Fioli Center Gardens

Karen and I took a tour of the Fioli Center in October. The grounds are amazing even in the fall, we are defiantly returning in the spring!

Fioli is located in the Woodside Hills off 280, take Cañada Road and follow the sings.

Filoli was built for Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn, prominent San Franciscans whose chief source of wealth was the Empire Mine, a hard-rock gold mine in Grass Valley, California. Mr. Bourn was also owner and president of the Spring Valley Water Company whose property comprised Crystal Springs Lake and the surrounding lands, areas that are now part of the San Francisco Water Department. He selected the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake as the site for his estate.

Mr. Bourn arrived at the unusual name Filoli by combining the first two letters from the key words of his credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”

Mr. Bourn chose longtime friend and prominent San Francisco architect Willis Polk as principal designer for the House. Polk had previously designed the Bourns' cottage in Grass Valley as well as their home on Webster Street in San Francisco. An inventive architect, Polk frequently combined several styles in a single building, an eclecticism clearly evident in his design for Filoli.

Construction of Filoli began in 1915 and the Bourns moved into the House in 1917. Bruce Porter, a talented painter, sculptor, muralist, landscape designer and art critic was enlisted to help the Bourns plan the layout of the extensive formal garden that was built between 1917 and 1929. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bourn died in 1936.

The estate was purchased in 1937 by Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth, who owned the Matson Navigation Company. Under the Roths' supervision the property was maintained and the formal garden gained worldwide recognition. Mrs. Roth made Filoli her home until 1975 when she donated 125 acres, which included the House and formal garden, to theNational Trust for Historic Preservation for the enjoyment and inspiration of future generations. The remaining acreage was given to Filoli Center.

A prime example of the California eclectic style, Filoli provides an inspiring vision of a new Eden, with bountiful land, plentiful resources and an emphasis on self-sufficiency. Built more than sixty years after the California Gold Rush that inspired massive migration to Northern California, and ten years after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco, Filoli represented a desire to create a magnificent and enduring country estate.

Now operated by Filoli Center, the 654-acre estate is a California State Historic Landmark and listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. This outstanding showcase of early twentieth-century architecture and garden design can be enjoyed by the public during much of the year.

James Lick Observatory

As a James Lick HS Alum, I would visit the historic observatory all the time. One fall morning Karen and I decided to take a trip up the hill to visit the Observatory.

The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton. The observatory is managed from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The observatory, was constructed between 1876 and 1887, from a bequest from James Lick. In 1887 Lick's body was buried under the future site of the telescope, with a plaque with  the inscription, "Here lies the body of James Lick". The Observatory was the world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory.

Before construction could begin, a road to the site had to be built. All of the construction materials had to be brought to the site by horse and mule-drawn wagons, which could not negotiate a steep grade. To keep the grade below 6.5%, the road had to take a very winding path, which Mt. Hamilton Rd (SR 130) still follows. It is rumored  that this road has exactly 365 turns.  The road is closed when there is snow on Mt. Hamilton.

The 36 inch  refracting telescope on Mt. Hamilton was the largest refracting telescope during the period from 1888, until the construction of Yerkes in 1897. Warner & Swasey designed and built the telescope, with the 36-inch lens done by Alvan Clark & Sons. In May, 1888, the observatory was turned over to the Regents of the University of California, and it became the first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory in the world. Edward Singleton Holden was the first director. The location provided excellent viewing performance due to lack of ambient light and pollution; additionally, the night air at the top of Mt. Hamilton is extremely calm, and the mountain peak is normally above the level of the low cloud cover that is often seen below in San Jose area. When low cloud cover is present below the peak, light pollution is cut to almost nothing.  in 1980 San Jose began a program to reduce the effects of lighting, most notably replacing all streetlamps with low pressure sodium lamps. The result is that the Mount Hamilton site remains a viable location for a major working observatory. Asteroid 6216 San Jose was named in honor of the city's efforts to reduce light pollution by the International Astronomical Union.

There are daily tours inside the telescope housing. The floor is mechanically lifted more than 30' in order to manipulate the telescope in any direction for optimum viewing.

Here is a link to the 24 hr. Web Cam. You can enjoy the wonderful vistas at your desktop.

After our tour of the refractor we hiked up to the site where the reflector telescope. 

       After the Observatory we headed down the hill to Joseph D. Grant county park.its the largest of Santa Clara County's regional park and recreation areas. This 9,560 acre park includes some of the County''s finest open space resources, as well as rich environmental, cultural and recreational assets. The landscape is characteristic of the east foothills of the Santa Clara Valley with grasslands and majestic oak trees. As part of the park''s tradition and history, cattle grazing currently takes place in some areas, and is monitored under a resource management plan.