Saturday and Sunday, December 1st and 2nd, were gala evenings at Peace Theological Seminary (PTS). Members of the West Adams Heritage Association (WAHA) participated in their 15th annual holiday tour entitled “A Holiday on the Street of Dreams,” and PTS was featured on their tour. The tour included a progressive Greek dinner at four of the grand old mansions on West Adams Boulevard in Los Angeles. PTS was the last mansion on the evening’s tour. Peace Theological Seminary’s home, also known as Prana, is also the headquarters of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA).
Preparation for the weekend began months prior, when committees were formed, and the smallest details attended to. For PTS itself, some fundamental changes has already been made during the Spring and Summer, when the grounds surrounding the house were clipped and stripped, new landscaping and paving was installed, and a new central front gate and fountain were created.
On Wednesday, November 28th, MSIA elves gathered in the Grand Ballroom (aka foyer) and French Room/Gentlemen’s Parlor (large seminar room) for a tree trimming party, and finishing touches were put in all the public spaces at PTS. Wreaths and boughs of greenery filled every surface, and a garland of evergreens was tied with red ribbons to the curving banister of the grand staircase. A ceiling-high (12 ft.) Douglas fir was adorned in gold and purple ornaments, with about 100 angels as well, and a slew of gaily-decorated gifts were tucked under its branches.
In the late afternoon of December 1st, the ladies and gentlemen from WAHA arrived, dressed in gala attire appropriate to the season and the 1920’s, and all involved held a last-minute briefing in the foyer.
The West Adams Heritage Association grew out of a concern in 1958 by members of the Historical Buildings Committee of the L. A. Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, who were alarmed by the increasing destruction of historic buildings and sites, caused by the growth and development of Los Angeles. This group developed a Cultural Heritage Ordinance, passed in April of 1962, creating a Cultural Heritage Commission, which identifies and encourages the protection of historic buildings and landmarks. Through the tireless efforts of PTS staff person Carol Jones, restoration began at Prana in the late 1980’s, and in 1990 Peace Theological Seminary (the former Secundo Guasti Villa, also once owned by Hollywood’s Busby Berkeley) was nominated by WAHA as a historic building. In January, 1990 it was designated by the city of Los Angeles as Historical Cultural Monument #478.
WAHA tours have become an annual fundraising tradition, and it is quite prestigious to be chosen as one of the homes on the tour. For the evening, six tours of fifty people each were expected, for a total of 600 visitors over the course of two evenings. This year’s tours began just down the street from Prana, at a beautiful 2-story red brick Georgian Revival residence. Most of the wood-paneled rooms were filled with guests who were treated to a first course of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres. Tours of each area of the house were given by knowledgeable docents–members of WAHA. Our tour then progressed across Adams Boulevard, to a 2-story Beaux-Arts Style mansion that featured a long, curved staircase, and wonderful, large family quarters upstairs. A second course of salad was served in the velvet-draped dining room, as well as a generous helping of Christmas music from a delightful young man at the living room piano. Walking just a few houses to the east, we entered the 3-story, 12-bedroom, Alpine Craftsman home built by Dr. Grandville MacGowan, the first commissioner of Los Angeles’ Health Department. As we arrived, guests were just sitting down to their third and main course of the dinner, served both in the formal dining room and under the coffered ceiling of the Great Room. Upstairs we were allowed to explore the sunroom, the enormous dressing and bathrooms, and two of the beautiful bedrooms, while down in the entry hall we could hear favorite Christmas carols played on guitar and English horn.
For PTS’s portion of the evening, dessert was served in the Guastis’ original formal Dining Room. Two long buffet tables held a variety of hot drinks (for the night was slightly chilly) and dozens of plates of baklava and homemade chocolate sweets, dusted with powdered sugar. In the Grand Ballroom, Marjorie Eaton played her Celtic harp, interspersed with the rich piano stylings of Barbara Wieland at the grand piano in the French Room. Kevin McMillan and his crew spent a long while setting out glass enclosed candles along the front and back walkways and around the labyrinth.
At approximately 6 p.m., docents Bob Pederson of WAHA, and Prana resident Kelly, dressed in gala costumes, welcomed the first of six groups of 50+ guests at the bottom of the front steps of PTS, and gave a short talk on the fa
