Finnish Folk Art Museum

What is Finnish Folk Art Museum?

The building looks like a Swiss chalet, built of redwood and topped with a stone roof. Inside, the main room is a Tupa, the traditional Finnish living room, furnished with peasant furniture and household objects from the early 1800s. The pieces were collected from farmhouses in several Finnish provinces.

The chalet sits among wide lawns, with the Fenyes Mansion as a backdrop, and the grounds invite an easy wander.

History of Finnish Folk Art Museum

The chalet dates to 1910, when it was put up as a garage on the Wigmore Estate of Arthur Fleming. Its architect, Frederick Roehrig, also designed parts of Pasadena's Green Hotel. In 1949 Yrjö Alfred Paloheimo, who was born in Finland, learned the building was for sale and had it moved to the Fenyes Estate, where it became a museum of folk art, a guest house and a sauna. He did much of the stonework and gardening himself.

Paloheimo was married to Leonora Curtin, known as Babsie. He represented Finland as its consular officer across Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California, and the consulate was based in the mansion for 17 years. He founded the Finlandia Foundation, made Järvenpää in Finland a sister city of Pasadena, and with his wife adopted four Finnish children who grew up on the estate. The museum as an institution dates to 1974.

Visiting Finnish Folk Art Museum: tips

Plan the visit together with the Pasadena Museum of History, which shares the same grounds. The Norton Simon Museum is about 0.2 miles away, and Kidspace Children's Museum about 0.5 miles.