[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       IN RECOGNITION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BLINN HOUSE

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                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 9, 2006

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Blinn House in 
Pasadena, California. This year, the Blinn House will celebrating its 
100th Anniversary.
  Edmund Blinn, an Oak Park, Illinois native enjoyed Pasadena when 
visiting with his wife Kate and their four children. In 1905, the 
Blinns decided to leave Oak Park for the warm climate and beauty of 
Pasadena. They hired George W. Maher to design their California home in 
the Midwestern Prairie School Style in 1906. Maher designed the 
interior of the house using harmonious natural materials with a 
repeated theme of wisteria vines. In his design for the Blinn house, 
Maher used a segmental or broken-arch theme throughout the house. 
Tiffany inspired leaded-glass windows with a wisteria vine motif 
artfully border the broken-arch windows.
  At the turn of the last century a group of prestigious Chicago 
architects led the world in the advancement of new ideas in the design 
and construction of commercial buildings. Their work is better known as 
the Chicago School of Architecture. One of the architects, Louis 
Sullivan, embellished his building designs to incorporate simple 
repetitive patterns taken from nature. Young architects such as George 
W. Maher and Frank Lloyd Wright admired Sullivan's work, and while 
working in a community with other Midwestern architects founded the 
Prairie School of Architecture. The Prairie School architects created a 
uniquely American style of architecture which brought natural elements 
of the countryside to the cities.
  The Blinn House was designated a Pasadena Cultural Heritage Landmark 
in 1977. In 2001, it was placed on both the National Register of 
Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. In 
2002, the Blinn House Foundation was formed for the purpose of 
maintaining and preserving this Pasadena legacy. Home to the Women's 
City Club since 1945, the Blinn House continues to serve the Pasadena 
community as a meeting place for women's civic, cultural, and 
educational activities.
  I am proud to recognize the Blinn House upon its 100th Anniversary 
and I ask all Members to join me today in honoring this historic house.

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