Montalvo Arts Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Villa Montalvo
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Villa Montalvo
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| Location | 15400 Montalvo Rd., Saratoga, California |
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| Area | 177 acres (72 ha) |
| Built | 1912–14 |
| Architect | William Curlett Charles Gottschalk |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Mediterranean Revival, Italian-style villa |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000784 |
| Added to NRHP | May 1, 1978 |
The Montalvo Arts Center is a special place in Saratoga, California. It's a non-profit center for art, nature, and history. You can visit Montalvo to explore a beautiful park, walk on hiking trails, and see the historic Villa Montalvo.
The Villa Montalvo is an amazing Italian-style mansion. It's tucked away in the hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. A famous Californian, James D. Phelan, built this mansion and its estate between 1912 and 1914. After he passed away, he gave the entire estate to California. It became a public park and then the arts center we know today. The mansion is a historic landmark. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
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Exploring the Mansion and Grounds
The Montalvo estate covers about 175 acres. That's a lot of space to explore! It has several large buildings, lovely gardens, and natural areas. Montalvo is home to two theaters and an art gallery. There's also the historic Villa Montalvo itself.
A special part of Montalvo is The Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. This is where artists can live and work. You can also enjoy hiking trails and beautiful gardens.
The mansion has 19 rooms and two floors. The first floor used to show art exhibits. Now, it's often used for weddings and other special events.
The gardens are decorated with marble sculptures. You'll also find interesting garden structures. The Front Lawn is sometimes used for outdoor plays and performances. The woods behind the mansion are open for everyone to enjoy. Since it became a public place, new hiking trails have been added. These trails wind through hills filled with Redwood trees.
A Look at Montalvo's History
In 1911, James D. Phelan bought 160 acres in the Saratoga countryside. Phelan was a very important person. He was the mayor of San Francisco three times. Later, he became California's first US Senator chosen by popular vote.
Phelan started building the mansion in 1912. William Curlett was the first architect in charge. When he passed away in 1914, his son, Alex Curlett, and partner Charles E. Gottschalk finished the work. The mansion was completed that same year.
During his life, Phelan invited many famous people to stay at Montalvo. Guests included writers like Jack London and Edwin Markham. Famous actors like Ethel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks also visited. Villa Montalvo was one of Phelan's favorite homes. He passed away there. You can sometimes see photos and letters from his life in the mansion's library.
When Phelan passed away, he wanted Montalvo to be a public park. He also wanted the buildings and grounds to help develop art, literature, music, and architecture. He hoped it would support promising students.
The San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) took care of the estate starting in 1930. They soon announced a plan for an artist residency program. This was one of the first programs of its kind in the United States. It began in 1939 with ten artists living there. In 2004, it became the Montalvo Art Center's Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. It now has 10 new studios for artists to live and work.
After World War II, some people worried about Montalvo's future. So, they formed the Montalvo Association. This group took over caring for the estate in 1953. As of 2024, the organization is known as the Montalvo Arts Center.
The Montalvo Association Today
Today, the Montalvo Arts Center is a private non-profit organization. The Montalvo Association works with Santa Clara County to keep it running. The park and arts center are open for everyone to visit.
The center gets money from memberships, grants, and donations. It also earns money from ticket sales and renting out spaces. More than 600 volunteers help out every year. They donate thousands of hours to support the art programs and maintain the villa and grounds.
Since 1939, artists have lived and worked at Montalvo. These "artists-in-residence" include musicians, painters, actors, writers, and architects. While they are there, they create new works and give performances. More than 600 artists from 20 countries have participated. This includes artists like Karla Diaz.
In 2003, Gordon Knox was chosen to lead the residency program. He had run a similar program in Italy. He imagined a new international artist residency program for Montalvo. In the fall of 2004, Montalvo opened the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Programs. These programs offer great facilities and technology to help artists be creative.
There is a small gallery called the Project Space Gallery. It's located in the building between the mansion and the Carriage House Theatre. The Montalvo Arts Center welcomes nearly 200,000 visitors each year.
The Arboretum and Nature
Many local people still call it "Villa Montalvo." The Montalvo Arts Center also has a 137-acre arboretum and botanical garden. This area is behind the main center. It's free and open to the public during the day. It's run by the non-profit organization for art, artists, and the community.
The arboretum is next to the villa. It's also an Audubon Society bird sanctuary. You can find dirt paths that lead from a redwood canyon up to Lookout Point. This spot is about 1200 feet high.
The arboretum has different types of forests. You can see chaparral, evergreen, and redwood trees. Trees native to the Santa Cruz Mountains include bay, California nutmeg, Douglas fir, big-leaf maple, tanoak, and coast live oak. Other common plants in the area are broom, mountain mahogany, chamise, coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), madrone, manzanita, monkey flower, pitcher sage, poison oak, and toyon.
How Montalvo Got Its Name
Phelan named Villa Montalvo to honor a popular Spanish writer from the 1500s, Garci Ordonez de Montalvo. This writer is famous for coining the name "California" in one of his fables. In his story, he described an island rich with gold and jewels. This island was home to Amazons ruled by a queen named Calafia. The Amazons in the fable even used griffins in battle! You can find images of griffins all around the arts center grounds, "standing guard."
See also
In Spanish: Villa Montalvo Arboretum para niños
