Object Details
Former owner
Bourn, William Bowers, II
Bourn, Agnes Moody
Roth, William P.
Roth, Lurline Matson
Landscape architect
Porter, Bruce, 1865-1953
Horticulturist
Worn, Isabella
Architect
Polk, Willis, 1867-1924
Brown, Arthur, Jr., 1874-1957
Owner
National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States
Collection Creator
Garden Club of America
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Scope and Contents
The folders include worksheets, brochures, photocopies of published materials about the garden, correspondence, and additional information about the house and garden, including a detailed site study prepared in 1990 for Filoli docents.
sova.aag.gca_ref24465
General
Looking toward the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Filoli lies about 25 miles south of San Francisco in the Crystal Springs Watershed. The mansion and gardens were built between 1916 and 1919 for William Bowers Bourn, II, and his wife Agnes Moody Bourn, who founded the Hillsborough Garden Club in 1922. Willis Polk was architect for the mansion, Arthur Brown, Jr., undertook additional architectural designs, and Bruce Porter designed the gardens. Isabella Worn supervised the gardens' planting and oversaw maintenance of the gardens for many years thereafter. Encompassing more than 15 acres, the gardens incorporate a formal design with imaginative plantings and many unique specimens from outside the United States. Following the Bourns' deaths in 1936, the property was acquired by William P. and Lurline Matson Roth. In 1975 Mrs. Roth deeded the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Persons and organizations associated with the garden include William Bowers Bourn, II, and Agnes Moody Bourn (former owners, 1916-1936); William P. and Lurline Matson Roth (former owners, 1937-1975); Bruce Porter (landscape architect, 1916-1919); Isabella Worn (horticulturist, 1916-1950); Willis Polk (architect, 1916-1919); and Arthur Brown, Jr. (architect).
Place
Filoli (Woodside, California)
United States of America -- California -- San Mateo County -- Woodside
Topic
Gardens -- California -- Woodside
Former owner
Bourn, William Bowers, II
Bourn, Agnes Moody
Roth, William P.
Roth, Lurline Matson
Landscape architect
Porter, Bruce, 1865-1953
Horticulturist
Worn, Isabella
Architect
Polk, Willis, 1867-1924
Brown, Arthur, Jr., 1874-1957
Owner
National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States
See more items in
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / California
Sponsor
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Identifier
AAG.GCA, File CA072
Type
Archival materials
Collection Rights
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Bibliography
Garden has been featured in Famous Gardens, Selected from Country Life (New York: Country Life-American Home Corporation, 1937), pp. 3-8, 86.
Garden has been featured in "The Herald of an Era: California's Premier Country Place," Garden Design, 1, No. 2 (Autumn 1982), pp. 52-59.
Garden has been featured in Jeanne McDermott, "Filoli," Horticulture (March 1984), pp. 28-35.
Garden has been featured in Donald DeNevi and Thomas Moulin, comps., Gabriel Moulin's San Francisco Peninsula: Town & Country Homes 1910-1930 (Sausalito, CA: Windgate Press, 1985).
Garden has been featured in Murray Alcosser, America in Bloom: Great American Gardens Open to the Public (New York: Rizzoli, 1991), pp. 22-27.
Garden has been featured in Ellen Henke, "Filoli," Flower & Garden, 36, No. 1 (February-March 1992), pp. 63-65.
Garden has been featured in Timmy Gallagher and Christopher McMahon, The Gardens at Filoli (San Francisco: Pomegranate Artbooks, 1994).
Garden has been featured in David C. Streatfield, California Gardens: Creating a New Eden (New York: Abbeville Press, 1994), pp. 96-101.
Garden has been featured in Andrew Purvis, "Garden of a Golden Age," Smithsonian, May 2010, pp. 60-65.
Collection Restrictions
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
AAG.GCA_ref24465
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6b0a74a94-79b1-4b45-b1bd-cbebc69e1a35
AAG.GCA
AAG
Record ID
ebl-1643208220039-1643210177320-1