Historic, important, a stained-glass-and-wood-laden artwork you can walk inside. Calling the Gamble House an architectural treasure is maybe not even strong enough. Like many people, we're mad about this gorgeous, Greene & Greene-designed Pasadena landmark, and often go there, in our minds, when we're sitting in the dentist chair, and the nurse is asking us questions about how often we floss. You too?
But today we salute the Gamble House for its role as Doc Brown's rambling mansion in "Back to the Future" (the first one). The interiors and garage were shot elsewhere, but the all-too-brief exteriors are all Gamble. And since the Gamble House is no longer used for shooting features (just documentaries), seeing it in "BTTF" is really a treat.
And the picture-perfect Craftsman estate just fits Doc Brown's personality, right? His delightful eccentricities and charm and old-fashioned, new-fangled ideas. (Christopher Lloyd, you're the man.)
Now about that New Bev marathon. It's May 29 and 30, all three "Back" movies are screening, and surprise appearances are in the works, including Claudia Wells, who played Jennifer in the original flick.
The Gamble House is open for touring Thursdays-Sundays.
(Photo permission provided by The Gamble House, Pasadena, CA)
