Thirty miles south of San Francisco, the Filoli Estate and Gardens is an elegant oasis in the South Bay Area.
What's In A Name? First, the name. While "Filoli" sounds like a typically mellifluous Italian surname, it was not named for its original owner, nor was the owner Italian. William Bowers Bourn was a mining baron who began construction of the estate in 1915. He chose a building site at the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake, which was part of his property holdings (Mr. Bourn also owned the Spring Valley Water Company). He named it Filoli by combining the first two letters (FI-LO-LI) of the verbs "fight, love, live," from his personal motto, "Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, and live a good life."
Filoli is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from mid-February until late October, closed on holidays. Standard admission is $12 for adults, $5 for students, and free for children under the age of 4; higher admission is charged for certain festival and event days. The estate is a California State Historic Landmark as well as being listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. It is protected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The home has 43 rooms, not counting closets and bathrooms, and 17 fireplaces. Ceilings are 17-foot or higher throughout, lending a soaring grandeur (and a bit of a draft!) to every room.
The formal gardens were divided between a distinctly Georgian style in the north section and an English Renaissance style to the south. The original gardens took over a decade to construct and are rather unique in that they have maintained their design integrity for nearly a century. The home changed hands to owners Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth in 1936, but the integrity of the gardens was maintained. The only substantive change during the 40 years the Roths owned the home was the addition of a swimming pool and its surrounding gardens. The Roths turned the home over to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975.
From the East Bay, take Highway 92 west, then Highway 280 south to the Edgewood Road exit and proceed as above.
For more information, including special events and holiday closures, phone 650-364-8300, e-mail friends@filoli.org, or check out the official website at http://www.filoli.org.
Sally O'Neal is a travel and outdoor writer who lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest, but considers the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area her second home. She writes weekly for sportsmansguide.com.