM, WRITING AND ACTING CAMPS FULL DAY, ARTS If you’re a High School student with a passion for Film Production, Film Visual Effects, Acting, Creative Writing or other areas of the Digital Arts, and you’re looking for a program where you can pursue your creative talent and also earn college credits, Columbia College Hollywood’s High School programs are right for you. Ages: 15-18 years old, Dates: Various beginning July 6, 2016 and ending August 13, 2016, Times: Monday thru Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, Tuition: $1,995 to $2,595 depending on program selected, Registration Deadline: May 1, 2016 18618 Oxnard Street, Tarzana, CA 91356 (818) 345-8414 workshops@columbiacollege.edu www.columbiacolege.edu
CRESTVIEW SUMMER ACADEMY OFFERED BY PARKER-ANDERSON ENRICHMENT FULL DAY, HALF DAY, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, SPORTS, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS Crestview Summer Academy, offered by Parker-Anderson Enrichment, welcomes students entering grades K-6. For six weeks of summer, we provide activities that enthuse, educate and excite! We offer flexible schedules to allow students to take advantage of a wide variety of offerings which can fit into their unique summer schedule. Ages: 5-12 years old, Dates: 6/20-7/29, Times: 8am-6pm, Tuition: $185/workshop, Registration Deadline: June 19th 140 Foothill Blvd, La Canada 91011 (818) 249-5599 la@parker-anderson.org www.parkeranderson.org
DESTINATION SCIENCE THE FUN SCIENCE DAY CAMP FOR CURIOUS KIDS 5 - 11 YRS! FULL DAY, NATURE & SCIENCE DS kids have “Aha!” moments of creativity and discovery while building and experimenting with astonishing gadgets and fantastic gizmos. We make STEM learning an adventure! 2016 Topics: Robot Challenge Science Camp, Roller Coaster Science Camp, Amazing Superhero Physics Science Camp, Space Quest Science Camp! Ages: 5-11 years old, Dates: Opens June 18th through August 12th, Times: 9am to 3pm Extended Care is Optional, Tuition: $339-week, Registration Deadline: Open Multiple Locations! (888) 909-2822 info@destinationscience.org destinationscience.org
HIGH POINT ACADEMY: GOLDEN SUMMER OF FUN AND ENRICHMENT FULL DAY, HALF DAY, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, SPORTS, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS Summer Enrichment: High Point hosts a variety of academic and enrichment classes that offer the chance for children to explore technology and science, play sports and games, review academics, create artistic masterpieces, make new friends, and have fun! New offerings include: Music and Musical Theater, STEM / STEAM, French, Kids Zumba. Pre-Summer Fun, Science, and Exploration Camp which focuses on having a great time with science, games, activities, as well as enjoying the local sites and culture. High Point Academy’s Vex Kits and Minecraft Mods Camp is for students with experience in robotics and the original Minecraft game. Ages: Enrichment Camp-K-8, Pre-summer-1-6, Vex & Minecraft-4-6, Dates: Enrichment Camp- June 27-July 22, Pre-summer-June 13-24, Vex & Minecraft- July 5-July 22, Times: Enrichment Camp- 8:00am-6:00pm, Pre-summer- 8:00am-5:00pm, Vex & Minecraft- 8:00am5:00pm, Tuition: Enrichment Camp- $200 per class, $150 reg fee, Pre-summer- $675, Vex & Minecraft- $750, Registration Deadline: June 27, 2016 1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road, Pasadena, CA 91107 (626) 798-8989 ext. 46 ssisson@highpointacademy.org www.highpointacademy.org
– continued on page 42 03.16 | ARROYO | 41
SUMMER CAMPS & PROGRAMS PREVIEW – continued from page 41
INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT ACADEMY FULL DAY, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS Academy provides students in Kindergarten through 8th grade with advanced enrichment classes that promote exploration and application of knowledge. Courses provide compelling content and appropriate challenges taught at a flexible pace with small classes by highly qualified, dedicated professionals. Ages: K-8th grade, Dates: June 13, 2016-July 1, 2016 & July 11, 2016-July 29, 2016, Times: 3 weeks, 5 x week (M-F), Tuition: $525 (1), $1,000 (2), $1450 (3), $1900 (4/full day); Financial Aid available, Registration Deadline: June 6, 2016 (626) 403-8900 ieagifted@educationaladvancement.org http://educationaladvancement. org/programs/iea-academy/academy-specifics/
INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT EXPLORE FULL DAY, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS IEA’s EXPLORE offers a unique opportunity for high-potential secondary students to learn about working in a variety of professional settings. Externs advance their skills through the pursuit of knowledge, involvement in research, and exposure to learning experiences. Each participant grows intellectually and personally, while making pertinent and lasting connections with their mentors and peers. Ages: Students currently in 9th, 10th or 11th grade, Dates: Session 1: Monday, June 13-Friday June 24; Session 2: Monday, June 27- Friday, July 8 (with July 4th off); Session 3: Monday, July 11-Friday, July 22, Times: Full Day, Tuition: $650 per session; Financial Aid Available, Registration Deadline: April 22, 2016 Sites throughout Greater Los Angeles (626) 403-8900 ieagifted@educationaladvancement. org http://educationaladvancement.org/programs/iea-explore/apprenticeship-specifics/
INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT YUNASA OVERNIGHT, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS Geared toward the unique needs of gifted children, while offering all the enjoyment of a traditional summer sleep-away camp, Yunasa provides a combination of traditional camp activities and special workshops designed specifically to help gifted children learn more about themselves as they develop greater awareness and self-acceptance. Ages: 10-14 years old, Dates: June 19-26; July 30-August 6, Times: Week long sleep away camp, Tuition: $1,600. Financial aid available, Registration Deadline: April 1, 2016 Camps are located in Colorado and Michigan, (626) 403-8900 ieagifted@educationaladvancement.org http://educationaladvancement.org/programs/yunasa/specifics/
ITENNIS KIDS SUMMER CAMP FULL DAY, HALF DAY, SPORTS iTennis Summer Camps are designed for players of all abilities and include lots of fun, exercise and camaraderie! Morning tennis instruction by Certified Pros supplemented with afternoon match play or off-site recreation including laser tag, bowling, golf, swimming and more! Rose Bowl, South Pasadena, Arcadia and South El Monte locations. Ages: 6-16 years old, Dates: June 6 thru August 26, 2016, Times: 9:00-4:00 pm Monday thru Friday, Tuition: $425/wk. Full-Day or $260/wk. Half-Day, Registration Deadline: 15% discount available thru April 30, 2016 920 Lohman Lane, South Pasadena, CA 91030 (323) 258-4178 summercamp@i-tennis.com www.i-tennis.com
JUSTINE SHERMAN’S SUMMER FUNDAMENTALS HALF DAY, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS, OUTDOORS Looking to boost your child’s reading, writing, and math skills this summer? JSA offers Summer FUNdamentals, a 4 week academic day camp with evidenced-based instruction in decoding, spelling, reading comprehension, written language, and mathematical reasoning and calculation. Sign up for all five hours for an amazing package discount. Ages: 5-12 years old, Dates: July 11th – August 5th (4 weeks M-F), Times: 8am-1pm, Tuition: Super early bird tuition - $2,500 (100 hours instruction), Registration Deadline: Super Early Bird Registration April 1st 2016/ Early Bird Registration June 1st 55 Auburn Ave. Ste. A, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 (626) 355-1729 justine@justineshermanslp. com http://justineshermanslp.com/education.php
