Patch Blog: Isadora Duncan Slept (and Lived) Here?

The Library will host a one-woman play called 'Isadora Duncan: A Unique Recital’ starring actress and playwright Kres Mersky 7 p.m. Thursday in the .

Many consider Isadora Duncan who was born in San Francisco as Dora Angela Duncan in 1878 to be the inventor of modern dance. And even though she was one of the most influential American women of the last 100 years with her non-traditional and sometimes revolutionary views on the arts, education, women’s rights, and marriage, she was never very popular in the United States. 

Isadora Duncan became the world’s most famous dancer of her time. In the early 20th Century she was the Toast of the Town in Paris, Vienna, London, and Berlin. Isadora Duncan’s now considered one of the most influential American women of the last 100 years because of her outspoken, ahead-of-their-time views on the arts, education, women’s rights, and marriage.

In 1895 when Isadora was young and unknown, she first moved to New York to pursue a professional dancing career. In 1898 she traveled to England with her family and her first European performance was at the Lyceum Theater in London in 1900. Isadora’s groundbreaking dancing was passionately free form as she performed barefoot in her flowing robes. Her movements didn’t conform to the formalism of classical ballet at all and they were scandalous to some. Surprisingly, the only U.S. city where she ever achieved celebrity in her day was New York City.  But did Isadora ever reside in South Pasadena? That’s the question.

The notion was first presented by Clarice Knapp, an 8-year-member and former Chair of the Cultural Heritage Commission (and the wife of former Mayor Harry Knapp), at the Kevin Starr Author Night at the Library on January 19. Clarice has heard from several reliable sources that Isadora had once indeed resided in South Pasadena. One of them was Mary Ida Phair, the High School Librarian and the mother of one of Clarice’s classmates when she was growing up. 

Clarice promised to send along the address of the house and any other details to me that she could gather. Clarice’s revelation piqued my interest because it would seem to be an unknown, missing page of South Pasadena history.

A few days later Clarice called and forwarded a few emails stating that Isadora and a sister lived in the two-story Craftsman at 1243 Brunswick Avenue nicknamed “The Captain’s House” that was built in 1906. The exact time and duration of Isadora’s occupancy of the residence is unknown but it’s believed to be in the early 1920’s. At the time the abode was only a summer house and not yet a year-round residence.

The story goes on to say that Isadora rented it from one of her family members who was involved in local real estate. The tidbits of local lore have been passed down by four local families, the Robertson, Deeker, and  Joy families who formerly owned the house,  and the Phair family and others who lived in the Kolle Tract area across the street on Brunswick  Avenue.

The Brunswick Avenue house is occupied today and still retains its architectural integrity, as evidenced by the accompanying photo taken a couple of days ago by a member of the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library. It sports Swiss Chalet-like influences with its gabled roof, diamond patterned window panes, and exposed rafters.

The one-of-a-kind home is called “The Captain’s House” as it was originally built by a sea captain who also constructed sailing vessels. The house has a unique cobblestone foundation, an earth sheltered garage, and a protruding balcony. The residence is officially known as the “William Thatcher Marvin House” because the Marvin family resided there until 1936.

Besides the reported occupancy by Isadora Duncan, the rest of the house’s historical significance derives from its connection to Colonel Perrie Kewen, the Brother-In-Law of W.T. Marvin, who used it as his place to stay when he was in Southern California. Perrie Kewen was born in 1857, the lone son of Colonel Edward J.C. Kewen, California’s first Attorney General. Perrie, who also became an attorney, was named Acting Dean of California Law School in 1883. Three years later he achieved the rank of Colonel. By 1906 Colonel Kewen had made South Pasadena his home.

In stark contrast to all of Isadora’s shining achievements, her life was filled with tragedy. Her children, Deirdre and Patrick drowned in 1913 while in the care of their English governess. In 1922 Isadora married the Russian poet Sergei Esenin who soon committed suicide. Isadora then opened a dancing school in Moscow.  Unfortunately for her, the Russian government broke their promise of support and it was forced to shut down.

Isadora returned to the United States to live but later returned to Europe one last time where she died horrifically in France in 1927 when her long scarf became entangled in the spinning spokes of her Bugatti roadster.  By that time motion picture cameras with sound had already been developed but sadly no footage of her breakthrough dancing exists. Many books about her exist today and she was immortalized in the film “The Loves of Isadora” in 1968 for which Vanessa Redgrave won an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Without a doubt Isadora Duncan is one of the most important figures ever born in California for many reasons and she’s widely acknowledged the world over as the creator of modern dance. She was the first to blend music, poetry, and free form movements from nature, as opposed to the highly stylized “unnatural” movements of classical ballet and her breakthroughs are significant, to say the least.

Because Isadora has such an important place in both American and international history I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who has any information about her in South Pasadena, particularly if it is documented. Please contact me at (626) 403—7332 or at sfjeldsted@ci.south-pasadena.ca.us.