The Hotel Carver
Encyclopedia
The Hotel Carver is a three story Victorian Building with full basement at 107 S. Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, California
. It was built in the late 1880s as part of the Doty Block in the Old Town Pasadena
district. According to sources at the Pasadena Museum of History, it originally was a showroom for a stage coach or carriage company. In later years it was a freight depot for the Pasadena and Los Angeles Railroad, which became part of the Pacific Electric Railway
, and which is indicated by the faded "Pasadena and Los Angeles" sign on the South wall. In the early 1900s the building was converted to the Hotel Mikado and served the Japanese American
community
In the 1940s it was purchased by Percy Carter and his family, and became Pasadena's first black-owned hotel. The name was changed to "The Hotel Carver," after George Washington Carver. It was directly across the street from the Hotel Green
. The Green catered to prominent white clientele, while the Carver served African American clientele. It was similar to the Dunbar Hotel
in Los Angeles. The Blue Room was the dining room on the second floor and the basement held the nightclub called at one time The Onyx Club and later The Club Cobra where many famous, but unconfirmed musicians were reported to have played. In the 1950s, as part of a widening of Fair Oaks Avenue, the Victorian bay windows and turret on the southeast corner were removed from the building and similar structures were removed from other buildings to the north. In its later years, The Hotel Carver was operated by Percy Carter's sons, Percy Jr., Robert, and Littleton.
In 1970 the hotel was sold to an owner who changed the building into art studios on the upper floors and The Pasadena Repertory Theatre under artist director Duane Waddell in a large space on the ground floor. In 1973 The Pasadena Repertory Theatre won the L.A. Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best Director, Gill Dennis, and Best Screenplay, David Storey, for their production of "In Celebration
" . Later productions included the world premiere of Academy Award winning screenwriter Tom Rickman's play "Balaam" starring Academy Award nominee (A Patch of Blue
) Elizabeth Hartman
, the west coast premiere of Tennessee Williams
' "Kingdom of Earth," which was the retitled Broadway play "The Seven Descents of Myrtle
" . It was directed by Elizabeth Hartman's husband, Gill Dennis.
During the years from 1970 until the building was sold in 1985, The Hotel Carver, as it was still called by its residents, held the studios of well over 100 artists, writers, musicians, directors, dancers, tapestry weavers, and other artists . Tenants during parts of that time included notables such as the Latino
soul band El Chicano
, performance artist Paul McCarthy
, comic book creater of Howard The Duck
, Steve Gerber
, the writer-director Gill Dennis, who later wrote the Oscar winning (best actress Reese Witherspoon
) biopic of Johnny Cash
, Walk The Line
, the painter-muralist Betty Dore, the painter and long-time preparator of the Norton Simon Museum
James Mayner, the director-writer-cinematographer J. Robert Wagoner, the prominent jazz bass player Herbie Lewis
, artist-weaver, Margo Farrin and Gail Stephenson, artists Jack McIntosh, Hap Tivey, Paul Waszink, Milan Tomovich, Elanie Mueller and dancers Helga deKansky, Pat Turnbull and Collie Valadez, and scores of other creative people.
From the 1970s through the late 1980s a controversial mural adorned the north facade of The Hotel Carver. It was a simple quotation, painted in tall, dark green letters on a cool gray background. It said,
"My people are the people of the dessert," said T.E. Lawrence, picking up his fork.
It was partially destroyed in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, and later painted over after the building was repaired. It had been painted by Paul Waszink, and was the subject of much speculation thereafter. Twenty years after its destruction it was still a subject of controversy. Twenty-two years later, a Google search in February, 2009 of the quotation yielded 677 hits.
In the early 1980s The Hotel Carver changed owners twice. Then in mid-April, 1985, all tenants entering the building encountered 30-day eviction notices nailed into every entrance door. The remaining tenants immediately organized a final art exhibit titled "The End of the Hotel Carver," that filled the ballroom, the old Blue Room, and most of the vacant spaces throughout the building. It included works by over 40 artists who had worked in the building over the years. By June, 1985 The Hotel Carver was empty. The building was later remodeled and earthquake retrofitted. The interior was gutted of its redwood framing to install an elevator and more modern steel framework. The massive ornate wooden staircase with turned wood balustrade was removed. The original lathe and plaster was replaced with plaster board. The steel fire escapes on three sides of the building were all removed. Eleven years later, as part of a large art festival in Old Town Pasadena
sponsored by Newtown Pasadena, a group of artists from the Carver came together for a one-evening reunion art show on the sidewalk in front of the building called "A Brief Re-birth of The Hotel Carver."
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. It was built in the late 1880s as part of the Doty Block in the Old Town Pasadena
Old Town Pasadena
Old Pasadena is the original commercial center of Pasadena, a city in California, United States that arose from one of the most prosperous areas of the state, and had a latter day revitalization after a period of decay...
district. According to sources at the Pasadena Museum of History, it originally was a showroom for a stage coach or carriage company. In later years it was a freight depot for the Pasadena and Los Angeles Railroad, which became part of the Pacific Electric Railway
Pacific Electric Railway
The Pacific Electric Railway , also known as the Red Car system, was a mass transit system in Southern California using streetcars, light rail, and buses...
, and which is indicated by the faded "Pasadena and Los Angeles" sign on the South wall. In the early 1900s the building was converted to the Hotel Mikado and served the Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
community
In the 1940s it was purchased by Percy Carter and his family, and became Pasadena's first black-owned hotel. The name was changed to "The Hotel Carver," after George Washington Carver. It was directly across the street from the Hotel Green
Hotel Green
Historical information with regards to the fire that brought the old Hotel Green wooden structure down, is credited to the book Haunted Houses of Pasadena by Michael J. Kouri, a well known historian and Parapsychological Investigator....
