03/04/20 City of Pasadena, USC and Gamble Family Announce Management Transfer of Landmark Gamble House to Independent Non-Profit
Pasadena’s Mayor Terry Tornek announced today that The Gamble House Conservancy—a new non-profit organization based in Pasadena—will assume management control of the National Historic Landmark house. The Gamble House will continue to be owned by the City of Pasadena, while daily operations will be overseen by the newly formed Gamble House Conservancy. The change of administration is the result of an agreement between the City of Pasadena and USC following discussions over more than 18 months. The Conservancy’s board of trustees includes Gamble family representatives, a former Dean of the USC School of Architecture, and donors/supporters of the landmark site. Former Gamble House director, Edward “Ted” Bosley, will serve as Executive Director/CEO of The Gamble House Conservancy. Academic programming with USC will continue, including the prestigious Scholars-in-Residence Fellowship.
“This is a great day for The Gamble House,” remarked Pasadena Mayor Tornek. “I’ve always been tremendously impressed by the community’s support for this landmark of American architecture. Since it opened to the public in 1966, its programs, membership and endowment have grown steadily. Its volunteer corps is second to none, and has been a model for other historic sites nationally,” he said.
“USC is proud of our continued relationship with the Gamble House,” said USC Provost Charles F. Zukoski. “We look forward to sustaining our connection with this exciting historical civic institution.”
The announcement was made on the front steps of the Gamble House, the internationally recognized architectural landmark designed by Pasadena architects Charles and Henry Greene in 1908. The house was the home of Procter & Gamble Company scion David Berry Gamble and his family before heirs donated the house and its original contents to the City of Pasadena in a joint operating agreement with USC in 1966. The Gamble House is America’s premier example of the architecture of the Arts & Crafts movement of the early 20th century, providing inspiration annually to tens of thousands of students, researchers and a diverse spectrum of the public through public tours, lectures, exhibitions and a variety of programing.