PASADENA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL FUN IN THE SUN/SPORTS CAMP/MUSIC ACADEMY FULL DAY, HALF DAY, ARTS, SPORTS, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS, MUSIC PCS summer fun includes day camp adventures with awesome field trips with “Big Yellow House”, virtual travel exploration with Passports to Adventures, plus Cougar Sports Camp for kids entering 5th thru 8th grade, and instrument instruction at the Music Academy. Programs for preschoolers, 2 to 5 years, and kids starting TK/Kindergarten in the fall can jump start their learning at Kinder Camp. Ages: 2 years to 13 years (preschool to 8th grade), Dates: June 13th- August 5th, 2016, Times: Preschool, Kinder Camp & Big Yellow House: 7am to 6pm (with options for half days in preschool & Kinder Camp), Passports to Adventures: 9am-12pm, Cougar Sports Camp: 8am – 12pm, Music Academy: varies, Tuition: Ranges from $125 to $325 per week depending on camp and program, Registration Deadline: Varies by program. See information on website. 1515 N. Los Robles Avenue, (626) 791-1214 sallen@pasadenachristian.org www.pasadenachristian.org
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SUMMER CAMPS & PROGRAMS PREVIEW – continued from page 42
PEF SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAM HALF DAY, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, SPORTS, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS The PEF Summer Enrichment Program is 5-weeks long offering 100 classes across 5 Pasadena locations for students grade K-12. The classes mix academic subjects with creative hands-on projects taught by some of the best PUSD teachers, and will inspire students for the upcoming school year ahead. Ages: 5-18 years old, Dates: June 13-July 14, Times: 8:00 am- 12:00pm, Tuition: PUSD students: (K-8 grade) $420, (9-12 grade) $250; Non-PUSD student: (K-8 grade) $500, (9-12 grade) $300, Registration Deadline: May 27, 2016 Program is located at 5 PUSD campuses: Don Benito, Jackson, McKinley, San Rafael, and PUSD Headquarters, (626) 396-3625 pefsummer@pasedfoundation.org www.pased.org/ summer
PERFORMING ARTS WORKSHOPS FULL DAY, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS, MUSICAL THEATER, GUITAR, FILMMAKING, STAGE F/X MAKEUP, MAGIC, PHOTOGRAPHY & ROCK THE MIC. Voted LA Parent Magazine’s Best Summer Camp! Spend your summer days in any of PAW’s award- winning Camps: Musical Theater, Guitar, Rock the Mic, Filmmaking, Magic, Stage F/X Make-up, or Photography Camp! The ultimate “Arts” experience from rehearsal to performance. Make friends and lifelong memories. Camps for ages 5-15. Ages: 5-15 years old, Dates: One & Two Week sessions from - June 13 to August 19, Times: Doors open at 7:30am. Camp Hours 8:45am to 3:00pm. Extended Day offered until 5:00pm, Tuition: $365 for one week sessions. $645 for two week sessions, Registration Deadline: Registration now open and available until all camp spaces are taken. Camp Held at - Neighborhood Church 301 N. Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91103 (310) 827-8827 performingartsla@aol.com www.PerformingArtsWorkshops.com
PROJECT SCIENTIST FULL DAY, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS, GIRLS ONLY, STEM Would your daughter aged 4-12, benefit from a community of like-minded girls that enjoy exploring through the sciences and celebrating their accomplishments, then Project Scientist is a place just for her! Surrounded by brilliant STEM professionals, your daughter will be inspired and provided the tools to reach her highest potential. Ages: Girls 4-12 years old, Dates: June 20, 2016 to August 5, 2016, Times: 8:30 to 5:30, Tuition: $725, Registration Deadline: May 31 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasadena, Ca 91125 (704) 313-9118 info@projectscientist.org https://projectscientist.org
SUMMER AT LA SALLE 2016 FULL DAY, HALF DAY, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, SPORTS, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS Another school year is drawing to a close, but our outstanding summer faculty has proposed a wide variety of summer courses and camps to keep you engaged and active. We offer camps and courses in Visual and Performing Arts, one and two-week enrichment workshops, academic advancement and remediation, and our new series of Adventure Camps. Whether your goal is to write more cogently, dance more elegantly, or speak more persuasively, we have something for you. Ages: Grades 5-12, Dates: June 20-July 21, Times: Full day: 8:00am to 3:00pm, Half day: times varies, Tuition: Varies depending on the camp and/or course. See our website for more information, Registration Deadline: Begins in March 3880 East Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107 (626) 696-4371 josick@lasallehs.org www.lasallehs.org
THE SECOND CITY COMEDY CAMP FULL DAY, ARTS Our summer comedy camps attract students from all over the world! No previous experience is needed. Each day campers rotate thru Improv, Sketch Comedy, and Musical Improv. Camp ends with a free show where the students show off their new skills in improv, sketch comedy, and musical improv! Ages: 8-19 years old, Dates: Camp #1: June 6-10, Camp #2: June 13-17, Camp #3: June 20-24, Camp #4: June 27-July 1, Camp #5: July 5-8, Camp #6: July 11-15, Camp #7: July 18-22, Camp #8: July 25-29, Camp #9: Aug 1-5, Camp #10: Aug 8-12, Camp #11: Aug 15-19, Times: Mon-Fri 9am-3:30pm, Tuition: $350, Registration Deadline: Can register at any time as long as theirs space available. 6560 Hollywood Blvd. LA, CA 90028 (323) 464-8542 scla@secondcity.com secondcitysummers.com
THE WEBB SCHOOLS SUMMER PROGRAMS OVERNIGHT, ARTS, NATURE & SCIENCE, ENRICHMENT AND ACADEMICS The Webb Schools Summer Programs take advantage of our incredible facilities, topnotch faculty and commitment to experiential learning. Our programs in entrepreneurship, engineering, digital arts, leadership and paleontology promise an immersive, enriching summer experience. Students will live alongside peers from around the world and have an unforgettable summer! Ages: 12-18 years old, Dates: July 8-July 29, Times: 10-day and 3-week overnight sessions, Tuition: $2500-4725, Registration Deadline: Rolling admissions 1175 West Baseline Rd. Claremont, CA 91711 (909) 482-5214 summer@webb.org/summer www.webb.org/summer
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POP’S POP A new Norton Simon show traces Marcel Duchamp’s influence on the equally iconoclastic Pop Art movement, both heralded in 1960s Pasadena. BY SCARLET CHENG
MANY THINK OF POP ART AS A NEW YORK INVENTION, BUT THE ICONOCLASTIC MOVEMENT HAS ROOTS RIGHT HERE IN PASADENA, WHICH HOSTED POP’S FIRST-EVER MUSEUM SURVEY. NEW PAINTING OF COMMON OBJECTS WAS MOUNTED IN 1962 AT THE FORMER PASADENA ART MUSEUM, THEN HOUSED IN THE GRACE NICHOLSON MANSION ON NORTH LOS ROBLES AVENUE. THE SHOW INCLUDED EIGHT ARTISTS, MOST OF WHOM WOULD BECOME INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS — JIM DINE, ROBERT DOWD, JOE GOODE, PHILLIP HEFFERTON, ROY LICHTENSTEIN, EDWARD RUSCHA, WAYNE THIEBAUD AND ANDY WARHOL. IT WAS CURATED BY WALTER HOPPS, WHO HAD ORGANIZED ANDY WARHOL’S FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION ON THE WEST COAST THE YEAR BEFORE, AT L.A.’S FERUS GALLERY, WHICH HOPPS CO-FOUNDED. IN 1963 HOPPS STAGED ANOTHER ART WORLD COUP AT THE PASADENA MUSEUM WITH THE MARCEL DUCHAMP RETROSPECTIVE, A SALUTE TO ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE SHOW HELPED TO RESURRECT DUCHAMP’S THEN-MORIBUND ART CAREER, WHICH HAD BEEN ECLIPSED Bottlerack, 1963 (replica of 1914 original), Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), readymade bottle-dryer of galvanized iron, 29 1/4 x 16 in., Norton Simon Museum, gift of Mr. Irving Blum 46 | ARROYO | 03.16
BY HIS DEDICATION TO CHESS.
