Homing in on history: Southland communities risk losing architectural masterpieces by failing to educate public about such sites.

As we celebrate the centennial of the iconic Gamble House in Pasadena, a masterpiece designed in 1908 by architects Charles and Henry Greene, can we take our cultural resources and historic preservation for granted?

Don't count on it.

As recently as last year, the Herkimer Arms in Pasadena, the only extant apartment building the Greene brothers are known to have designed, was at risk of demolition. Thankfully, with the tenacious activism of countless individuals and organizations, including Pasadena Heritage, where I serve on the board of directors, demolition was forestalled when Pasadena's Heritage Housing Partners stepped in with a plan to move the structure and adapt it for use in a new neighborhood. If all goes as proposed, the 1912 building will survive to begin a second century after all. But this last-minute solution was too close for comfort for those of us who value our architectural treasures that define the historic fabric of our community.

How could a Greene and Greene building in Pasadena be threatened with demolition in this day and age? There's still a great need to educate the public and build appreciation for these irreplaceable treasures.

Thanks to growing public awareness of the work of Greene and Greene, their remaining creations are less likely to go the way of the Arturo Bandini house in Pasadena. Designed in 1903 by Greene and Greene, the Bandini house was demolished in the 1960s for a parking area, echoing the lyrics from a Joni Mitchell song, "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

As an architect, I'm proud to have directed a project this summer to re-create a full-size portion of the demolished Bandini house now installed at the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. The display is a key component in the exhibition "A 'New and Native' Beauty: The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene," on view through Jan. 26. The reproduction includes a portion of the courtyard trellis and covered breezeway of the landmark Pasadena house.

Built for the son and daughter-in-law of Don Juan Bandini, a prominent Spanish land-grant owner of the early 19th century, the Bandini house should be celebrated today as the first California-style house designed by the Greene brothers. The Bandini house was significant as one of the earliest of the Greenes' houses to incorporate a structural aesthetic inspired by Japanese architecture. Taking full advantage of the warm climate, the house was designed around a U-shaped hacienda-style courtyard. All rooms opened onto the veranda, and this outdoor space served as the center of daily family life.

Edward Bosley, co-curator of the exhibition and director of the Gamble House, has noted, "The innovative design of the Bandini house marked a turning point in the Greenes' thinking on what it meant to build for and to live in California, taking into account the climate, lifestyle and culture of California."

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Taking action

As a lifetime member of Friends of the Gamble House, a dedicated support group celebrating the work of Greene and Greene in this centennial year, I believe we cannot rest on our laurels. There is too much at stake. It is not enough to look back and applaud the architectural genius and vision of Charles and Henry Greene. We must look to the next hundred years, continue the education and our understanding of Greenes' work to ensure that their legacy will be appreciated and celebrated for generations to come.

I bring a unique perspective to the work of Greene and Greene, having lived in the Gamble House for two years, as the first female architecture student selected in the early 1980s for the scholar-in-residence program offered by the USC School of Architecture, which operates the Gamble House in partnership with the city of Pasadena.

The story comes full circle, as I had the honor of being selected as project architect for the Gamble House conservation project 20 years later. I have enjoyed the privilege of working on numerous Greene and Greene-designed houses including the Tichenor, DeForest, Jennie Reeve and Pitcaim houses.

Each time I walk into a Greene and Greene-designed building, I continue to learn from the Greene brothers.

It is easy to take for granted the Greene's work without acknowledging it evolved over time, and to consider them as merely decorative architects. But study of their work throughout their careers, including their early work, has sharpened my appreciation for the fundamental elements driving the Greenes' design explorations and their creative resolutions. In response to the California climate and lifestyle, functional building elements are beautifully expressed through composition and detail.

Today, a new appreciation is growing, especially among architects and designers, for Greene and Greene's impact on modern architecture and design. Charles and Henry's architectural designs evolved over the many decades they practiced and to lock them and their work into a time period of only a few years sells short their design genius and architectural contributions.

The legacy and influence of Greene and Greene lives on. But not without the continued study and understanding, support, activism and preservation work of all of us.

Kelly Sutherlin McLeod is an architect whose firm, Kelly Sutherlin McLeod Architecture Inc., is in Long Beach.