Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of The Huntington.
On this page
Ranch, trust and public institution
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
-
1903
The San Marino Ranch
Henry E. Huntington buys the San Marino Ranch, then nearly 600 acres.
-
1907
The Desert Garden begins
Planting begins in what becomes one of the world’s largest and oldest displays of cacti and other succulents.
-
1911
The mansion
The Huntingtons’ mansion, by the architects Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey, is completed.
-
1912
The Japanese Garden
The Japanese Garden is completed.
-
1913
A marriage
Henry Huntington marries Arabella Duval Huntington.
-
August 1919
A public trust
Henry and Arabella sign a trust that turns their private estate into a public institution.
-
1924
Arabella dies
Arabella Huntington dies, three years before her husband.
-
1927
Henry dies
Henry E. Huntington dies.
-
1928
Open to visitors
The Huntington opens to the public, and the Huntington Art Gallery opens in the former mansion.
-
2008
The Chinese Garden
Liu Fang Yuan, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, is dedicated.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
- The Huntington: Our organization
- The Huntington: Huntington Art Gallery
- The Huntington: Botanical Gardens
- Wikipedia: Huntington Library
Links lead to the original publishers.