The Huntington, Los Angeles

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Located in the ritzzy community of San Marino, 15 minutes north from downtown L.A., is the Hungtington Library. The Huntington estate was donated by railroad tycoon, Henry Huntington, and is famous for its library, art collection, and beautiful botanical gardens. Bring comfortable walking shoes because there are 15 specialezed gardens to visit, covering over 120 acres. The cover charge is $15 dollars for adults, but if you go on the first thursday of any given month the admission is free.

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There are a lot of Botanical Gardens in Southern California, but this is probably one of the best ones. Located in beautiful San Marino, just a few miles from downtown LA, this is a must visit for anyone who enjoys nature and flowers. It's also a nice break the pavement jungle that is Southern California. You can enjoy a nice walk through the grounds seeing plant life from different areas and climates. You can sit on a bench and enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Japanese Gardens. You can relax and have afternoon tea at the Tea Room. If culture is what you want, there are some art galleries available for you and if it's too hot, it's a nice escape from the hot Los Angeles sun into an air conditioned building. For photographers out there, there's countless photographic opportunities. Make sure you bring enough memory cards!

Please view my picture set of the gardens to see more pics from this beautiful place:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joits/sets/72057594128691559/

Don't miss The Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino near Pasadena....spectacular place
There are beautiful works of art and lovely gardens to stroll through....
Picture is of all of us in the Cactus Garden

The Huntington, Library, Art & Botanical Gardens
Established in 1919 by Henry Huntington, an exceptional businessman that built his finanacial empire around railroad companies and real estate holdings in southern California.

Library:Huntington collected rare books and manuscripts and amassed one of the finest libraries in the world. His specialization was British and American history and literature, the library having around 4 millions items. Included are the Ellesmere manuscripts of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a Gutenberg bible, and an edition of Audubon's Birds of America and early editions of Shakespeare's works.

Art: An extensive collection of British and French art of the 18th & 19th centuries. Is home to Gainborought's Blue Boy and Lawrence's Pinkie. There are 3 separate buildings containing artwork including the original Huntington residence.

Gardens: The Huntington gardens are definitely my favorite and include a fabulous desert garden, a Japenese garden, rose garden with over 2,000 roses, camellia garden, subtropical, herb & palm gardens.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and
Botanical Gardens
This museum is well worth visiting. It is located in a large and interesting estate set on 150 acres of beautiful gardens. Be sure to walk around these lovely gardens during your visit.

Museum highlights include the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (c.1410), a Gutenberg Bible (c.1455), Thomas Gainsborough's masterpiece The Blue Boy (c. 1770), Sir Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie (1794), Edward Hopper's The Long Leg, Rogier van der Weyden's Madonna and Child (15th century), the spectacular 12-acre desert garden, the serenely beautiful Japanese garden, and the camellia gardens.

English tea in the Rose Garden Tea Room is a wonderful treat while enjoying your day at the Huntington Library.