Pinney House to Offer Self-Guided Tours During Wistaria Festival

Press Release:

The historic landmark Pinney House, built in 1887, will be open for self-guided tours for the first time ever during the March 25 .

The Pinney House, designed by noted Victorian architects Joseph and Samuel
Newsom, is celebrating 125 years, and has recently undergone a major renovation to a lovely estate house. It has six spacious elegant bedroom and bath suites, as well as several common rooms reminiscent of the late nineteenth century.

Tours will be offered to visitors on the Wistaria Festival shuttle, as the bus stops in front of the Pinney House at 225 N. Lima St. Visitors must have a shuttle ticket to enter.

Noted California artists, William Wray and Lynne Fearman, local to Sierra Madre, will be exhibiting their work in the House. Wray’s gritty urban landscapes, often referred to as “dirty urban” uses a combination of realism and abstract expressionism. His evocative work exhibits internationally. Plein Air artist Lynne Fearman’s paintings portray beautiful serene landscapes of San Gabriel Valley and Southern California.

Wray has designed a commemorative poster for the 2012 Wistaria Festival, which will be offered for sale during the Festival. The Pinney House was built by Civil War surgeon and farmer Dr. Elbert Pinney during the land boom in Los Angeles. It was one of a string of railroad hotels that served as lodging for train passengers who disembarked at the Baldwin depot on their travels from the midwest and east coast. It is one of the last remaining railroad hotels of the Foothills that are still standing.

The Sierra Madre Wistaria Festival celebrates the Guinness Book certified “World’s Largest Blossoming Plant.” It is estimated that at the height of bloom it has 1.5 million blossoms with 40 blossoms per square foot, a weight of 250 tons and has branches that extend 500 feet. The vine is 118 years old.

The first public Wistaria Festival occurred in 1918. Several blocks south of the vine, the village of Sierra Madre celebrates with an arts and craft fair, live musical entertainment, a kids’ zone, dining al fresco at local restaurants as well as food vendors in .

The Sierra Madre Post Office is offering a special postal cancellation to celebrate the Festival, with a special temporary postal station open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Kersting Court.

More information on The Pinney House can be found at www.pinneyhouse.com.

More information on Wistaria Festival and to order shuttle tickets, visit
www.wistariafestival.com.