Brillo Boxes, 1969 version of 1964 original Andy Warhol (1928–87), acrylic silkscreen on wood, each box: 20 x 20 x 17 in., Norton Simon Museum, gift of the artist
Making use of PAM’s archives and collections, a new exhibition at the Norton Simon Museum, Duchamp to Pop, presents Duchamp as the godfather of the Pop Art movement. (The Pasadena Art Museum evolved into by the Norton Simon Museum in 1975.) Featured are some 40 artworks by Duchamp and some of the artists he inspired, including the eight from the New Painting exhibition. While the show includes works from the French-born artist’s 1963 retrospective, pieces acquired later will also be on display. “The show is meant to illustrate Duchamp’s influence on Pop Art,” says Tom Norris, curatorial associate at the Norton Simon. Duchamp stoked controversy in the early 20th century by elevating common objects to works of art — notoriously putting a bottle dryer and a ceramic urinal on display and signing them. Bottle Dryer is in the Norton Simon show, a replica of the 1914 original he purchased in a Paris department store; it was a metal rack designed for placing empty, cleaned bottles to allow them to dry. He called this type of work a “readymade” and, in a 1953 interview, he said creating it allowed him to “reduce the idea of aesthetic consideration to the choice of the mind, not to the ability or cleverness of the hand.” That was a startlingly new definition of what constitutes art, a thread picked up and expanded by the Pops. While most of the works by the other artists in the show are not readymades, they play off images of everyday objects intrinsic to Pop. There are several screenprints of Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s soup cans — the ones with the unmistakable
Campbell’s Soup I: Black Bean, 1968 Andy Warhol (1928–87), silkscreen on paper, 35 1/2 x 23 1/8 in., Norton Simon Museum, museum purchase
Annie, Poured from Maple Syrup, 1966, Edward Ruscha (b. 1937), oil on canvas, 55 x 59 in., Norton Simon Museum, gift of the Men’s Committee
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SScrewdriver, Scre Sc crewddri rive ive verr, 19 1962, 1962 62, Jo 62 JJoe oe G Goode oodde (b. ((bb. 1937), 1937) 193 7), lithograph, 7) lilith thogra tho graph ph, h artist’s ar artitis tist’ tt’ss proof, prooff, 20 20 1/2 1/2 x 15 15 in., in., Norton in No Norto rton t n Simon Museum, museum purchase
brand lettering in the red upper band, and the variety noted in the lower white band. There will be a stack of his Brillo Boxes, made of silkscreened wooden boxes, created for the Andy Warhol show that inaugurated the museum’s current Colorado Boulevard location in 1970. There’s a Robert Dowd painting of a $5 bill with some of the letters missing, and an Ed Ruscha painting of the logo for the cartoon strip “Annie,” recast as Annie, Poured from Maple Syrup with the letters looking as if poured from that sugary liquid. And Norris points to Wallace Berman’s Untitled collage from 1967, which shows a grid of hands holding images of people — baseball players, musicians, bicycle riders. “It draws on common culture, things we all recognize, and brings it to the art world,” he says. Duchamp himself (1887–1968) was a naturalized American artist who didn’t care for art movement labels, although his juxtaposition of images and wordplay aligned him with Surrealism, and he is generally thought to be the father of Conceptual Art. His most famous works in the show include an “assisted readymade,” where he made a slight change to a still-recognizable object. It’s a small print of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, something you might see at the Louvre Bookstore — except Duchamp has drawn a jaunty mustache and goatee across her lips and chin. He was fond of such silly jokes, sometimes throwing sexual innuendo into the mix. Here it takes the form of the work’s title — L.H.O.Q.Q. which, when spoken aloud in French, sounds like “She has a hot ass” in that language. In the early 1960s Joe Goode worked as an installer at the Pasadena Art Museum; he had a room in Walter Hopps’ house and paid for it partly by working there. He was happy to be included in the New Painting show and also to meet Marcel Duchamp when the artist was in town for his own show. Duchamp to Pop includes Goode’s 1962 lithograph Screwdriver. “That’s the fi rst lithograph I ever did,” Goode says in a telephone interview. The L.A.–based artist, whose work is in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art, is still actively making art and having shows (his next opens this spring at Peter Blake Gallery in Laguna Beach). “I did that lithograph in homage to Jasper Johns, I knew of his work through pictures, from when I fi rst got out of art school,” adds Goode, who attended Chouinard Art Institute in downtown L.A. for a year-and-a-half. Asked why he depicted a screwdriver, Goode says, “Don’t ask me, it was just something I was looking at.” He notes that “It’s a screwdriver screwing something in… that couldn’t be screwed in, so it was a bit Surrealism.” Does he think Duchamp influenced him? “I think so, but not in a direct or overt way,” he says. “It was mostly his attitude. It was a sense of freedom — that you could do anything you want. At this time Abstract Expressionists were very dominant in the art world; it was pretty difficult to get accepted doing anything else at the time, but we just kind of ignored it, and did what we wanted to do.” |||
Duchamp to Pop opens on March 4 at the Norton Simon Museum and runs through August 29. The museum’s hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission costs $12, $9 for seniors; members, students and youth 18 and under are admitted free. The museum is free to all from 5 to 8 p.m. the first Friday of every month. The Norton Simon is located at 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 449-6840 or visit nortonsimon.org.
L H O O Q or La Joconde, L.H.O.O.Q. Joconde 1964 (replica of 1919 original) original), Marcel Duchamp, Duchamp colored reproduction heightened with pencil and white gouache, edition of 35, No. 6 (Arturo Schwartz edition), 11 3/4 x 7 7/8 in., Norton Simon Museum, gift of Virginia Dwan 48 | ARROYO | 03.16
Two related shows about Marcel Duchamp will also be on view at commercial galleries: Julian Wasser’s photographs of Duchamp in Pasadena will be on view at Robert Berman Gallery at Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, until March 5; and A Marcel Duchamp Collection, a landmark private collection being placed on sale, continues through May 14 at L.A. Louver gallery, 45 N. Venice Blvd., Venice.
