Masquerade at Maxwell: For Those Who Know

In the early 1900s, Pasadena was a magnet for wealthy Easterners in search of a winter respite. By the 1920s, however, the flow had diminished – that is, until the newly enlarged “destination resort” Vista del Arroyo Hotel re-energized the area, drawing guests to the sprawling Spanish Revival main building as well as its private cottages. In 1929, George H. Maxwell, a wealthy East Coast litigator and philanthropist, commissioned architects Marston and Maybury to build a 13,000-square-foot “bungalow” on the hotel grounds in the Mediterranean Italianate style with tile roofing, stucco walls, a Palladian entrance, and elaborate detailing.

The soaring entry hall and decoratively painted ceiling panels provide the perfect setting for the Maxwells’ love of entertaining on a grand scale and today showcase paintings on loan from the historic California Art Club.