OOTHER THER 115151
The Blacker House
Many of the homes designed and built by Charles Sumner Greene
and Henry Mather Greene have suffered cruel fates. Some were
torn down; others were thoughtlessly remodeled or left to rot.
Before the revival of interest in the work of Greene and Greene
that began in the 1970s, no one seemed to know or care what
treasures these houses and their furnishings were. After the revival
it was often too late to undo the damage and dispersal that had
been done.
The Blacker house, in Pasadena, Calif., one of the fi nest
examples of the Greene’s worked once seemed doomed, but it
is now in the middle of a happy ending to its sad story. As long
as the original owner and his widow lived in the house, Henry
Greene saw to it that the property was maintained, and wrote to
his brother Charles in the 1930s of how good the interiors looked
after being "gone over."
Shortly after Mrs. Blacker’s death in the late 1940s, the fi ve-acre
site was subdivided and new houses were erected in what had
been a majestic backyard garden. Much of the furniture was
sold off in a yard sale, and years later reappeared in museum and
private collections.
By the mid 1980s, the Blacker house looked more
like an eyesore than the centerpiece of a posh neigh-
borhood. New shingles had been placed directly over
old ones, and the roof had deteriorated. Exposed
rafter ends had begun to rot, and the once-colorful
structure had turned a moldy looking black.
The worst blow to the house’s dignity came in
1985 when the property changed hands. A new
owner had purchased the house after learning that
the light fi xtures and art glass windows were worth
more than the property itself. Immediately after clos-
ing, trucks appeared, and more than 50 exquisite
wood and art-glass light fi xtures were removed and
sold off. The city of Pasadena passed legislation
These planes, including a
very rare Stanley No. 164
smoothing plane, originally
belonged to Charles Sumner
Greene.preventing the future removal of fi xtures and furnishings from his-
toric structures, and negotiated with the owner to replace art glass
windows he wanted to sell with exact reproductions.
The property was sold again to an owner who wanted to restore
it, but who wasn’t up to the task. In 1995, the current owners
began their restoration. James Ipekjian was fi rst asked to reproduce
the light fi xtures that had been removed. As the restoration of the
entire house proceeded, it became evident to the owners that an
experienced, knowledgeable craftsman needed to be in charge,
and Ipekjian oversaw the project for two years before beginning
work on the lights.
With more than 50 lighting fi xtures completed, Ipekjian began
reproducing the original furniture. In the dining room, breakfast
room and living room, most of the furniture has now been repro-
duced, and the remaining pieces originally made by Peter and John
Hall will likely be completed in the next few years.
The Blacker house is not open to the public, except for occa-
sional private tours. The restored interiors have been featured in
several recent books. The only discernable difference between
Ipekjian’s reproductions and the original pieces is the patina that
comes with 100 years of age.
The renovation of the Blacker house is complete. Many of the original furniture pieces have also
been reproduced, and more are planned.1 148-153_Greene&GreeneStyle.indd 151 48 - 153 _Greene&GreeneStyle.indd 151 3 3/25/13 9:55 AM/ 25 / 13 9 : 55 AM