In late September, a good friend of mine invited me to watch Back to the Future with them. As a fan of the movie and franchise, I accepted, and soon learnt that the showing would be at the Gamble House!
You might be wondering, what is the Gamble House?
The Gamble House + Back to the Future
The Gamble House is a historic house featuring the architectural style of an “American Craftsman” home. Built in 1908-1909, the house was made for David Gamble, son of the co-founder of the Procter and Gamble Company.
The house was passed down in the Gamble family until 1966, when it was turned over to the city of Pasadena. This came after the family heard of potential buyers painting the whole house white. Then, in 1977 it also became a National Historic Landmark.
However, the house is more famously known in a certain movie…
If you’re unaware, in the hit 1985 movie: “Back to the Future,” our protagonist, Marty McFly, searches for Doc Brown after he is sent back to the past. The Gamble House was used as the exterior of Doc’s mansion, while the inside was part of the Blacker House (another house designed by the same makers of the Gamble House).
The Event + Tour of the House
When we first arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to be greed one of the six DeLorean Time Machine cars that were used in the production of the franchise. Along with the car, there were also props from the first movie that were a delight to see, along with signatures! After taking a few photos we headed inside the house.
The house is very dim, with not a lot of light flowing through. The architects, Charles and his brother Henry Greene, designed this famous house as well as many others in Pasadena. The house takes much inspiration from Japanese architecture, and the crafters obviously paid great attention to detail.
For example, littered around the house on lamps, glass windows or shelving, is the design of a mitsuba; the handle of a Japanese katana.There were many docents stationed around the house, offering valuable information about the details, whether it be about the architecture or history.
After touring around the house, my friend and I settled on the lawn where a giant inflatable projector screen was set up. Before the movie started, a small raffle for free BTTF merch and a seat upgrade to the second floor balcony was held. It was surprising to see all these excited fans get hyped up!
After the movie, I headed over to the garage, which had been turned into a merchandise area. The store had many BTTF items, including funko pops, license plates, and models of the DeLorean time machine.
Conclusion
Overall, the Gamble House is a historic landmark with deep and rich history and architecture, which I would recommend to anyone interested. Learning about the house as well as more of Back to the Future’s relationship with the house was truly wonderful. You can visit the Gamble House Tuesdays and Thursdays through Sundays. They mainly offer guided tours, but you can also do an individual walk around on certain days. The house also provides many other events, including holiday themed or detail focused tours.
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