. The Green catered to prominent white clientele, while the Carver served African American clientele. It was similar to the Dunbar Hotel
Dunbar Hotel
The Dunbar Hotel, originally known as the Hotel Somerville, was the focal point of the Central Avenue African-American community in Los Angeles, California during the 1930s and 1940s. Built in 1928, it was known for its first year as the Hotel Somerville...
in Los Angeles. The Blue Room was the dining room on the second floor and the basement held the nightclub called at one time The Onyx Club and later The Club Cobra where many famous, but unconfirmed musicians were reported to have played. In the 1950s, as part of a widening of Fair Oaks Avenue, the Victorian bay windows and turret on the southeast corner were removed from the building and similar structures were removed from other buildings to the north. In its later years, The Hotel Carver was operated by Percy Carter's sons, Percy Jr., Robert, and Littleton.
In 1970 the hotel was sold to an owner who changed the building into art studios on the upper floors and The Pasadena Repertory Theatre under artist director Duane Waddell in a large space on the ground floor. In 1973 The Pasadena Repertory Theatre won the L.A. Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best Director, Gill Dennis, and Best Screenplay, David Storey, for their production of "In Celebration
In Celebration
In Celebration is a 1975 film directed by Lindsay Anderson. It is based in the 1969 stage production of the same name by David Storey which was also directed by Anderson. The movie was meant to be shown theatrically with tickets sold in advance....
" . Later productions included the world premiere of Academy Award winning screenwriter Tom Rickman's play "Balaam" starring Academy Award nominee (A Patch of Blue
A Patch of Blue
A Patch of Blue is a 1965 American drama film directed by Guy Green about the relationship between a black man, Gordon , and a blind white female teenager, Selina , and the problems that plague their relationship when they fall in love in a racially divided America...
) Elizabeth Hartman
Elizabeth Hartman
Mary Elizabeth Hartman was an American actress, best known for her performance in the 1965 film A Patch of Blue, playing a blind girl named Selina D'Arcy, opposite Sidney Poitier, a role for which she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress and was nominated for the Academy...
, the west coast premiere of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' "Kingdom of Earth," which was the retitled Broadway play "The Seven Descents of Myrtle
The Seven Descents of Myrtle
The Seven Descents of Myrtle is a play by Tennessee Williams. Its title character is reminiscent of another Williams' heroine, Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire....
" . It was directed by Elizabeth Hartman's husband, Gill Dennis.
During the years from 1970 until the building was sold in 1985, The Hotel Carver, as it was still called by its residents, held the studios of well over 100 artists, writers, musicians, directors, dancers, tapestry weavers, and other artists . Tenants during parts of that time included notables such as the Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
soul band El Chicano
El Chicano
El Chicano is an American chicano rock and brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporates various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa...
, performance artist Paul McCarthy
Paul McCarthy
Paul McCarthy , is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California.-Life:McCarthy was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and studied art at the University of Utah in 1969. He went on to study at the San Francisco Art Institute receiving a BFA in painting...
, comic book creater of Howard The Duck
Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. The character first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered, anthropomorphic, "funny...
, Steve Gerber
Steve Gerber
Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber was an American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck....
, the writer-director Gill Dennis, who later wrote the Oscar winning (best actress Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
) biopic of Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Walk The Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
, the painter-muralist Betty Dore, the painter and long-time preparator of the Norton Simon Museum
Norton Simon Museum
The Norton Simon Museum is an Art Museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known by the names: the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum.-Overview:...
James Mayner, the director-writer-cinematographer J. Robert Wagoner, the prominent jazz bass player Herbie Lewis
Herbie Lewis
Herbie Lewis was an American hard bop double bassist.He played or recorded with many prominent jazz musicians, including Cannonball Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, Harold Land, Jackie McLean, Archie Shepp, and McCoy Tyner.Herbie recorded his last CD Just a Lucky So...
, artist-weaver, Margo Farrin and Gail Stephenson, artists Jack McIntosh, Hap Tivey, Paul Waszink, Milan Tomovich, Elanie Mueller and dancers Helga deKansky, Pat Turnbull and Collie Valadez, and scores of other creative people.
From the 1970s through the late 1980s a controversial mural adorned the north facade of The Hotel Carver. It was a simple quotation, painted in tall, dark green letters on a cool gray background. It said,
"My people are the people of the dessert," said T.E. Lawrence, picking up his fork.
It was partially destroyed in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, and later painted over after the building was repaired. It had been painted by Paul Waszink, and was the subject of much speculation thereafter. Twenty years after its destruction it was still a subject of controversy. Twenty-two years later, a Google search in February, 2009 of the quotation yielded 677 hits.
In the early 1980s The Hotel Carver changed owners twice. Then in mid-April, 1985, all tenants entering the building encountered 30-day eviction notices nailed into every entrance door. The remaining tenants immediately organized a final art exhibit titled "The End of the Hotel Carver," that filled the ballroom, the old Blue Room, and most of the vacant spaces throughout the building. It included works by over 40 artists who had worked in the building over the years. By June, 1985 The Hotel Carver was empty. The building was later remodeled and earthquake retrofitted. The interior was gutted of its redwood framing to install an elevator and more modern steel framework. The massive ornate wooden staircase with turned wood balustrade was removed. The original lathe and plaster was replaced with plaster board. The steel fire escapes on three sides of the building were all removed. Eleven years later, as part of a large art festival in Old Town Pasadena
Old Town Pasadena
Old Pasadena is the original commercial center of Pasadena, a city in California, United States that arose from one of the most prosperous areas of the state, and had a latter day revitalization after a period of decay...
sponsored by Newtown Pasadena, a group of artists from the Carver came together for a one-evening reunion art show on the sidewalk in front of the building called "A Brief Re-birth of The Hotel Carver."