A Virtual Tour of The Pinney House

The Pinney House will open its doors to the public this Sunday during Sierra Madre's . Anyone with a Wistaria Festival shuttle ticket will be admitted for a self-guided tour of the historic home on Lima Ave.

Patch was invited on a special preview-tour of the home, and here's what we found. Stay tuned for more photos of The Pinney House later today.

Getting to Know a Local Landmark

The Pinney House is a unique Victorian-style mansion, originally intended as a railroad hotel to house expansionists travelling from the east to acquire land in Los Angeles in the late 19th century. Following the downturn of the land boom, The Pinney House continued a tale of many chapters and lives, leading up to its recent renewal by Sierra Madreans Greg and Judy Asbury. 

"Doctor Pinney... a Civil War doctor when he retired at age 70, bought 35 acres around the house here, [planting] citrus and grapes, and lived to be about 90-years-old," begins Greg Asbury over a framed and yellowed photo of a Sierra Madre that is nearly impossible to recognize, save the presence of the iconic mansion on the hill in which we are standing.

These and other historic photographs the Asburys have collected will be on display in the Pinney House for the public to enjoy this Sunday.

A Mansion With Many Lives

The house has gone on to serve multifaceted purposes with various owners over the years:people have known it as several hotels, a dance studio, a sanitarium, and on occasion, a classic Hollywood film set.

"This was the second hotel in town, and after the land boom crashed [Pinney] sold it to his son for a dollar," said Greg.

The Pinney House was designed and built in the 1887 by well-known Victorian Architects Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom, who worked mostly in the San Francisco area, but maintained a woodworking and ceramics studio in Los Angeles area during the era. There they built many of the elaborate mantlepieces and appointments for their fantastic homes and buildings.

In the front sitting room of The Pinney House is a fine example of such a mantlepiece, with ornate woodwork and exquisite tiles, which the Asburys were excited to acquire during their renewal of the historic structure.  

The Newson brothers completed roughly 150 structures in Los Angeles, of which only a few remain today, according to the Asburys.

Pinney House Lore and Legend

"A lot of famous people have been here over the years," explained Greg. "Jimmy Durante and his mother used to come here to regain their health. Bob hope was here to film 'The Seven Little Foys' in the fifties."

During renovations Asbury found a letter in the walls dated 1888 from Ohio Senator Allen Levering, famous for introducing legislation to fly the flag at half-mast on Presidents Day. According the legend, Senator Levering and his co-patriots conceived the idea at a Capitol Hill Saloon where they conducted business.

"They were so drunk, they flew the flag upside down," retells Greg with a smile, "so that's why the flag flies upside down every President's Day."

Greg and Judy Asbury Give a Chapter of American History New Life

The Asburys decided to renew and renovate The Pinney House about seven years ago, when they realized how much work needed to be done. At that point they moved all the tenants out and have been very busy ever since. 

Attention to original detail is evident in the splendour and historic style of each room in Doctor Pinney's hotel. From the statuesque mantlepiece and ancient-looking gramaphone in the front rooms, claw-footed bathtubs, to arches from the original architecture, uncovered during renovation and returned to their original purpose between the chambers.

"The Victorians loved the art of the Orient, and we travel a lot... so you will see a lot of Asian motifs and artwork in the various rooms."

As far as ghosts are concerned, when asked, the Asbury's chuckled and replied   "[We] won't comment on that. There are lots of stories... maybe earlier on, but we don't think so." 

All of their hard work has glorified an architectural relic of American and Sierra Madre history. The Asburys are pleased celebrate with the city as the Wistaria Festival comes to town.

Bonus: Local and Historic Art On Display

A pair of talented local painters will also occupy The Pinney House this weekend.

Lynne Fearman is a landscape expressionist whose command of color evokes every emotion from bliss to loneliness and serenity.

William Wray is a painter of urban landscapes, the human, figure, forms and more. His style blends abstract expressionism and striking realism. In his book "Dirty Beauty," bold textures and swathes of interwoven color reveal a mesmerizing architecture. He is also an internationally known American cartoonist, most famously drawing 90s cartoon "Ren and Stimpy."

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