Wednesday, October 7, 2009

#30: Huntington Gardens


A cute little bear in the Children's Garden

Perfectly manicured, spacious, kid friendly, and not a speck of trash in sight--the place reminded me of DIsneyland.

I first came to the
Huntington Gardens in San Marino on a Saturday afternoon and spent about three hours meandering through almost every part of the grounds. This was not an easy feat; the place is gigantic. What makes it seem even larger is that the planners decided to lay out what seems like the most convoluted path from A to B. I'm not complaining, though; walking is my specialty.

Chinese Garden

If you only have limited time here, I'd recommend hitting up the Desert gardens, the Japanese Gardens, the children's garden, and the library. The library was especially amazing--you have Isaac Newton's own copy of Opticks on display, as well as the published works and/or notes of Darwin, Einstein, Aristotle, and many others.


Children's Garden

The second time I visited the gardens was for their outdoor concert series. Imagine HUNDREDS of families covering the main lawn of the Huntington (right outside of the library). Man, there were a lot of people there. Good thing the Huntington has a big parking lot! Don't have a membership? You can go with someone who does for just $5.

I loved my trip to the Huntington Gardens, and I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't have pollen allergies and likes walking.


Desert Gardens

Children's Garden

At the Garden's Outdoor Concert Series

2 comments:

  1. It's great to see that you included the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in your 365 things to do. However I feel that even though you mentioned the grounds were very large you didn't really give a sense of the true scope of this grand treasure in the middle of San Marino. In addition to the tight views in your photos some more panoramic views of the gardens and the several impressive buildings on the 120 acre site would have helped to excite and attract even more people to see what is one of the most beautiful sites in all of Southern California.

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  2. LOL thanks anonymous. do you work for the gardens? you would be a great tour guide. ;)

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