Phillips Mansion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Phillips Mansion
|
|
Phillips Mansion, August 2008
|
|
 Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Location in California
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 2640 W. Pomona Blvd., Pomona, California |
|---|---|
| Built | 1875 |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000525 |
| Added to NRHP | November 6, 1974 |
The Phillips Mansion is a really old and cool house in Pomona, California. It's built in a special style called Second Empire. A rich man named Louis Phillips built it in 1875. By the 1890s, he was the wealthiest person in Los Angeles County. The mansion was located along the old Butterfield Stage route, which made it an important place for the community in the Pomona and Spadra areas. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. This means it's recognized as a very important historical site.
Contents
Louis Phillips: A Rich Rancher
The Phillips Mansion was built in 1875 by Louis Phillips (around 1830 - 1900). Louis Phillips was born Louis Galefsky in a place called Prussia, which is now part of Poland. He moved to California in the early 1850s and changed his name to Phillips.
In 1862, he moved to Spadra, which is now part of Pomona. He started raising sheep and cattle. In 1864, he bought a huge piece of land, about 12,000 acres (49 square kilometers), from the old Rancho San Jose for $30,000. In 1867, he married Esther Blake. They had three sons and two daughters.
Louis Phillips also owned a lot of land in other parts of Los Angeles County. This included buildings in the Los Angeles business district. By 1892, a newspaper called the Los Angeles Times said that Phillips was "the richest man in Los Angeles County." They reported that he was worth at least $3,000,000. Besides his land in Los Angeles, he had a ranch that produced wool, honey, and wheat.
Architecture of the Phillips Mansion
The Phillips Mansion was built in 1875 and cost over $20,000. People have described its style as "Second Empire" or even a "Classic Haunted Mansion." The house has very tall ceilings, about 16 feet (4.9 meters) high, and six fireplaces. The bricks used to build it were made right there on the property.
The mansion has a special type of roof called a mansard roof. Some people say it looks like the old French homes you might see in New Orleans. Another person said it looks like a house that a rich banker would build in a small town. The inside of the mansion is decorated with beautiful cherry and maple wood. This wood had to be brought all the way from San Pedro by horse and wagon.
The Phillips Mansion was special for the Pomona Valley in many ways:
- It was the first home built with fired bricks.
- It was the first home to have gas lighting.
- It was the first example of a mansard roof in the area.
Besides two very old adobe buildings from the Mexican era, the Phillips Mansion is the oldest house still standing in the Pomona Valley. It has even been called "one of the ten most stately mansions in Southern California."
History of the Mansion
Rancho San Jose Connection
The land where the Phillips Mansion stands was once part of a huge area called Rancho San Jose. This land grant, which was 22,000 acres (89 square kilometers), was given out in 1837. Before the Phillips Mansion was built, there was an adobe house on the property in the 1860s. Even then, the buildings near San Jose Creek were seen as the center of life on the ranch.
Louis Phillips' Use of the Mansion
In 1864, Louis Phillips bought 12,000 acres (49 square kilometers) of the ranch for $30,000. In January 1874, the Southern Pacific Railroad finished building a train line from Los Angeles to Spadra. This made people more interested in developing land in the area.
In 1875, Phillips built his mansion. He also sold most of his 12,000 acres to be divided into smaller plots. This led to the start of the city of Pomona. Phillips was one of the people who helped plan the town of Pomona in the summer of 1875. The new community was named after the goddess of fruit trees. However, Phillips liked Spadra more than Pomona. He kept 2,241 acres (9.07 square kilometers) around his mansion and used it as a cattle and sheep ranch.
The Phillips Mansion was an important stop for the Butterfield Stage Route. This was a major travel path that crossed with another road from San Bernardino to Los Angeles. Phillips also became the postmaster for the Spadra area. This meant the mansion became both the post office and a place for social gatherings for the people living in the Pomona Valley in the late 1800s.
Changes in Ownership Over Time
Louis Phillips passed away from pneumonia at the mansion in 1900. His wife, Esther, lived there until 1916. The mansion stayed in the Phillips family until 1931. At that time, their grandson, Cecil George, sold it to Paul T. Boyle. The property then included the house and 40 acres (16 hectares) of land.
In 1942, the house was sold to C.H. Brandmyer. The property then had the house and 21 acres (8.5 hectares) of citrus trees. The Los Angeles Times reported that the home had never been changed or updated.
During World War II, the house was turned into an apartment building. At one point, it was divided into four apartments, and the dark wood inside was painted over. By 1959, Earl Isbil owned the property.
Historical Society Saves the Mansion
By the 1960s, the area around the Phillips Mansion had become mostly industrial. In 1966, the mansion was badly damaged by vandals. There were even plans to sell the property to someone who wanted to build a paint factory there.
Because of this, the Historical Society of Pomona Valley started a campaign to save the old mansion. They eventually bought the mansion and worked to restore it. They wanted it to be a museum about the "Yankee period" (American settlement). This would go along with the Ygnacio Palomares Adobe, which was a museum about the Mexican period. The restored mansion opened for public tours in 1978.
Later, the ownership of the mansion was given to the City of Pomona. Now, the city and the Historical Society work together to operate the mansion.
In 1973, the house was used as a filming location for a movie called Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural. A small jail building on the property was also used in the film.
In 1981, a time capsule was buried at the entrance to a new community called "Phillips Ranch." This time capsule contained bricks and nails from the Phillips Mansion. The Phillips Ranch community has 3,000 new homes and was built on the land that used to be Louis Phillips' ranch.
The Phillips Mansion was damaged by earthquakes in 1990 and 1991. The chimney fell, and cracks appeared throughout the building. The house reopened for tours in October 1991, but visitors had to wear hard hats for safety.
Between 2002 and 2008, the Historical Society and the City of Pomona did a lot of repair work on the house. It was closed during this time. In July 2008, the mansion was damaged again by the Chino Hills earthquake. This caused more cracks and delayed its reopening. However, the Phillips Mansion is now open for special events and tours.
See also
