Front doors from the Robert R. Blacker House (Pasadena, California)

These front doors are one of the most significant features of the 1907 Robert R. Blacker House in Pasadena, California. They consist of three large leaded-glass panels depicting plant vines set against richly hued, swirling glass-all suggesting the lush garden and pond landscaping the Greene brothers designated for the grounds surrounding the house.

The architects Greene and Greene were preeminent among the West Coast architects whose work is part of the early 20th century Arts and Crafts movement. Of all their buildings, the Blacker House was one of the most important. Over 12,000 square feet in size, it was the first and largest of a series of "ultimate bungalows" dating between 1907 and 1909. The Blacker estate consisted of a main house, garage, gardener's cottage, greenhouse, and garden pergola. Its sophisticated timber structure and subtle naturalistic details throughout marked it and the Greenes' other houses of the period as being in the "Japanese Style," according to contemporary critics.