Filoli
Filoli is a listed historical villa from the beginning of the 20th century with an extraordinary garden and park with an area of approx. 2.6 km². It is located in Woodside , California in the mountains between San José and San Francisco .
The house was designed by the Californian architect Willis Polk for William Bowers Bourn II and his wife Agnes and served the family as a private residence from 1917 to 1936. Bourn was president of the Spring Valley Water Company and owned a gold mine. The property has 48 rooms and 17 fireplaces. It got its name from the combination of 2-letter abbreviations ( acronym ), the William Bourn's motto “ Fi ght for a just cause; Lo ve your fellow man; Li ve a good life “(Eng .: fight for a just cause, love your neighbor, live a good life).
In 1937 the house was sold to William P. Roth. It has been owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 1975 and has been open to the public as a museum since 1976 . The garden is considered one of the most beautiful in the world and has won several awards. It is now a public park and can also be visited. The entire property is managed by its own organization, the Filoli Center with around 30 employees. About half of them are responsible for the maintenance of the park and the planting. In addition, about 1200 volunteers work on the plant, u. a. in a public café, in a library, as a gardener or leader of the guided tours.
The park is heavily influenced by European gardens. The park architecture was designed by Bruce Porter. The park is an arrangement of various “garden spaces” with terraces, ponds and lawns. The numerous trees also include Italian pines and oaks that are over 250 years old. 35,000 tulips bloom here in spring .
The building style of the brick villa is considered to be historicism , whereby European elements have also been taken up here. In the USA one speaks of Georgian style . The floor plan of the house is U-shaped with a staff wing on one side and a ballroom on the other. Most of the furniture dates from the 18th century.
The house and the property have already served as a backdrop for many Hollywood films, including a. George - Who came from the jungle and The Game . It was also the location for the pilot of the series The Denver Clan and was later shown in the opening credits of the series as the residence of the fictional Carrington family .
literature
- Christopher McMahon: The Gardens at Filoli. (Illustrated book), Pomegranate Europe Ltd., 1994
Web links
Coordinates: 37 ° 28 '12 " N , 122 ° 18' 39.6" W.