Free tours of Tournament House, the operating headquarters for the Tournament of Roses® Association, which oversees the annual Rose Parade® and the Rose Bowl Game®, will conclude for the year at the end of August. The last tours of 2015 will be offered, at no cost, through the month of August with the last tours scheduled on August 27 at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Reservations are not required except for groups of 15 or more.
Located at 391 S. Orange Grove Blvd., the house was once the home of chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. and his wife, Ada. After Ada’s death in 1958, the Wrigley family presented the property to the city of Pasadena, with the request that it become the base of operations for the Tournament of Roses. The Wrigley family had long enjoyed the Rose Parade as it unfolded just beyond their front yard.
Guided tours allow visitors to see the 21-room Italian-Renaissance-style mansion designed and built by architect G. Lawrence Stimson and his father George W. Stimson. Tournament of Roses volunteers from its Heritage Committee, well-versed in the organization’s history as well as in the details of the house itself, conduct the tours.
The interior of the house features richly paneled rooms, inlaid marble floors and an ornate molded plaster ceiling – a design element that Stimson would later become famous for creating. Displays related to Rose Bowl Games, Rose Queens and Royal Courts, Grand Marshals and Tournament Presidents also are part of the décor.
Groups of 15 or more may call (626) 449-4100 for reservations for the remaining tour dates.
The Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that annually hosts the Rose Parade®, the Rose Bowl Game® and a variety of associated events. Nine hundred thirty-five volunteer members act as ambassadors of the organization and contribute upwards of 80,000 hours of manpower each year. The 127th Rose Parade presented by Honda themed “Find Your Adventure,” will take place Friday, January 1, 2016, followed by the 102nd Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. Learn more at www.tournamentofroses.com and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.