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Vertical stackable planters can minimize moisture loss.
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING
GARDEN Container gardening brings food, color, health, art, design and native appeal to small spaces. BY BRENDA BRE REND NDA A RE REES ES
WHY BOTHER TO SHRINK A GARDEN FROM A FIELD TO A VESSEL? THAT DEPENDS ON THE GARDENERS — WHETHER THEY’RE ARTY, BACK-TO-NATURE, HEALTH-CONSCIOUS, FOODIE OR DESIGNMINDED. THERE’S A CONTAINER GARDEN TO PLEASE THEM ALL. At fi rst blush, container gardening may seem like the lazy man’s way to landscape (No digging! No weeding! No heavy garden tools!), but the nuanced constraints and commitment necessary to successfully grow plants in a pot involve more than meets the eye. (See sidebar.) The numerous joys, however, can propel lethargic and timid green-thumbers off the couch to tend to herb trays in the kitchen, prune potted citrus trees on the patio or enjoy perfume from blooming buds in nearby colorful containers — even when El Niño storms are raging outside. Big or small, gardening is good for the soul. And micro-gardener Anne Gibson says it was instrumental in saving her life. “After my cancer diagnosis, I wanted to regain my health by feeding myself the best possible food,” says Gibson, an avid container gardener/blogger/lecturer based in Australia (TheMicroGardener.com). She’d grown up eating fresh fruits and vegetables from an acre of land in the country, but now in the city, she was completely surrounded by concrete. “I had to put on my design head and see other possibilities, like vertical growing, bracketing over fences, clever use of containers,” she says. “It’s a challenge that continues to inspire me.” Container gardening is often born out of necessity. Gibson, who’s lived in 16 different places since she left home, says gardening in containers allows her to take her plants with her when she moves. “They feel like they are an extension of my family, like my kids,” she observes. “Some are easy and others are high-maintenance.” For beginners, Gibson suggests planting lettuces, arugulas and radishes because “they sprout quickly and are satisfying to watch grow.” Also consider green onions, which are flavorful all year long, and microgreens of broccoli and baby lettuces, very popular these days. –continued –c cont ontinu inued ed on page page 52 52
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Edible flowers in a quirky colander with built-in drainage holes
DOWNSIZING THE GARDEN Horticulturists agree that successful container gardening involves controlling the plant’s environment, so be prepared to follow a regimen of watering, feeding and rotating containers, whether indoors or out. Gardening experts Dave Bare, Anne Gibson and Pete Veilleux share practical tips on how to get the most out of small-space gardening: THE CONTAINER • Use reused or upcycled containers, suggests Gibson, who would “rather spend dollars on seeds and plants.” Avoid plastic pots, but food-industry plastic buckets may be okay — just make sure they aren’t plastics numbered 3, 6 or 7 (check the bucket’s bottom for the Resin Identification Code, indicating its level of toxicity). Thoroughly check used containers for lead, asbestos or any other possible chemical WHYcontaminants. BOTHER TO SHRINK A GARDEN FROM A FIELD TO A VESSEL? containers canTHE heatGARDENERS up considerably — root damage, requiring THAT• Metal DEPENDS ON —causing WHETHER THEY’RE ARTY, more water and rusting more quickly; likewise, black and dark-brown pots under SoCal’s summer sunHEALTH-CONSCIOUS, can cook plants, Bare notes. FOODIE OR DESIGNBACK-TO-NATURE,
PHOTOS: Anne Gibson
A repurposed watering can (top) and boot with succulents
• PorousTHERE’S containers (like unglazed terracotta or clay) TO helpPLEASE cool soil and draw ALL. out MINDED. A CONTAINER GARDEN THEM watercontainer to preventgardening rotting, explains Gibson, adding that plants those Atexcess fi rst blush, may seem like the lazy man’s way toinlandscape containers “need No more frequent watering.” (No digging! Nowill weeding! heavy garden tools!), but the nuanced constraints and commitment necessary to successfully grow plants in a pot involve more than meets the • Also, think about this: when the time comes to remove the plant and/or change eye. (See sidebar.) soil, willjoys, the container’s shape make this an and easytimid or disastrous process? off Thout e numerous however, can propel lethargic green-thumbers the couch to tend to herb trays in the kitchen, prune potted citrus trees on the patio or Finally,from consider how portable needcolorful that container to be. soil gets very enjoy •perfume blooming buds inyou nearby containers — Moist even when El Niño but you can add rolling casters for easier movement. “If you are gardening stormsheavy, are raging outside. balcony or porch,isyou may to consult an engineer,” says Gibson. “If you Bigonorasmall, gardening good forneed the soul. And micro-gardener Anne Gibson says stability in saving a windyher or life. exposed position, a heavy container couldto beregain just the it waswant instrumental “After my cancer diagnosis, I wanted thing.” my health by feeding myself the best possible food,” says Gibson, an avid container gardener/blogger/lecturer based in Australia (TheMicroGardener.com). She’d grown upSOIL eatingAND freshFERTILIZERS fruits and vegetables from an acre of land in the country, but now in the city, she was completely surrounded concrete. “Ipotting had to put • “Don’t spare any expense and getby high-quality soil on — my youdesign cannothead use soil and see other possibilities, vertical growing, bracketing over fences, clever usefor of from your yard,” says like Bare, who recommends adding perlite (volcanic rock) containers,” says. “It’s a challenge that continues to inspire me.” proper she drainage. Container gardening is often born out of necessity. Gibson, who’s lived in 16 different places since she left saysover gardening in containers allows herand to take her • Organic fertilizers arehome, preferred chemical or commercial ones, Gibson plantsadvocates with her when moves. ey feelyour like own they liquid are an fertilizers extension using of my compost family, like savingshe money “by“Th making and my kids,” she observes. “Some are easya and others are high-maintenance.” vermicast [worm manure] from worm farm.” For beginners, Gibson suggests planting lettuces, arugulas and radishes because “they •sprout and are satisfying to watch Alsocounters considerVeilleux, green onions, “Mostquickly California native plants don’t needgrow.” rich soil,” but many which are flavorful allgiving year long, andan microgreens baby lettuces, very experts suggest natives extra boostofbybroccoli adding and nutritious mycorrhizal w popular these fungi to days. containers.
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Pete Veilleux’s Lewisia cotyledon has been flowering nonstop for four years.
