Kimberly Crest

Infobox_nrhp | name =Kimberly Crest
nrhp_type =


caption = Kimberly Crest house and gardens
location= Redlands, California
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 2
lat_seconds = 16.21
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 117
long_minutes = 10
long_seconds = 20.87
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built =1897
architect= O.P. Dennis, L.P. Farwell
architecture= Victorian, Châteauesque
added = March 28, 1996
governing_body = Private
refnum=96000328cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Kimberly Crest House and Gardens is a French château-style Victorian mansion located in Redlands, California. The property is registered California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The house and gardens were built in 1897 for Mrs. Cornelia A. Hill, one of the pioneers of Redlands. In 1905, John Alfred Kimberly, a co-founder of Kimberly-Clark paper company, purchased the home to escape the Wisconsin winters, giving the family name to the property. The family celebrated the holidays at the property with a convert|90|ft|m|sing=on Magnolia tree adorneded with 6000 watts of light.cite web|url=http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_home_tours_celebrity/article/0,,HGTV_3457_1380076,00.html|title=Kimberly Crest House|date=2008-02-05|work=Decorating|publisher=Scripps Networks, LLC.] The Kimberly family continued to live in the home until the death in 1979 of Mary Kimberly Shirk, the widowed daughter of John Alfred Kimberly.

Before her death, Mrs. Shirk challenged the city of Redlands to raise the funds to purchase the property around the home and turn it into a convert|39|acre|sqmi km2|2|lk=on|abbr=on botanical park. If the funds were raised, she promised to bequeath the mansion and its convert|6.25|acre|sqmi km2|2|lk=on|abbr=on estate to the city. The city raised the funds, and the surrounding grounds became known as Prospect Park. At her death, Mrs. Shirk left the home to "the people of Redlands" and used the proceeds from the sale of Prospect Park to establish the Kimberly-Shirk Association which continues to care for the home today.cite web | url=http://www.kimberlycrest.org/aboutus.htm| title = Kimberly Crest Website]

Architecture

This three story Victorian mansion was designed in the Châteauesque style by Oliver Perry Dennis and Lyman Farwell, a Los Angeles-based partnership. [ [https://digital.lib.washington.edu/php/architect/record.phtml?type=partner&paid=1074 In partnership 1895-1913] .] The building contains over ft2 to m2|7000|precision=0 of floor space. A near replica, The Magic Castle, was erected in 1909 in Hollywood by the same architects. [cite web | url=http://www.esri.com/company/redlands/heritage_landmarks.html| title = ESRI Redlands Guide Website; their Janes House (1905) is Hollywood Boulevard's last remaining residential structure.]

Gardens

The gardens that surround Kimberly Crest are exquisite examples of the Italian style favored by Victorian homeowners at the turn of the 20th century. Mr. Kimberly had the gardens created in 1909, complete with statuary and koi ponds. [Moore, F: "Redlands, Our Town", page 226. Moore Historical Foundation, 1987] Today the gardens are honorary members of the Inland Koi Society, [cite web | url=http://www.inlandkoisociety.org/| title = Inland Koi Society Homepage] which now maintains the lily ponds.

The mansion today

The Kimberly-Shirk Association has maintained the property since 1981 and continues the legacy of Mrs. Shirk's involvement in civic events. Kimberly Crest is open to the public for tours and can also be booked for weddings and private events.

References

External links

* [http://www.kimberlycrest.org/ Kimberly Crest House and Gardens] - Official website