Did You Know?

Filoli

The Filoli estate, located in Woodside California, is a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Filoli was the vision of Mr. & Mrs. William Bowers Bourn II, owners of the Empire Gold Mine in Grass Valley. The word "Filoli" comes from the first two letters of the words Fight, Love, and Live ("to fight for a just cause; to love your fellow man; and to live a good life" was the credo of the estate's owners). Designed by California architect Willis Polk, the Georgian Revival mansion is surrounded by 16 acres of formal gardens and over 600 acres of woods; its reflecting pools, formal gardens, arbors and shady walks were all planned to blend harmoniously with the nearby San Andreas hills. The Filoli garden is considered one of the finest examples of a private estates garden representing the "Golden Age of American Gardens". The estate is open for tours.

Located at 86 Cañada Road, Woodside, CA 94062

California, gardens, plants & flowers, tourist attractions

Websites

• Filoli Center
  Filoli homepage. Gives history of the site, including guided tour times, directions, and admission fees.

Books

• The Gardens at Filoli
  by Christopher McMahon. Pomegranate Artbooks, 1994.
• Estate Gardens of California
  by Karen Dardick. Rizzoli, 2002.

Last updated by birnbacha on Dec. 14, 2009

Disclaimer...

While the Library has verified the information presented in these files in what it considers to be reliable and authoritative sources, it cannot take responsibility for nor guarantee the accuracy of the information presented.