First published in the Jan. 26 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts has announced that Matt McIntyre has been selected as the benefit chair for the 58th Pasadena Showcase House of Design.
McIntyre is the first male member to serve in the position in the organization’s 75-year history.
“When asked to take on this role, I felt that it was quite an honor,” he said. “Pasadena Showcase is such a big part of the community and I want to see its continued success for many years to come.”
A member of Pasadena Showcase since 2018, McIntyre has taken on various board positions and also was part of the Benefit Leadership
Team for the 2022 Showcase House.
McIntyre said he is very excited to be able to present Stewart House, a 1933 grand colonial estate designed by Marston & Maybury, as the 2023 Pasadena Showcase House of Design.
“It’s truly a quintessential Showcase House and just breathtaking in its grandeur,” he said. “The estate is iconic and the grounds are just exquisite so it’s a very compelling property.”
About 32 interior and exterior designers have been selected to participate in this year’s house and McIntyre was excited about their input.
“This is such a spectacular piece of architecture with such a graciousness about it,” he noted. “The designers have considered this and are bringing cutting-edge design while honoring the house’s traditional roots. The style will be timeless,” he added.
Stewart House was featured in 1983 as the 19th Pasadena Showcase House of Design and has been in the same family for 40 years. McIntyre was delighted to revisit the house after four decades. “It’s really a great opportunity to reintroduce this majestic estate to a new generation,” he said. “So much has changed for Pasadena Showcase, too, over these last 40 years. Back in 1983 we were just getting started with providing shopping opportunities and food, but now shops and our restaurants are such an important part of the entire Showcase House experience so it’s a perfect transition.”
Having spent many years attending the Showcase House as well as being a community volunteer, McIntyre was very familiar with the organization and passionate about its mission.
“Providing music and art programs is critically important, especially for children,” he said.
In his term as benefit chair, he would like to highlight and have the public understand the history and legacy of Pasadena Showcase and emphasize how much the organization has given to the community. “Because of the funds we raise during the four weeks that the Showcase House is open, we are able to provide our music programs for young people as well as fund so many other music and arts related programs.” Growing up in Pasadena, McIntyre fondly remembers the Music Mobile program coming to his 3rd-grade class. He said he is very proud of what Pasadena Showcase is able to do and speaks about the importance of a balanced education.
“With music and arts programs diminishing in classrooms, what we do is essential and we are able to have a profound impact on the next generation.”
McIntyre is not new to volunteering and has had long-term commitments with several of Pasadena’s nonprofit institutions. He is now going on 16 years as a member of the Tournament of Roses Association and has spent 15 years as a docent with the Gamble House. He is the immediate past president of that organization and is involved in their youth outreach program. Joining Pasadena Showcase was an opportunity for him and his husband, Garrett Collins, to volunteer together. With his background in design and Collins’ in music, “this seemed like a natural fit for us.”
A third-generation resident of Pasadena, where he and Collins now reside with their 15 year old rescue miniature pinscher, Greta, McIntyre highlighted that the city is “such an important part of my identity.” He spoke about his grandparents attending the same elementary school and his parents meeting while working at a local record store, Canterbury Records. Big on family, he is happy to have his parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews all living within a five-mile radius.
Knowing the area so well and with his design background, as well as a strong interest in architecture, it was bound to happen that McIntyre would seek a career in real estate. He has spent more than 15 years in the business and is currently an agent for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties. He was named Pasadena’s Realtor of the Year in 2018. It seems destined that he would also become the benefit chair for this year’s Pasadena Showcase House of Design.
The 58th Pasadena Showcase House of Design will be open from April 23 through May 21. Golden tickets and ticket packages are currently on sale and individual tickets go on sale in early February. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit pasadenashowcase.org.
Since its founding in 1948, Pasadena Showcase has given more than $24 million to nonprofit organizations, particularly through its Gifts & Grants program, in support of music education, scholarships, concerts, and music therapy, while continuing to support the LA Phil.
