Banning House, also known as the General Phineas Banning Residence Museum, is a historic
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
-
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
home in the
Wilmington section of
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...
. Built in 1863 by
Phineas Banning near the original
San Pedro Bay, 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
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...
. The Banning House property, also known as Banning Park, has been designated as a city
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.
History
The Historic-Cult ...
and state
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
and has been federally listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
.
History and architecture
Banning House was designed by Phineas Banning,
and has been described as "one of the best examples of Greek Revival architecture in the west."
[ ("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 ]shipwright
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
s, blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
s, carpenters, and artisans employed on clipper ship
A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "Cli ...
s visiting the Wilmington harbor. 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
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cens ...
, and Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma was a fort in California located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of ...
. He founded Wilmington (named after his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...
) 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
The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", ...
." 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
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
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.] 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. Motion picture studios, including Twentieth-Century Fox, Warner Brothers and Paramount, contributed wallpapers to conform to the Civil War era. Following the restoration, the formal dedication took place in 1936 and was attended by Governor Frank Merriam, Senator William Gibbs McAdoo
William Gibbs McAdoo Jr.McAdoo is variously differentiated from family members of the same name:
* Dr. William Gibbs McAdoo (1820–1894) – sometimes called "I" or "Senior"
* William Gibbs McAdoo (1863–1941) – sometimes called "II" or "Ju ...
, and Mayor Frank L. Shaw.[ It opened to the public in 1938,][ closed in 1941 at the start of ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, and did not reopen until 1952.
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 depicting the history of the port, the Banning family, and Wilmington. The museum also includes a large display of 19th century stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
es 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
''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae), that includes ten species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and nor ...
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
Banning Park, including the Banning House, barn and gardens, was designated California Historical Landmarks
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
in 1935. After the creation of the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission in 1962, the house became one of the earliest sites designated as a Banning Park (HCM #25) in October 1963. It was also the sixth site in Los Angeles to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
, receiving its listing in May 1971.
California Historical Landmark Marker NO. 147 at the site reads:californiahistoricallandmarks.com 147, Banning House
/ref>
*''NO. 147 BANNING PARK - General Phineas Banning, State Senator and pioneer in the development of transportation in Southern California, built this house in the 1850s, soon after founding the town of Wilmington. He and his family lived here until his death in 1885. In 1927 the property was deeded to the city.''
Gallery
File:EXTERIOR RAMP AND EAST SIDE VIEW, FACING SOUTH - General Phineas Banning Residence, 401 East M Street, Wilmington, Los Angeles County, CA HABS CAL,19-WILM,2-17.tif, East side view
File:EAST ELEVATION AND PATIO - General Phineas Banning Residence, 401 East M Street, Wilmington, Los Angeles County, CA HABS CAL,19-WILM,2-18.tif, East elevation and patio
File:FIRST FLOOR FRONT PORCH DETAIL VIEW, FACING WEST - General Phineas Banning Residence, 401 East M Street, Wilmington, Los Angeles County, CA HABS CAL,19-WILM,2-12.tif, First floor front porch
File:INTERIOR VIEW, FIRST FLOOR FAMILY ROOM, FACING NORTH - General Phineas Banning Residence, 401 East M Street, Wilmington, Los Angeles County, CA HABS CAL,19-WILM,2-37.tif, First floor family room
See also
*
* 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
*
U.S. Library of Congress: General Phineas Banning Residence
{{Registered Historic Places
Museums in Los Angeles
Historic house museums in California
Biographical museums in California
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles
California Historical Landmarks
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
Houses completed in 1863
Greek Revival houses in California
Neoclassical architecture in California
Victorian architecture in California
Museums established in 1938
1938 establishments in California
Wilmington, Los Angeles