Woodworking Revival at the Blacker House
Jim Ipekjian's exquisite craftsmanship is replacing lost Greene and Greene treasures
Synopsis: Alec Waters of Fine Woodworking tells the compelling story of the Blacker House, designed by the Greene brothers near Pasadena, California. The house barely survived scavenging and alterations by various owners. Jim Ipekjian is one of the woodworkers restoring the house to its initial glory — all 12,000 sq. ft. of it. Waters talks about the history, the repair work, and Ipekjian’s role. The house is not open for touring, but photos in the article show glorious details that make the house so fascinating.
If you’re an aficionado of American architecture and furniture, chances are good you’ve heard of The Gamble House. The national historic landmark in Pasadena, Calif., is famous for its Arts-and-Crafts furnishings as well as its architecture, and it may be the high-water mark of the Bungalow style in the United States. Designed by the Greene brothers, Charles Sumner and Henry Mather, for the Gamble family in 1908, the house has more than a dozen rooms graced by exquisite furniture.
You probably know all that. Maybe you didn’t know that a year before the Gambles’ house was built, the Greene brothers designed a home not far away that is even bigger and whose woodworking is every bit as impressive. Meet the Robert J. Blacker house, which sits majestically on a hill. At 12,000 sq. ft, it is about 20% larger than The Gamble House. Considering that the woodworking is on such a grand scale, it’s amazing the Blacker house has received any less acclaim than its far more famous neighbor. One reason is that the Blacker house has not been open for public tours; another is a brush with disaster in the 1980s that skilled craftsman are still trying to set right.
One of those craftsmen is Jim Ipekjian, who knows the woodworking in the Blacker house as well as anyone. He is helping to restore the home to its original glory. In an inconspicuous shop a few blocks down the road, Ipekjian is faithfully building a treasure trove of Greene and Greene reproductions (see the top photos on p. 82). As he described his work to me, it became clear that the Blacker home and its furnishings, in all their woodworking splendor, have a compelling story to tell.
A house in need of attention
Like many homes that are pushing 90 years of age, the Blacker house is suffering from the effects of weather and neglect. The ends of the roof rafters, for example, have rotted from exposure, and the decay has spread into the roof itself.
From Fine Woodworking #118
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