Kids & Family
Ribbon-Cutting Opens Renovated Fenyes Mansion at PMH Gala
The Pasadena Museum of History feted members and guests at the grand reopening of the historic home and annual benefit dinner on Saturday.
After more than two years and $1.7 million in renovations, the 1906 Beaux Arts mansion that was once home to the Finnish ambassador was open for viewing last Saturday evening. The opening was brief, however, as there is still some work to be done, according to Pasadena History Museum spokesman Jeannette Bovard. The PMH campus includes the mansion, which served as the Finnish Consulate from 1948-1964.
There to cut the ribbon strung across the front porch were Mayor Bill Bogaard, Congressman Adam Schiff, Paul Halme, President of the Paloheimo Trust, and Laura Thompson, president of the Pasadena Museum of History Board of Trustees. Visitors took a walk through the downstairs, which had been decked out with characters dressed in Downton Abbey finery.
The black-tie Gala Reopening Benefit and 2012 Contemporary History Maker Awards Dinner and a silent auction took place following the viewing.
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The Fenyes Mansion, once home to four generations of the Fenyes-Curtin-Paloheimo family, is a Pasadena Cultural Heritage Landmark and a California Point of Historical Interest. The Curtin-Paloheimo family gave the Fenyes art and antique collection to the museum in 1970.
During November, a series of members-only tours will be held, and the Fenyes Mansion will reopen for public tours on Dec. 7, 2012. For more information, visit the Pasadena Museum of History website or call (626) 577-1660.