Potted succulents at Descanso –continued from page 51
WATERING • Drainage holes help plants breathe. “Excess water must be able to escape or plants will drown,” says Gibson. Consider a saucer underneath the container if your pot is on concrete or timber to avoid discoloration. • Large containers with multiple plants generally require less frequent watering, but weigh more. Small containers “need a lot more attention,” says Gibson. • Don’t assume that El Niño rains will automatically water your outdoor containers adequately. “Think of the diameter of your pot and what it was exposed to,” says Bare. “They will get watered but not as much as plants in the ground.” • “Allow [California natives] to dry out completely between waterings and try to use captured rainwater if you can when you do water,” says Veilleux. “Sticking your finger in the soil is the best way to gauge what your plant needs.” DESIGN 101 • Gibson explains that clever containers and collections can provide a focal point and create a theme. “Collections of unusual containers grouped together can help unify a garden,” she says, adding that wheelbarrows make great moveable containers. “Urns can be turned sideways and planted with flowers spilling out. Small succulents can be planted in watering cans.” — B.R. 52 | ARROYO | 03.16
To make it even easier for culinary horticulturists, Oakland-based Back to the Roots (BackToTheRoots.com) offers pre-packaged containers of herbs and mushrooms that can be placed anywhere. These ingenious and convenient little cans and boxes are perfect for small spaces, but you will need to repot them once they grow bigger. The company also sells a tabletop self-cleaning fish tank to hydroponically grow your choice of plants in a closed-loop ecosystem. Ready for a bigger challenge? Try huckleberry, a California native plant that “actually grows faster in containers than it does in the ground,” says Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds Nursery, also in Oakland. He adds that an outside collection of the fruit-bearing shrub can produce a “nice natural privacy screen; they do get six feet tall.” And trees may be able to top the height restrictions of conventional fencing. (When employing trees or tall plants as a living fence, make sure they don’t block sight lines of traffic or confl ict with local building codes.) Veilleux rattles off other natives perfect for containers: succulents Dudleya gnoma (munchkin live-forever) and Dudleya hassei (Catalina live-forever). “Put three colors of Mimulus aurantiacus (sticky monkey flower) together in one container; the new ‘jelly bean lemon’ color is fantastic,” he says. And Veilleux’s container of Lewisia cotyledon (cliff maids) has been flowering nonstop for four years. Yes, four years of constant blooms. “They do have to be fertilized regularly, a small amount every three months,” he says. In addition to the color and variety, Veilleux says some container plants can be used for home security. “Put a yucca plant like our Lord’s candle [Hesperoyucca whipplei] under a window to deter would-be thieves,” he says. “They grow eight to 10 feet and have sharp pointy leaves.” While the sky is the limit for creative container gardening, there are some general rules of thumb for design, says Dave Bare, display horticulturist at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Groupings should be geometrical — triangular or ball-shaped, for example — and odd-numbered, he says. “Create a distinct form and then accentuate from there,” he says; in big containers he uses foliage as a foundation, then adds floral spots for color interest. “Marry the plant to the container,” he advises, adding that a 1/3-to-2/3 ratio of plant to pot produces an aesthetically pleasing proportion. Despite all the added tasks involved in container gardening, potted plants can make your backyard or indoor landscape design more complex and interesting. “Different plants have different requirements, but they can be side by side when they are in containers,” says Bare. “Versatility is what makes container gardening very appealing.” ||||
PHOTOS: Top, Pete Veilleux; left, Brenda Rees
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HOME REMODELING Which improvements give you the most bang for your buck? BY BETTIJANE LEVINE
THERE ARE GENERALLY TWO KINDS OF HOMEOWNERS: THOSE WHO PLAN TO STAY “FOREVER” AND THOSE WHO PLAN TO SELL EVENTUALLY. HOME IMPROVEMENTS ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR BOTH, ALTHOUGH OFTEN FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.
Some contemporary high-end kitchens hide appliances behind sleek cabinetry.
PHOTO: Meghan Beierle-O’Brien, courtesy of HartmanBaldwin Design/Builda
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PHOTO: Meghan Beierle-O’Brien, courtesy of HartmanBaldwin Design/Builda
People who plan to stay are most concerned with enhancing the comfort and livability of their home. Those who plan to move want only the most cost-effective updates that will boost their profit when they sell. Both groups traditionally call in architects, contractors, interior designers — or perhaps just a handyman and some painters — to discuss proposed improvements. The savviest homeowners also call in trusted Realtors who know the local market, and which home features will entice potential buyers in the area to pay the highest price. Arroyo Monthly did an informal survey of Realtors and design/build firms to find out what’s really important to residents here, where there are so many historic and architecturally important homes, so many different economic strata and diverse cultures. It was an eyeopening exploration. Seventy-five years ago, the common wisdom was that kitchens and bathrooms would return the most bang for people’s home-improvement bucks. So much has changed since then, but apparently not that. Realtors still say kitchen and bathroom updates are the best investment a homeowner can make to recoup costs and elevate the sale price. Those two rooms are also reported to be the most popular home improvements among those who couldn’t care less about recouping costs, because they don’t plan to sell or, occasionally, because money just isn’t an issue. They’re loaded. In The National Association of Realtors’ 2015 report on the most cost-effective home improvements, kitchens and bathrooms came out on top, with hardwood floors and wood
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PHOTO: Meghan Beierle-O’Brien, courtesy of HartmanBaldwin Design/Builda
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PHOTO: Meghan Beierle-O’Brien, courtesy of HartmanBaldwin Design/Builda
Today’s spa-like bathrooms may have rainshower heads, magnifying mirrors and special lighting.
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decks just below. Attic conversions were also deemed valuable, even though they’re expensive and require permits, because they add square footage, which increases both usability and sale price. Most upscale design/build firms don’t concern themselves with resale value. Their clients tend to request homes built from scratch or remodels of already elegant residences to update and enhance the luxury quotient. Consultant Jesse Emmert of HartmanBaldwin Design/Build, which has offices in Pasadena and Claremont, makes an important distinction between current kitchen and bath updates and those of previous decades. “Until fairly recently, kitchens and bathrooms were designed purely for function,” Emmert says. Kitchens were for cooking; bathrooms for hygienic ablutions. Updates to those rooms were meant simply to improve the functionality by adding the most modern equipment. That has changed dramatically, Emmert says. “Nowadays the kitchen and bath have new importance” on aesthetic and social levels, he continues. “Kitchens are gathering places, where families and guests tend to congregate” for private family time as well as for entertaining. The kitchen has expanded to include the look and feel of a comfortable living space, he says. The fi rm’s team of architects, contractors and designers is frequently asked to “open up the kitchen and create a connection between it and the surrounding spaces,” to enlarge and enhance it to include a family or great room and allow for access to the outdoors. “In terms of resale,” he says, “if you’re just updating surfaces, like putting in granite counters and new cabinetry, you’re not doing yourself any favors. A buyer could come in and say that’s all great, but we still have to knock down two walls.” HartmanBaldwin designs kitchens with “different zones,” Emmert says. “It’s not the old triangular theory. We create a zone for food prep, one for cooking and one for clean-up. It’s aesthetically pleasing and something clients find valuable.” Other trends Emmert has noted: “We are getting more requests for separate climate-controlled wine storage, and almost everybody wants a walk-in pantry if