Banning House, also known as the General Phineas Banning Residence Museum, is a historic

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

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 literatur ...

home in the Wilmington section of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Built in 1863 by

Phineas Banning Phineas Banning (August 19, 1830 – March 8, 1885) was an American businessperson, businessman, financier and entrepreneur. Known as "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles," he was one of the founders of the town of Wilmington, Los Angeles, Ca ...

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 is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

. 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-Cul ...

and state

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

and has been federally listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces i ...

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 ship, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were gen ...

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 La Brea Tar Pits comprise an active Paleontological site, paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural Bitumen, asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, or pitch; ''brea'' ...

. 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 ( ) is a city in and the 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 census, making it the List of ...

, and

Fort Yuma Fort Yuma was a fort in California located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was established in 1848. It served as a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861. The fort was retired from ...

. He founded Wilmington (named after his hometown of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

) 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 Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "Amer ...

." 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, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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 Frank Finley Merriam (December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955) was an American Republican politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934, until January 2, 1939. Assuming the governorship at the height of the Great Depress ...

, 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 "J ...

, and Mayor

Frank L. Shaw Frank Lawrence Shaw (February 1, 1877 – January 24, 1958) was the first mayor of a major American city to be recalled from office, in 1938. He was also a member of the Los Angeles City Council and then the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) 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 ...

es located in the barn and a one-room school house adjacent to the house. The gardens include

eucalyptus tree ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

s (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). The genus includes four 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 the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

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

, 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

References

External links