Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium is going on the market July 9 for the first time in 20 years, with an asking price of $45 million.
The 1,200-seat, 45,000-square-foot cultural landmark, often called “the Carnegie Hall of the West,” towers over a 500,000-gallon reflecting pool anchored by a 37-foot solid bronze sculpture of a trio of flying egrets by British sculptor David Wynne.
Potential buyers from as far away as Connecticut are already expressing interest in the auditorium, which Harvest Rock Church has owned and operated as both a house of worship and venue since 2004.
Harvest Rock’s pastor Ché Ahn said in a press release he hopes to pass “this cherished building to a new steward who will continue its legacy of service and community engagement,” and many potential buyers have expressed interest in doing just that.
“We haven’t started to market the property full-blast because it’s not on the market yet,” co-listing agent Isidora Fridman of Compass said. “But it may interest some international buyer. It’s great for anybody that knows what the Ambassador has to offer.”
“If the church didn’t hold its services there,” added co-listing agent Lauren Rauschenberg, also of Compass, “they could have it booked constantly; it’s a great source of income.”
The Ambassador, which turns 50 this year, was once part of the 34-acre Ambassador College campus established by radio evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God in 1947. Los Angeles-based architectural firm Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall built the granite and glass building in 1974, just 16 years before the campus closed.
From the start, it was open to cultural events. A 16-concert series featuring tenor Luciano Pavarotti, husband-and-wife dancers Valery and Galina Panov, mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and others, launched it as a performing arts venue as early as 1975.
Today, the Ambassador still serves as a church and cultural center for rent. It sits on nearly 3 acres in the historic West Pasadena neighborhood, between Maranatha High School and the newer Terraces at The Ambassador Gardens luxury community.
An outdoor plaza, paved with Norwegian Sandefjord granite and African Angola black granite, surrounds the reflecting pool and egrets sculpture refurbished by Stuart Dean, a historic restoration company in business since 1932.
The Ambassador invested $4 million in clean energy and completed the upgrades in November 2023. They include a 230-panel solar farm, a reflective cool roof, LED lighting, 3M window film, efficient pool pumps and an air purification system.
Those upgrades have not altered the mid-century facade or its interior.
In addition to the plaza, the Ambassador offers several interior grand spaces designed by the late Robert Smith, past president of the Pasadena chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.
The main lobby spans 4,000 square feet and features a massive, three-tier crystal chandelier. Rose onyx walls, African shedua wood railings and balcony-level handrails, a pure-wool carpet designed with an abstract reflection of the chandelier’s prism, and hand-rolled 24-carat gold leaf on the balcony and staircase under casings adorn the space.
Downstairs is the 3,168-square-foot lower lobby, which boasts two 24-carat gold chandeliers, Brazilian rosewood and rose onyx walls and another custom wool carpet. There are an additional 1,782 square feet of event space for up to 120 people, two multipurpose lecture and rehearsal rooms — one at 621 square feet, and the other at 945 square feet, accommodating 40 and 60 people, respectively — and gold and white dressing rooms with lighted mirrors, counter space and private restrooms with showers.
Back on the main level, doors from the lobby open into the large performance hall, renowned for its exceptional sound thanks to the gilded acoustical clouds suspended from the main seating area to the stage.
“The acoustics are amazing,” said Andrew Brown, Pasadena Symphony’s CEO. “There is not a venue outside of Disney Hall that has acoustics as good as that; that’s why they call it the Carnegie Hall of the West.”
For the last decade, the Ambassador has served as the home of the Pasadena Symphony. Dates are already set for the organization’s 2024-25 season, which opens Oct. 26 with matinée and evening performances under the direction of recently appointed Music Director Brett Mitchell.
The Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra’s ensembles, which serve more than 700 students, also hold their annual winter and spring concerts at the Ambassador.
Brown doesn’t anticipate that will change.
“We’re optimistic that whoever buys it will have the best intentions at heart,” he said. “It’s almost 50 years old and a very important cornerstone of the community, a cultural treasure that we hope will continue.”
Related Articles
Christina Ricci lists her renovated Woodland Hills home for $2.2 million
16.5-acre cult settlement in West Hills’ rugged Box Canyon lists for $4.8M
‘As Seen on TV’ star to buy $100 million Miami home
‘Selling the Hamptons’: High Prices, High Drama on Long Island
Shohei Ohtani buys La Cañada Flintridge mansion for $7.8 million