Saturday, February 11, 2012

Huntington Library & Gardens

Greater Los Angeles is massive urban sprawl at it's most chaotic and cluttered. Where to find refuge in Los Angeles is never obvious, but once found, the places are blissful in their privacy and peacefulness. Never is that more evident than at the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena. The Huntington Library and Gardens is one of my most favorite places in the world; not just Los Angeles. By every standard, it is a spectacular composition of much that is lost in the world today: taste, intelligence, documented paintings, rare books, and exquisite gardens.

Henry Huntington made his fortune in railroads, utilities and Southern California real estate in the late 19th and early 20th century. By 1919 he had amassed such fortune that he retired to his vast property in Pasadena to focus on his book and art collection. Today, his library is considered one of the finest research libraries in the country with an inventory including Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a Gutenberg Bible, and Audubon's Birds of America.Additionally, the Huntington is considered to be one the best libraries of the American West. The art collection includes 18th and 19th century French and British art including Cassat, Gainsborough, and Church.

However, as incredible as the library and art collections are, it is the botanical gardens that are truly incredible. Spanning 120 acres, the Japanese, Chinese, Rose, Desert, and many other types of gardens are laid out in exacting fashion. With a traditional Japanese tea house in the Japanese garden, and a gazebo restaurant by the Rose garden, and a reflecting pool at the bamboo and waterlily garden, each garden contains some element for socializing or dining or a peaceful place to find respite in this busy world. Waterfalls cascade in the Jungle garden; massive cacti lurch over the Desert garden, each providing an incredible living piece of art.

If you are in the Los Angeles area, I highly encourage you to spend some time at the Huntington. Whether you have a few hours or a few days, it is not possible to cover all of the riches of the Huntington, but you will be far more educated and far more at ease after a short time in this incredible refuge. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108 626-405-2100

St. Andrews from the Cathedral