Banning House

Infobox_nrhp | name =Banning House
nrhp_type =


caption = Banning House, August 2008
location= 401 E. M St., Wilmington, California
lat_degrees = 33
lat_minutes = 47
lat_seconds = 25
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 118
long_minutes = 15
long_seconds = 26
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built =1863
architect= Banning,Phineas
architecture= Late Victorian
added = May 06, 1971
governing_body = Local
refnum=71000160cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Banning House, also known as the General Phineas Banning Residence Museum, is a historic Greek Revival home in the Wilmington section of Los Angeles, California. Built in 1863 by Phineas Banning, it remained in the Banning family until 1925 and has been owned by the City of Los Angeles since 1927. The home, barn and gardens are now operated as a museum. The property has been designated as a historic landmark at the city, state and national levels.

History and architecture

Banning House was designed by Phineas Banning,cite news|author=Mary Lou Loper|title=A Fixer-Upper With a Past, Future|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1976-01-29] and has been described as "one of the best examples of Greek Revival architecture in the west." [cite news|author=Camilla Snyder|title=Banning Residence Restored: Living with History|publisher=Los Angeles Herald-Examiner|date=1977-04-18 ("the house is one of the best examples of Greek Revival architecture in the west")] [cite web|title=General Banning House Museum|publisher=University of Southern California|url=http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/la/historic/banning_house.html("the finest extant example of Greek revival style in Southern California")] cite web|title=The General Phineas Banning Residence Museum|publisher=Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Department|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/02/262176.pdf ("The House is built in the Greek Revival style and is considered the best extant nineteenth century in Southern California.")] It originally had 30 rooms, but some rooms have been combined, and the house now has 24 rooms. According to a history of the house written by its curator, Banning recruited help to build the house from shipwrights, blacksmiths, carpenters, and artisans employed on clipper ships visiting the Wilmington harbor.cite news|author=Beverly Bubar|title=The Banning Mansion|publisher=The Shoreline|date=May 1977] Banning was reported to have lavishly entertained the ships' captains while they were at Wilmington, encouraging them to stay in port and seal up leaks in their ships with tar from the La Brea Tar Pits. The story goes: "Strangely enough Banning repeated this warning (about leaky ships) over and over for about three years until his mansion was completed in 1864."

The house was a departure from the adobe haciendas that predominated in Southern California at the time and became a showplace. During Banning's life, the house was the site of parties, or "regales" as Banning called them, attended by United States senators, congressmen, governors, foreign dignitaries, ship captains, Army officers, and business leaders. It has been said that "no home in all California represents the horse and carriage era more fully than the Banning Mansion, where for decades Phineas entertained the elite of the social, economic, and political world." The house was also reportedly the site of "the first yachting party on the West Coast."

Banning arrived in Los Angeles in 1851 and built successful transportation businesses, including ships, railroads, and stage coach lines running from Wilmington to Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Fort Yuma. He founded Wilmington (named after his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware) in 1858, built the first railroad in Los Angeles (the Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad) in 1869, designed and promoted the first breakwater at the Los Angeles harbor, and is considered the "Father of the Port of Los Angeles." Banning was reportedly fond of walking up the stairs of the house to his fourth floor cupola where he would watch the ships arriving with cargoes. He was also elected to the California legislature in 1867 and 1869. Banning lived in the house for more than 20 years until his death in 1885. Banning died at age 53 after being knocked down and run over by a passing express wagon while visiting San Francisco. [cite news|title=Gen. Phineas Banning: Death of a Pioneer of Los Angeles County|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1885-03-10]

Operation as a museum

After Phineas Banning died, Hancock Banning maintained the residence until his death in 1894, and the house continued to be occupied by the Banning family until 1925. In 1927, the house and grounds were purchased by the City of Los Angeles to create a city park for the residents of Wilmington.cite news|author=Juana Neal Levy|title=California History: Dedication Planned for Banning Home: Antique Structure to Serve as Museum for Storing Memories of Days of Western Pioneers|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1936-05-31] In 1934, the Los Angeles Board of Park Commissioners proposed restoring the house, and the Banning family donated many of the original furnishings and equipment. [cite news|title=Banning Project Lauded: Proposal to Restore Old Homestead at Wilmington Acclaimed by Many in State|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1934-02-22] [cite news|title=Early Home to Be Shrine: Historic Dwelling to Become Depository for Heirlooms of Southland|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1936-01-26] Motion picture studios, including Twentieth-Century Fox, Warner Brothers and Paramount, contributed wallpapers to conform to the Civil War era.cite news|title=Landmark Plans Made: Ceremony on June 6 Will Be Attended by High Officials of State|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1936-05-07] Following the restoration, the formal dedication took place in 1936 and was attended by Governor Frank Merriam, Senator William Gibbs McAdoo, and Mayor Frank L. Shaw. It opened to the public in 1938, [cite news|title=Historic Home Opens Today: Reception and Tea in Banning House Planned by Women|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1938-06-11] closed in 1941 at the start of World War II, and did not reopen until 1952. [cite news|title=Old Banning Home Reopens in Wilmington|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1952-03-31] [cite news|title=Banning Home Reopening Will Feature Festival: General's Famed Residence Will Be Tour Mecca at Program of Recreation Department|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1952-03-23] [cite news|title=Gen. Banning Residence Reopens to Public Today|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1952-03-30]

The house is operated as the General Phineas Banning Residence Museum. In addition to the house and its furnishings, the museum includes a basement-level gallery with photographs depecting the history of the port, the Banning family, and Wilmington. The museum also includes a large display of 19th century stagecoaches located in the barn and a one-room school house adjacent to the house. The gardens include eucalyptus trees (reputed to be the first to be planted in California) and large wisteria vines planted in the late 19th Century.

The museum is open for docent-led tours Tuesday through Thursdays (12:30, 1:30 and 2:30) and Saturdays through Sundays (12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30); a $5 donation is requested for persons 12 years and older.

Historic designations

, receiving its listing in May 1971.

ee also

* List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
* List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the Harbor area
* Drum Barracks - Civil War barracks built on land donated by Banning, located down the street from Banning House

References

External links

* [http://www.banningmuseum.org/ General Phineas Banning Residence Museum web site]
* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.ca2250 General Phineas Banning Residence] at the U.S. Library of Congress.