Cost to build was $32,927 in the year of completion, 1910.
Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts is fortunate to re-visit this distinguished estate, previously known as the “Eliot House”, 22 years after its Showcase debut in 1993.
John V. Eliot bought the vacant one and half acre parcel from the Oak Knoll Company, formed by Henry Huntington, William R. Staats Company and A. Kingsley Macomber. Mr. Eliot built the home as a “honeymoon house” for his new bride, Ellen Rowena Blossom, to create a setting that would complement her beauty and her love of the outdoors.
The 9,400 square foot main residence is an eclectic English Tudor that has significant Craftsman influences with the principal entrance overlooking the interior garden area rather than the street. Using local materials, it unites the artist with the actual construction and integrates the house with its environment. A 2,600 square foot Carriage House with an upstairs apartment that once housed the chauffeur and coachman complements it. The property includes many mature trees, gardens, pool, Koi pond, outdoor kitchen and a wisteria arbor.
The main floor contains arched openings with large open rooms, Honduras mahogany beams and moldings and unique cast plaster ceilings. The artistic innovations and philosophy of the burgeoning Arts and Crafts movement are evident in this striking structure, including horizontal bands of windows, a broad front porch, a grand fireplace with stunning Greuby tile in the entry, extensive built-in cabinetry and stained-glass windows above the stairway. The second floor contains the family living quarters, including four bathrooms, three bedrooms, family room, reading room and artist’s retreat.
Historical Information by Tim Gregory, Building Biographer and Pasadena Heritage.
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