Pasadena Heritage is one of the best preservation and architecture advocacy organizations in the southland. Prior to having to work so often on weekends the past several years, I even used to docent for their special events from time to time.
I recently had the pleasure to go on their spring driving tour and was pleased to see that it was as inspiring and enjoyable as ever. You'll get to see some of the most extraordinary homes, opened to view thanks to the generosity of their owners who believe in the organization's mission.
Contrary to what many may believe, these architecture and preservation organizations are not anti-modern-development; they exist to preserve the integrity, character and scale of our cultural and urban neighborhoods. Preserving the character of our urban environments, small or large, is of vital importance. If you need a reminder, take a look online someday at some of the brutal, bleak, grim-looking apartment complexes, businesses and civic gathering areas that exist in certain authoritarian regimes and imagine reading your Yelp reviews ensconced in a few of those.
The Pas' Heritage staff is friendly and knowledgeable and always ready to help. The open houses were varied and the homeowners so generous to allow people to troupe through and admire exquisite design, historic to contemporary.
Thank heavens for GPSs ..sometimes the tours are walking tours, other times, there is a fair amount of driving. I was grateful that online and upon check-in you are given a clear, detailed map of where the sites on the tour were located because my GPS malfunctioned a few times and without that hardcopy map, I would not have found a couple of the sites.
Funding for these vital organizations is always an issue; more these days than ever. I love arts and architecture tours. While some are well-meaning, reliant on so many volunteers, some have been less "together" than others. This particular group is very consistently professional. They've been around for so long that, if my recent experience is true of their latest offerings in general, they still have their flow and logistics down very well. I'd highly recommend monitoring their website, getting involved and attending some of their events. You won't be disappointed. read more