{"id":425640,"date":"2026-08-06T18:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T18:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/425640\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T18:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T18:40:11","slug":"inside-a-renovated-1936-van-ness-home-turned-venue-in-fresno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/425640\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside a renovated 1936 Van Ness home turned venue in Fresno"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Inside Look is a Fresno Bee series<\/a> where we take readers behind the scenes at restaurants, new businesses, local landmarks and news stories.<\/p>\n

Gina Lene\u00e9\u2019s Harmony House<\/a> sits inside the Fresno High Neighborhood, on a tree-lined block of Van Ness Boulevard known for vintage homes; vintage in this case being 90 years old.<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s not traveling as a professional pianist, Lene\u00e9 shares the 2,800 square-foot home with others \u2014 several roommates, as a long-term rental; and the community, as a private event and concert space.<\/p>\n

She bought the home in 2017 and spent a year on renovations, creating what she calls \u201cmoment spaces\u201d throughout the 1936 abode.<\/p>\n

A curved nook looks out on the front patio, which is adorned with red cafe umbrellas visible from cars passing on Van Ness.<\/p>\n

The nook doubles as a sitting lounge, just off the main living room, where Lene\u00e9 keeps a set of pianos (one grand, one slightly less so).<\/p>\n

The dining space is also a green room for performers and designed to optimize photo-friendly camera angles.<\/p>\n

What had been a screened-in porch is now an extended gathering-and-coffee space just off the kitchen. Two types of coffee makers are set out next to a neon \u201cEspresso\u201d sign near a cabinet full of Torani-flavored syrups.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needed some love,\u201d Lene\u00e9 told The Bee during a tour of The Harmony House. \u201cBut I really could see having events here and it being something more than just my home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pianist Pianist Gina Lenee’s Harmony House on Van Ness Avenue near Fresno High is inspired by her vision for a home and gathering place for musicians and artists. Photographed Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com The Pudlin Residence + Ernest J. Kump<\/p>\n

The Harmony House was constructed as the Pudlin residence, a prominent Fresno merchant at the time. It was deigned by Ernest J. Kump, Jr., an architect<\/a> working in the American modernist style. The home \u201cset a dramatic new standard for design simplicity along Fresno\u2019s prestigious North Van Ness Boulevard,\u201d according to the site HistoricFresno.org.<\/p>\n

Kump (under partnership with Charles H. Franklin) would become well known in Fresno, designing multiple nearby residences (just west on Wilson Avenue) and several prominent buildings downtown. That includes the original Fresno Unified Administration Building<\/a> (on Mariposa Mall) and the City Hall Annex<\/a>, which officially served as City Hall from 1941 until 1992. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City considered it one of most outstanding buildings in America at the time.<\/p>\n

But the Pudlin residence was his first in Fresno.<\/p>\n

Some 80 years later, Lene\u00e9 leaned into Kump\u2019s design and Art Deco aesthetic of the time.<\/p>\n

Aside from some recessed lighting and other fixtures, which didn\u2019t really exist in the 1930s, the house was kept as original as possible, she says.<\/p>\n

The decor is mostly bold black and white (a nod to her passion and profession) with pops of bright red or gold. On the walls is Lene\u00e9\u2019s collection of art; multiple pieces from Romain de Tirtoff, or Erte,<\/a> the French artist and designer known for his fashion-forward pieces. She\u2019s been collecting his work since she was in her 20s.<\/p>\n

The backyard was gutted, save for the pool, and completely redesigned to include a cabana (another of Lene\u00e9\u2019s \u201cmoment spaces\u201d), and an Airbnb studio space. The patio, just off the back door, is designed in black and white pavers, which Lene\u00e9 has set up with giant chess pieces, but \u201cit really becomes whatever the vision for that event is,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Pianist Pianist Gina Lenee sits in her Harmony House on Van Ness Avenue near Fresno High. Photographed Thursday, July 31, 2026. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty of music.<\/p>\n

Jazz singer Karen Marguth<\/a> set up on the back patio for an intimate private concert in May. The Brazilian duo Love and Bossa Nova<\/a> will make a return to the Harmony House in September<\/a> and pianist Collin Provence<\/a> will perform Vince Guaraldi\u2019s \u201cA Charlie Brown Christmas\u201d for a holiday concert in December.<\/p>\n

Lene\u00e9 will host a performance of her own work in September, in advance of a concert at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. It will be a pre-Grammy soir\u00e9e in celebration of her recent album being submitted for consideration on the upcoming ballot.<\/p>\n

But the space is open for events of all kinds \u2014 product launches and photo shoots, cocktail parties and baby showers and weddings. It\u2019s been featured in hip-hop videos and movies shoots. It has yet to host a bat mitzvah, but not for lack of trying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing I love the most,\u201d Lene\u00e9 says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be a small part of a celebration for someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pianist Pianist Gina Lenee holds a framed photograph of Jeff Hall, guitarist, producer, former owner of Maximus Media and former owner of the Harmony House, Lenee’s vision for a home and central gathering place for musicians and artists along North Van Ness Ave. Photographed Thursday, July 31, 2026 in central Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com Jeff Hall, en memorium<\/p>\n

What Lene\u00e9 is doing with the Harmony House is sort of an homage to its previous owner, Jeff Hall.<\/p>\n

Lene\u00e9 bought the home following Hall\u2019s death 2017 and keeps a photo of him on display for guests.<\/p>\n

In it, he strums a guitar.<\/p>\n

Hall was a well known figure in Fresno\u2019s music and entertainment scene, as a musician, audio engineer, producer and founder of the recording studio Maximus Media.<\/a><\/p>\n

He actually produced six albums for Lene\u00e9, including her first. It was a set of eight songs, recorded for somewhere around $600, far less than he should have charged for the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a labor or love he gave to me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

During renovation on the home, curious neighbors would stop by to inquire about what was going on with \u201cJeff\u2019s House,\u201d Lene\u00e9 says. The name, Harmony House, seemed a fitting tribute to the space, and to Hall. \u201cThis already was a house about making music, and people getting together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A A G Cleft, or treble clef note, is seen in the front yard of pianist Gina Lenee’s Harmony House on Van Ness Ave. Photographed Aug. 3, 2026 in central Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published August 6, 2026 at 5:30 AM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee covers breaking news for The Fresno Bee, writing on a wide range of topics from police, politics and weather, to arts and entertainment in the Central Valley.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inside Look is a Fresno Bee series where we take readers behind the scenes at restaurants, new businesses,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-425640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}