we can accommodate that in the design. If not, there are some great options for pull-out pantries which are full-height cabinets with storage systems that can be viewed from both sides when the drawers are pulled out. Nothing is hidden from view.” Today’s bathrooms are no longer just functional either, he says. “Clients are requesting a more spa-like environment and experience,” where individuals can relax, unwind, and luxuriate. “Some may want a stand-alone tub that’s a sculptural focal point. Others request a large shower area with various shower heads, perhaps a rainshower and hand-held shower and steam shower.” A steam shower is a separate nozzle that emits steam and keeps the user warm and comfortable while bathing. Some clients want it all, Emmert says, and the trick is to convey the look and feel of a luxury spa within the existing space or by reconfiguring the room, utilizing adjoining areas, such as closets or dressing rooms. Cynthia Bennett, a Pasadena pioneer in upscale remodeling and custom-home building, was an early proponent of open-concept living; she designed some of the fi rst great-room kitchens that open onto outdoor spaces as far back as 1981. “Right now we’re redoing an entire house for a couple, creating a family room out of a bedroom that was adjacent to the kitchen, and opening that whole new area up to the garden,” she says. “We create French doors where there were none before, so the whole area is more spacious, and the space has a flow from the kitchen to the family room or entertainment area and then to the outdoors. I think that’s the most valuable remodel that one can do right now, because the kitchen becomes part of a space where people can sit down and enjoy time together.” Second in importance, she says, is the master suite, with a more spacious and luxurious bath. “Baths aren’t just functional any more, but places to have a chat and take things easy, a place couples can retreat to.” And clients are again asking for vanities, where they can sit and do their makeup and other tasks. “You know those
PHOTOS: Tom Queally, courtesy of Cynthia Bennett and Associates
were originally built into bathrooms or adjoining dressing rooms in the ’20s and ’30s, and for years we’ve been taking them out of homes because nobody wanted or used them. Now they’re coming back. We’re being asked to build them into bathrooms.” She says it’s often done by lowering a section of the counter. “Say you have a 34inch–height countertop. You would lower the vanity portion to 30 inches. If it’s a long counter, it might be in the center, with drawer space and a chair. Or it might be off to the side.” She says that special lighting and magnifying mirrors are de rigueur for such installations, which are much like what you’d find in five-star hotels. “We’re getting more and more requests for this, from men and women, and we’re putting them in almost every bathroom we do now.” Bennett says the bottom line is more space. “People want a larger space for their combined kitchen and living area, and a larger space for their master suite. They want flow and openness rather than all those separate rooms.” Her typical clients don’t ask about resale value because “they’re not planning on going anywhere,” but she believes it’s important to know that what you are doing is cost-effective if and when you do decide to sell. Realtors, of course, have their fingers on the pulse of buyers’ preferences in the current market. Lin Vlacich, of Sotheby’s International Realty in Pasadena, says clients often ask for her opinion on their remodeling plans — even if they’re not planning to sell. As a general rule, she tells them to “do what’s good for you and your family, and what seems sensible and meets your needs. Live in it and enjoy it. What’s good for you may well be what’s good for a potential buyer in the event you decide to sell. I sit with them and discuss their style, and the value of their home. Some improvements are appropriate for a very expensive home and inappropriate for a less expensive one. For example, if you have a modest, 1,400-square-foot home, don’t put in a killer kitchen that’s over the top unless you really want that and plan to stay in the house. If you do it, just know that you won’t get all those dollars back.” For clients who are planning to sell, there are plenty of changes they can make that have a big impact and don’t cost a fortune. “Kitchens and master baths have been the best updates for decades, and they still are highest rated,” Vlacich says. “Update kitchen faucets, sink and cabinet hardware, for example. If countertops are laminate, update them with man-made countertops that look like stone but are less expensive. And be creative with paint, which can make a huge difference. A new coat can work wonders in the kitchen. And if you can open the kitchen space, creating better flow to the family or living area, that’s very desirable.” She adds that “having a pantry is still important, but giant laundry rooms aren’t as important as they once were because there are now standard-size stackable washers and dryers” that take up less space. Vlacich adds that master-bath updates should correlate with the size of the master suite and the home value. In high-end remodels, a large double shower with steam is desirable. Excellent choices for almost all master baths are a seamless glass shower enclosure and drop-in double sinks with storage space underneath. “That’s not terribly expensive, although done properly it can look expensive and can make a big difference at resale,” she notes. Irina Netchaev, broker/owner of Pasadena Views Real Estate Team in San Marino, says she’s been in business since 1984, and the renovations considered most worthwhile haven’t changed. “It’s always kitchens and bathrooms that are top of the list,” she says. And do her clients ask her what remodels are cost-effective? “The smart ones do. We discuss when they’re buying what they want to do to make the home most livable, and whether they can get their money back when they resell.” She says the kinds of updates she recommends depend upon a few different things. “One is the price range. If it’s an average two- or three-bedroom home, maybe in the $800,000 price range, we are not going to be doing Subzeroes or Viking. But there are a lot of great stainless-steel appliances out there, so many options that are relatively inexpensive to put in and give the kitchen a nice fresh look. You can maybe restain the cabinetry or repaint — paint it white, and that refreshes it immediately. You also look
These days, homeowners and buyers want “flow and openness,” says designer-builder Cynthia Bennett, who helped pioneer open-concept living.
at the architectural style and character of the homes. I’ve seen beautiful Craftsman homes where someone has totally pulled out the original kitchen and put in a brand new ultramodern room. People who want to buy a Craftsman want those original features left in. The kitchen has to be in keeping with the rest of the house. I saw a beautiful two-story Craftsman bungalow in northwest Pasadena. The outside looked great, but open the door, and the floors were shiny laminate. They had painted over the Batchelder fi replace with white paint.” Hardwood floors are very important in Pasadena, as they are nationally, Netchaev says. “And I’m also seeing a lot of attic conversions, which are very desirable. A lot of our older homes, especially those built in the ’20s and ’30s, have sizable attics. It’s an expensive undertaking and must be done with permits, but I think the homeowner would recover the entire cost — if not more.” Whatever remodeling they do, Netchaev advises her clients “not to wait. Do their remodels now, and enjoy living with them before you sell. It’s really frustrating, and we see it all the time — we go in, give the seller a list of what we’d like them to do, and when it’s done we stage the property and then they don’t want to leave. They say, ‘We love this home — why didn’t we do this before?’” ||| 03.16 | ARROYO | 55
KITCHEN CONFESSIONS
Family-Friendly Restaurant women face huge challenges if they want to have a family. BY LESLIE BILDERBACK
L
