,
Pasadena, California, in 2005 and estate (rear view),
Woodside,
California The architectural firm of Greene and Greene was established in Pasadena in January 1894, eventually culminating with the designs of their "
ultimate bungalows", such as the 1908
Gamble House in Pasadena, generally considered one of the finest examples of residential architecture in the United States. In 1966, the Gamble family turned the house over to the city of Pasadena in a joint agreement with the
University of Southern California (USC)
School of Architecture. The Gamble House was declared a
National Historic Landmark in 1977.
A structural explosion The structure of the Greene & Greene house is essential not only to the immense feeling of security that such an overly supported structure brings; it also accentuates the importance of the Arts and Crafts fundamentals in the Greene & Greene style. The visual importance of the aesthetic nature of the joints, pegs, and complex woodwork symbolizes the structure of the house, and coincides with the principles taught in the Manual Training School of their youth. The structure of the house is externalized, or exploded, rather than hidden in decoration. Each element of the structure asserts itself. This extravagance of support takes its origins from the elaborate
joinery and
framing of
traditional Japanese architecture.
Obscurity and rediscovery The Greenes took on few commercial projects. Their attention to detail would not have been possible in a larger firm, or one that focused on commercial buildings as well as residential. The Greenes repeatedly turned down offers to construct buildings in downtown Los Angeles. The Greene brothers were masters in their area of domestic concentration for which, until the year of 1948, they received little acclaim. In 1948 they received citations from the Pasadena Chapter of the
American Institute of Architects and from the national body in 1952 for creating a “new and native architecture.” In 1960, they were among the modern architects included in the book
Five California Architects by
Esther McCoy, where the chapter on the Greenes was written by Randell L. Makinson. Picture from Cullen328 , the last remaining Greene & Greene House in Los Angeles.
Chinese and Japanese Influences The Greene brothers’ first impression of
Japanese Architecture came during their relocation to
Pasadena, California; on their westward journey, the brothers attended the
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. On display were formal works of the Japanese government in the form of the Ho-o-den exhibit, a scale replica of a temple in
Uji, Japan. The half-scale replica of the
Ho-o-den of Byōdō-in provided an exemplary showcase of Japanese architecture. One year later, intrigued by the exhibit in Chicago, the Greene brothers visited the Japanese hill and water gardens at an exposition in San Francisco. The influence of Japanese design began appearing in their projects after Charles Greene's visit to St. Louis in 1904 where he attended the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
Dougong, one of the many building techniques on display at the expositions, is a building practice of interlocking wooden beams, showing exposed joinery which, when painted, acted as
ornament. Dougong also has the practical application of protection from earthquakes, as the elasticity of multiple dougong has the ability to withstand seismic forces. These wooden brackets, often seen on the edges of roofing, are responsible for giving traditional Japanese buildings their signature look. Another technique derived from Japanese influence is the "cloud lift", an aesthetic derived from Chinese furniture which was often treated as small-scale architecture. A cloud lift is subtle elevation of a straight line for aesthetic purposes, and was used in many of their works. The cloud lift is very prevalent in homes designed by the Greene brothers such as the
Blacker House, Ranney House, and the
Thorsen House as well as the
Gamble House. The
Gamble House uses the technique the most, with cloud lifts on the windows, walls, cabinetry, chairs, doors, fireplace, and even multiple examples in the light fixtures.
Closure The firm of Greene & Greene was officially dissolved in 1922 after Charles moved his family north to
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California in 1916, at age 48. Henry remained in Pasadena, doing architecture projects on his own. Charles continued to do additions for various clients, including playwright
Martin Flavin and
Mortimer Fleishacker. Charles was a student of
Japanese architecture and in his later years studied
Buddhism.
D. L. James House In 1918, businessman D.L. James (father of writer
Daniel Lewis James) commissioned Charles to design a sandstone and granite
Mediterranean-style house on a bluff he had bought in
Carmel Highlands, California overlooking the water. Charles made watercolor sketches and architectural drawings for the house based on
Cornwall's
Tintagel Castle. Greene supervised the construction of the granite house, which took five years to complete. The house was later called "Seaward". The house was sold in 1999 to Searock LLC for $4,590,000 ().
World War I Memorial Arch The
Carmel-by-the-Sea World War I Memorial Arch was designed by Charles Greene in 1919 and constructed at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and San Carlos Street. The design generally resembles a bell tower of a California mission, the arch made of stone. A bronze bell was added in 1996 after Greene's death, which is suspended from a timber beam almost certainly carved by Charles Greene. Charles used the studio as his personal workspace until his death in 1957. In 1965, it was saved from possible demolition by his children. ==Death==