The Stimson family initiated construction of this Italian Renaissance mansion on Orange Grove Boulevard in 1906, envisioning a grand residence befitting Pasadena's "Millionaires' Row." After years of costly work, the family sold the unfinished estate to chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. in 1914 for $170,000. Under Wrigley ownership, the property became one of Pasadena's most recognizable social addresses, its broad terraces and axial lawns offering prime vantage points for Rose Parade viewing. The estate embodied the transformation of railroad, utilities, and manufacturing wealth into showcase domestic architecture within a city structured by class privilege and winter resort culture.
The mansion's unusually robust structural system of reinforced concrete and steel set it apart from conventional grand residences of the early 20th century. Italian Renaissance detailing defines the composition, with formal gardens that would eventually expand to include more than 1,500 varieties of plants. The broad terraces step down to axial lawns, creating ceremonial outdoor rooms perfectly suited to both private entertaining and public spectacle. This marriage of structural innovation and classical landscape design produced a property equally legible as private retreat and civic stage.