assumption. It happens to all expectant mothers. But I’m a very professional person, ast month I was out to lunch celebrating a birthday with my collegiate and I only broke into tears once, when the smell of the long-simmering chicken daughters.Uncharacteristically, they asked me to tell them stories about the stock was more than I could bear. Nothing challenges morning sickness like olden days. Specifically, they wanted to know how it was for me as a working steaming meat juice. mom. They were hearing talk from political candidates about paid family leave and I still needed to work, because life requires two incomes these days. Luckily for were curious about how I had fared. I pointed out that we were all sitting there me, I looked more fat than pregnant and was able to get another job fairly quickly. together, which indicates that I fared pretty well. I worked for another couple months, until it was physically They knew I had always worked, but they wondered how I impossible, at which point I quit. Th is was bad form on my managed in the early years. More to the point, they wondered part, as it required the restaurant to rehire and retrain for a how I felt about it. Was it a sacrifice? Did I feel I was missing position they thought they had covered. But I felt I had no out? Was I resentful? The truth is, I had forgotten all about choice. that time, choosing to remember the great parts of raising a My case is not unusual. Restaurant women are routinely family, not the crappy ones. forced to compromise their professional ethics and standards, The restaurant industry makes it next to impossible for or change career direction completely to accommodate a women to start families. Being an expectant restaurant chef family. The successful female restaurant chefs I know were was hard, stressful and infuriating at times. Unlike a desk unwilling to do that, and don’t have children. (My chef job, restaurant work makes serious physical demands that friends with kids are all men.) Procreation is a personal are hard on a pregnant lady. Kitchens are hot, bags of flour choice, to be sure. But no one should be forced to leave their are heavy, customers are demanding and sympathy is rare. chosen field because they also want to be a mom. Being on your feet is hard enough when you’re knocked up. I told myself that pregnancy and motherhood offered the But the duration of a restaurant shift — 10 to 12 hours or same set of challenges for millions of years. There was no more — becomes unmanageable at a certain girth. And the maternity leave for hunter-gatherers, or Carolingian serfs, speed with which you are required to move in a restaurant or Aztec farmers. They just did what they had to do, and so is similarly affected. Imagine Chris Christie trying to did I. It was only when I started comparing my experience compete as an American Ninja Warrior. To make it worse, to women in other modern industries that I got a little the inability to perform at your peak is intolerable to the unirked. That I justified my situation by comparing myself to pregnant contingent. Expectant mothers are treated as weak, hunter-gatherers — rather than accountants, or teachers, or lazy, untrained and unprofessional — regardless of their policewomen — is pretty messed up. pre-pregnancy performance. If you find this hard to believe, Most employers offer some sort of paid maternity leave. Google “pregnant chef ” for a slough of horror stories. Some enlightened bosses also offer family leave, so everyone With my fi rst child I kept my condition to myself, worked can share in the joys of sleepless diaper-changing. But not until my employer figured it out, then was let go. My boss, the food industry. Few restaurant employers will tolerate, a woman, claimed I was emotionally unstable. Given the Bilderback and brood much less accommodate, a pregnant worker. If you have cyclone of hormones I was battling, this was a reasonable
56 | ARROYO | 03.16
trouble completing tasks because you are suddenly much larger, you will be replaced. If you need to leave the line (say, to relieve your morning sickness, cry for a minute because your world is about to change irrevocably or pee 30 times a day), you will be replaced. If you need to take three months off to recuperate and tend to a newborn, you will be replaced. Especially in fine dining, there is always someone waiting in the wings for your low-paying, high-stress job. When faced with inevitable time off for childbirth and child-rearing, employers are unable to hold these positions open until the mothers return. There is no pool of restaurant subs. There is no cook temp agency. Once the kids are born, it doesn't get any easier. I worked with one chef who brought her kid to work for a couple hours each day because she couldn't afford childcare on a line cook’s salary. She usually parked him in our pastry department, where we would let him play with scraps of dough, or make him crack flats of eggs, which we would later strain free of shells. When he got out of control we’d trap him in a giant stockpot, which we creatively renamed “the playhouse.” (Note to parents — language in a professional kitchen is not conducive to child-rearing. Also, knives and fi re are only recommended for ages 8 and up.) To raise my family I traded the world of fine dining for a job in culinary education. I got a short maternity leave for kid No. 2 and was able to work until the birth because the job was much less physically demanding. When she was born I took on a part-time schedule, so day care was short and affordable. My husband’s secure government job certainly played a huge part in my ability to be flexible. Teaching was not part of my professional plan, and it was not where I wanted to be in my career. But that’s how the cookie crumbles and, in the grand scheme, I was luckier than most. The sad fact is that a restaurant pregnancy has become, for many, the place where dreams of a culinary career go to die. We can clearly connect the dots of this problem to the much-discussed lack of women in high-ranking food-service positions. Such discrepancies in rank and pay are hardly surprising, given the culinary world’s antimom culture. So what is to be done? We can shrug and capitulate. We can complain and commiserate. We can discard our dreams of parenthood. We can toss our dreams of management and ownership, and take less demanding positions. Or we can demand that the food industry get on an even footing with other industries by pushing for an overhaul of policy and culture. The proposed $15 minimum wage is a sign that the industry is capable of change. Why not ride this momentum and encourage something more meaningful? A mere 40-hour work week should not be seen as a sign of weakness. Time off for illness and childcare should be easy and encouraged. Mandatory paid family leave should not bankrupt the boss. (Incidentally, these policies would benefit all employees, not just those with a bun in the oven.) And so, I’m issuing a challenge to all high-profi le chefs and restaurateurs with a voice and a platform. Can we get you to stand up for families? Can we get you to go out on a limb for universal job security? Can we give pregnant cooks the same consideration given to the “revolutionary” idea of not tipping? Can we all pretend, just for a few minutes, that men get pregnant? Now, how would we handle it? Does that answer your question, kids? |||| Leslie Bilderback is a certified master baker, chef and the author of Mug Meals: More Than 100 No-Fuss Ways to Make a Delicious Microwave Meal in Minutes. She lives in South Pasadena and teaches her techniques online at culinarymasterclass.com.
03.16 | ARROYO | 57
THE LIST COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER Music, Math and Magic at Caltech
home landscapes in the U.S. and abroad,
March 4 — In
Chelsea Flower Show. He’ll also talk about
“MatheMagic,”
his favorite new and underused plants for
internationally
Southern California and the importance
including highlights of London’s prestigious
acclaimed magician and educator
of integrating edible plants into an
Bradley Fields uses illusions to show the
existing landscape. Admission is free; no
history, power and beauty of math in
reservations are required.
a 7 p.m. performance at Beckman
March 12 and 13 — The North American
Auditorium. Tickets cost $25, $10 for youth
Clivia Society and Southern California
high school age and younger.
Clivia Club present the annual Clivia Show,
March 6 — The Caltech-Occidental
with dozens of outstanding plants com-
Symphony Orchestra, composed of
peting for top honors, from 10:30 a.m. to
students at Caltech and Occidental
4:30 p.m. both days. The juried show also
College, JPL staff and local residents,
includes plant sales, an auction, informal
performs at 3:30 p.m. at Caltech’s Ramo
talks and a chance for guests to vote for
Auditorium, under the baton of Robert
the show’s People’s Choice award. Free
Allen Gross. Admission is free.
with Huntington admission of $25, $21 for
March 12 — Caladh Nua performs
seniors and students 12 to 18 and $10 for
traditional Irish music with contemporary
youth 4 to 10; members are admitted free.
accents, on banjo, fiddle, guitar, bodhran,
The Huntington Library, Art Collections
tin whistle, button accordion and vocals,
and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151
at 8 p.m. at Beckman Auditorium.
Oxford Rd., San Marino. Call (626) 405-2100
Admission costs $10 to $35.
or visit huntington.org.
Beckman Auditorium is located on Michigan Avenue south of Del Mar Boulevard, Pasadena. Ramo Auditorium is located at 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 395-3295 or visit events.caltech.edu.
