Madeline Garden is a bistro & venue in a 1927 French Quarter-style hidden treasure

This European restaurant with old-school flair offers an eclectic menu, high tea & a tapas bar.

Per The Architecture of Entertainment by Robert Winter, the French Quarter-style property was designed in 1927 by Louis du Puget Millar as a studio/office/workshop for renown interior decorator Edgar J. Cheesewright.  At the time of its inception, the 2-story, 42-room, 35,000-square-foot complex boasted 3 street-level boutiques, 8 sales rooms, several workshops and offices, a reception hall with a curved staircase, an entrance courtyard with a fountain, a rear garden, leaded glass windows, wrought iron balconies, and a 2-story atrium.

Cheesewright’s business suffered financially during the Great Depression and he eventually sold the property.  During World War II, the complex was acquired by the U.S. Naval Research Bureau and was utilized to conduct secret military testing.  A basement lab was constructed for Albert Einstein during that time, complete with a tunnel that linked it to the California Institute of Technology located about a half a mile away, so that the scientist could venture there and back unseen.  In 1983, the Navy relinquished the building and it was transformed into retail/office space once again.  Today, the second floor houses apartments known as the Pasadena Green Plaza Apartments.  Miraculously, despite its different incarnations over the years, much of the site’s original detailing and beauty has been retained.

Madeline Garden Bistro & Venue, which was featured in a Season 4 episode of Mad Men

 

 

The Edison

The Edison

What makes it a Voyadi Spot?

The Edison is called "the living history in Downtown Los Angeles".  It is meticulously designed by Andrew Meieran, real estate developer and moviemaker, with love for history and drive for creative and physical exploration.   The Edison is a perfect blend of many styles including Victorian (1837-1901), Art Deco (1920s and 1930s), Art Nouveau (1890s), and Gothic (1920's).  As Andrew described why he chose this location, "I wanted someplace that could have been in the world of Blade Runner.  I wanted a romantic and nostalgic space that looked back at the exuberance of the past (1920s) as well as the future of technology and invention.  This place was a perfect mixture of Jules Verne, industrial decay; a peek into the past with a hint of their vision of the future."   In addition to the Edison, Andrew also rehabilitated and restored Clifton's Cafeteria, a legendary eatery from the 1930s. 

Filoli Garden

Filoli Garden

What makes it a Voyadi spot?

Filoli provides an inspiring vision of a new Eden, with bountiful land, plentiful resources and an emphasis on self-sufficiency.   Filoli represented a desire to create a magnificent and enduring country estate.  The name was created by combining the first two letters from the key words of his credo: "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life."