If you are a student of or simply an admirer of fine art, literature, history, rare documents or gardens, you must go to The Huntington while you are visiting Southern California. Your family will experience a day of unparalleled enjoyment and enrichment never to be forgotten.
The world-renowned Huntington Library, Art Col lec tions, and Botanical Gardens is a paradise of extraordinarily uncommon works of literature, manuscripts, photographs, magnificent art, and spectacular gardens. Its wonders are enjoyed by the every day visitor who appreciates art, written works, and outdoor beauty as well as by scholars who use this educational center for research and continued learning. Children will also find many areas to experience all that The Huntington has to offer with activities specially geared to younger patrons.
Surrounded by 120 acres of breath taking gardens are four art galleries and a library showcasing superb collections of rare books and manuscripts, European art from the 15th to the early 20th century, and American art from the late 17th to the early 20th century. The world-famous painting, The Blue Boy, and a Gutenberg Bible (c.1455) are among many works highly sought for viewing by visitors to The Huntington. After a day at The Huntington, visitors will come away with a visual learning experience unlike any other; one that is sure to be inspire awe.

The Huntington was founded by railroad and real estate magnate Henry Edwards Huntington in 1919. The museum and gardens opened to the public in 1928. At the heart of The Huntington is the Library, which contains more than six million manuscripts, books, and photographs. Literary, history, and humanities enthusiasts will be delighted to peruse works in the fields of American and British history, literature, art, and the history of science, medicine, and technology. About 200 of these items are on public display. Among the highlights is a world-class collection of early editions of Shakespeare, along with original letters of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln. There is also an unsurpassed collection of materials from the American West and outstanding holdings in the history of science and technology.

The Huntington Art Gallery is housed in the original mansion built for Henry and Arabella Huntington in 1911. It is home to a world-famous collection of British paintings, notably Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy and Lawrence’s Pinkie, among many other artists. In addition, it showcases a fine collection of French decorative and arts Renaissance paintings, including Rogier van der Weyden’s 15th-century masterpiece Madon na and Child, considered by many to be the most important painting at The Hun tington. Just a short walk a cross the Shakespeare Gar den is the Virginia Steele Scott Gallery, where American paintings and decorative arts are on display, including works by Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sar gent, Frederick Reming ton, and more. Adjacent to the Scott Gallery is the Lois and Robert F. Erburu Gallery, which provides additional space for The Hunting ton’s expanding collection of Amer ican works. The Scott and Erburu galleries are closed until 2009 for reinstallation of the A merican art collections. Changing exhibitions are presented in the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, a historic building (originally Henry and Arabella Huntington’s elegant garage, built in 1911) that was renovated as an exhibition space in 2000.

Besides being a collector of rare books, manuscripts, and art, Henry Huntington also had a great interest in horticulture. He began developing his botanical collections in 1904. Today, there are more than a dozen specialized gardens, including a world-renowned Desert Garden, a Japanese Garden, a Rose Garden, and one of the most significant collections of camellias in North America. The newest is the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, Liu Fang Yuan, The Huntington’s Chinese garden, which opened this past February. More than ten years in the making, it features a lake, bridges, pavilions, and a tea house, all built with exquisite craftsmanship by artisans from China. As a showcase for an an cient and influential style of landscape architecture, the Garden of Flowing Frag rance is a major addition to one of the most renowned botanical collections and cultural centers in the United States.
Botanical education is a central focal point for The Huntington. Its Rose Hills Foun dation Conservatory for Botanical Science engages mid dle-school age students and their families in inquiry-based learning about plants, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Adjacent to that is the Helen and Peter Bing Children’s Garden, introducing children to the wonders of the natural world in a playful one-acre garden with interactive elements based on the themes of earth, air, light, and water.

The Huntington offers a full array of activities to en sure its younger visitors come away with a memory of fun as well as enrichment. Parents will be happy to learn that kids under five are admitted free. And on the first Thurs day of each month, admission is free for the entire family (advanced tickets re quired). Parents, too, often use The Hun tington as a “living class room” with their children, showing them how books were produced before the invention of the printing press (or the computer!) or how plants protect themselves from predators, and how they attract insects—and why.
The complete selection of children’s act ivities is too lengthy to print here, but let us share a few to pique your interest (visit www.huntington.org for the full list):
Waterfalls, lily ponds, koi fish, ducks, turtles, and frogs abound. Irresistible paths wind in and out through the Jungle Garden and bamboo groves, where the imagination can run wild (and the call of little Tarzans can often be heard).
The Desert Garden has ten acres of some of the most bizarre, colorful, creepy-crawly plants a child could imagine. It’s a great place for kids to see for themselves how plants adapt to harsh environments and protect themselves from heat, drought, and predators.
The Japanese House is furnished in the late 19th-century style of the Meiji period. Outside walls slide open so children can look inside (but not enter) the house and see how Japanese families lived. Distinctive features include sliding shoji rice paper partitions to divide the rooms, futon sleeping mattresses, a charcoal brazier for heating and cooking, and a silk kimono on display.

Little girls (and sometimes their brothers, too) love to have English tea in the Rose Garden Tea Room. The menu features finger sandwiches, fresh scones with jam and whipped cream, cakes, tarts, and strawberries with cream. When nothing but a burger and chips will do, there’s the adjacent Café, which offers a wide variety of sandwiches, salads, beverages, and desserts.
Teenagers are old enough to appreciate the rare books and manuscripts in the Library Exhibition Hall. Their English lit and history classes come to life when they see original manuscripts and first editions by the likes of Shakespeare, Dickens, George Washington, Ben Franklin, Charl otte Bronte and many others. “Dull” historical figures seem more human when students notice that Jack London wrote his famous short story To Build A Fire in pencil, making many messy corrections, changes, and erasures along the way.
For those looking to release the boundless energy that is sometimes stifled in traditional museum settings, the gardens offer 120 acres of wide open spaces and vast rolling lawns: great for running, somersaulting, cartwheeling, and shrieking!

The Huntington is located at 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino. Hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed Tuesdays and major holidays. Admission on weekdays: $15 adults, $12 seniors (65+), $10 students (ages 12 – 18 or with full-time student I.D.), $6 youth (ages 5 – 11), free for children under 5. Admission on weekends and Monday holidays: $20 adults, $15 seniors, $10 students, $6 youth, free for children under 5. Ad mission is free to all visitors on the first Thursday of each month with advanced tickets. For further information, call 626.405.2100 or visit www.huntington.org.