CHERRIES BLOSSOM AT DESCANSO GARDENS
Art Night Returns to Pasadena March 11 — Some 20 Pasadena-area arts and cultural
March 12 and 13 — Descanso Gardens’ annual Cherry Blossom Festival features two days of activities: a cherry tree sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., an
institutions (some usually closed in the
Swing–Era Sounds at the Alex
origami workshop from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., June Kuramoto on the koto from 1 to
evening) open their doors for free during
2:30 p.m., and George Abe plays the Japanese flute from 3 to 5:30 p.m., Patina
the biannual Art Night Pasadena. Venues
March 5 — Artbeat
offers tempura and sushi for purchase in the Camellia Lounge from 10 a.m. to
include Armory Center for the Arts, Art
Inc. presents “In the
6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Free with Descanso admission
Center College of Design, Norton Simon
Mood,” spotlighting
of $9, $6 for seniors and students and $4 for children 5 to 12; children 4 and
Museum, Boston Court Performing Arts
19 performers in period costume in a fully
younger are admitted free.
Center, Kidspace Children’s Museum,
staged tribute to Glenn Miller, Tommy
Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge. Call
Light Bringer Project, Lineage Performing
Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra
(818) 949-4200 or visit descansogardens.org.
Arts Center, Pasadena City College, Offramp Gallery, Pasadena Museum of
and the music of “the greatest generation” of World War II. Performances are at
interviews, union speeches and accident
No. 9 in A major for Violin and Piano,
History and Pasadena Public Library’s
2 and 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25 to $69.
reports from the mining region of Pennsyl-
Rachmaninoff’s Sonata in G minor for
Central Branch. Look for performances
The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N.
vania at the turn of the 19th century. The
Viola and Piano and Sarasate’s “Concert
and art exhibitions from 6 to 10 p.m. Free
Brand Blvd., Glendale. Call (818) 243-2539
performance starts at 7:30 p.m. at Walt Dis-
Fantasy on Carmen.” Tickets cost $56.
shuttles will transport guests between the
or visit alextheatre.org.
ney Concert Hall. Tickets cost $29 to $129.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections
many venues. The evening is sponsored
Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111
and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151
by the City of Pasadena’s Cultural Affairs
S. Grand Ave., L.A.. Call (213) 972-7282 or
Oxford Rd., San Marino. Call (800) 557-
Division.
visit lamc.org.
2224 or visit cameratapacifica.org.
Visit artnightpasadena.org.
Multimedia Show of Miners’ Music March 6 — The Los
on a Can All-Stars join forces to present
Camerata Pacifica Serves up Sonatas
Gardening, Plants Signal Spring at the Huntington
Children’s Chorus Gala Salutes Star Wars Composer
“Music of the Coal Miner,” a program
March 8 — Chamber
March 10 —
March 16 — The Los
of songs, hymns and spirituals by Pulitzer
music ensemble
Horticultural trend-
Angeles Master Chorale and the Bang
Angeles Children’s
Prize–winning composer Julia Wolfe, per-
Camerata Pacifica presents its March
spotter Nicholas Staddon (left) offers an
Chorus (LACC) presents its Gala Bel
formed against a multimedia backdrop
concert at the Huntington at 7:30 p.m.
Englishman’s view of the new American
Canto fundraiser at 6 p.m. at the
by visual artist and scenic designer Jeff
Works include Ysayë’s Sonata No. 2 in A
garden in a garden talk and sale at 2:30
Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown
Sugg. The text brings together oral histories,
minor for Solo Violin, Beethoven’s Sonata
p.m. He will discuss fresh ideas shaping
58 | ARROYO | 03.16
–continued on page 61
03.16 | ARROYO | 59
60 | ARROYO | 03.16
THE LIST
ANIMAL TALE RECALLS IDYLLIC ENGLAND March 19 and 20 — Parson’s Nose Reader’s Theater Series presents the Kenneth Grahame classic, The Wind in the Willows, adapted by the company’s founder and artistic director, Lance Davis. This allegorical animal tale is set in an idyllic England before World War I. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Lineage Performing Arts Center. Tickets cost $5 to $25. Lineage Performing Arts Center is located at 89 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 403-7667 or visit parsonsnose.com.
–continued from page 58
L.A. Oscar-winning film composer John Williams receives the Bel Canto Award for his contributions to the arts and LACC. Honorees also include supporters Eileen and Ken Leech, and LACC’s founding
Pasadena Symphony Performs Mozart and More March 19 — The
artistic director, Rebecca Thompson.
Pasadena Symphony Classics season
Pasadena’s Jane Kaczmarek hosts the
continues with a salute to Mozart in two
event. Tickets cost $375.
performances at Ambassador Auditorium.
The Millennium Biltmore Hotel is located at
The orchestra, conducted by Nicholas
506 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Call (626) 793-0173
McGegan, performs Mozart’s Symphony
or visit lachildrenschorus.org.
No. 40, along with Beethoven’s “Egmont” –continued on page 62 03.16 | ARROYO | 61
THE LIST
HOPPIN’ HAPPENINGS AT THE L.A. ZOO March 25, 26 and 27 — The L.A. Zoo hosts its annual Big Bunny Spring Fling from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Children can pet a live rabbit and enjoy face-painting, crafts, photos with Big Bunny and musical entertainment. Free with regular zoo admission, except for the photo opportunity, available for a nominal fee. Admission costs $20 for visitors ages 13 to 61, $17 for those 62 and older and $15 for children 2 to 12; children under 2 and Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association members are admitted free. The L.A. Zoo is located at 5333 Zoo Dr., Griffith Park. Call (323) 644-6001 or visit lazoo.org.
–continued from page 61
Overture and Philip Sawyers’ Cello Con-
which also includes works by Mozart,
certo. David Lockington is featured cellist.
repeats at 7 p.m. March 20 at UCLA’s
Concerts start at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets cost
Royce Hall. Ticket prices start at $27.
$35 to $110.
The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N.
Ambassador Auditorium is located at
Brand Blvd., Glendale.
131 S. St. John Ave., Pasadena. Call (626)
March 24 — The orchestra’s Baroque
793-7172 or visit pasadenasymphony-
Conversations series highlights LACO
pops.org.
Principal Oboe Allan Vogel as host of a 7 p.m. performance of Bach’s “Branden-
62 | ARROYO | 03.16
Chamber Orchestra Brings Bach and Winds Symphony
berg” Concerto No. 2 in F Major and Con-
March 19 — The L.A.
Batjer, violin; Andrew Shulman, cello; Patri-
certo in C Minor for Violin and Oboe. The program also includes works by Telemann. LACO artists performing are Margaret
Chamber Orchestra performs the world
cia Mabee, harpsichord; Jeffrey Kahane,
premiere of local composer Gernot
harpsichord; Claire Brazeau, oboe; David
Wolfgang’s “Sinfonia Concertante” for
Washburn, trumpet; and David Shostac,
four winds, featuring LACO Principals
flute. Ticket prices for the Zipper Concert
David Shostac, flute; Allan Vogel, oboe;
Hall performance start at $57.
Kenneth Munday, bassoon; and Richard
Zipper Concert Hall is located at the Col-
Todd (above), recently retired horn. The 8
burn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Call
p.m. program at Glendale’s Alex Theatre,
(213) 622-7001 or visit laco.org. ||||
03.16 | ARROYO | 63
Photo by Alexander Vertikoff Lic.653340
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