Kimberly Crest House and Gardens is a French château-style

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 literature ...

mansion located in

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of Lo ...

. The property is a registered California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The house was built in 1897 for Mrs Cornelia A. Hill, one of the pioneers of Redlands. In 1905, John Alfred Kimberly, a co-founder of the

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand n ...

paper company, purchased the home to escape the Wisconsin winters, giving the family name to the property. When the Kimberly family purchased the property in 1905, Mrs Kimberly had the Italian gardens installed on the property. The family celebrated the holidays at the property with a magnolia tree adorned with 6000 watts of light. The Kimberly family continued to live in the home until the death in 1979 of Mary Kimberly Shirk, the widowed daughter of John Alfred Kimberly. Before her death, Mrs Shirk challenged the city of Redlands to raise the funds to purchase of the property around the home and turn it into a botanical park. If the funds were raised, she promised to bequeath the mansion and the estate of immediately around it to the city. The city raised the funds, and the surrounding grounds became known as Prospect Park. At her death, Mrs Shirk left the home to "the people of Redlands" and, using the proceeds from the sale to the city of the Prospect Park property, established the Kimberly-Shirk Association, which continues to care for the home today. Prior to the conversion to a museum, the mansion served as one of the filming locations for the 1981 movie '' Hell Night'', starring Linda Blair. In the film, tunnels were depicted, but the house and the estate have no such feature. Later, the grounds served as the setting of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

's Big Love video. Shots depicting the inside of the home were filmed on a sound stage.

Architecture

The three-story

mansion was designed in the

Châteauesque Châteauesque (or Francis I style,Whiffen, Marcus, ''American Architecture Since 1780: A guide to the styles'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969, p. 142. or in Canada, the Château Style) is a Revivalist architectural style based on the Fr ...

style by Oliver Perry Dennis and Lyman Farwell, a Los Angeles-based partnership. The building contains over of floor space. A near replica, now known as The Magic Castle, was designed by the same architects and erected in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

in 1909.

Gardens

The gardens that surround Kimberly Crest are exquisite examples of the Italian style favored by Victorian homeowners at the turn of the 20th century. Mr Kimberly had the current gardens created in 1909, complete with statuary and koi ponds. Today the gardens are honorary members of the Inland Koi Society, which now maintains the lily ponds.

The mansion today

The Kimberly-Shirk Association has maintained the property since 1981 and continues the legacy of Mrs Shirk's involvement in civic events. Kimberly Crest is open to the public for tours and can also be booked for weddings and private events. Tours are Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Tours are available every half hour with the last tour taking off at 3:30 pm.

Gallery

Image:Kimberly Crest 1.jpg,

Kimberly Crest home viewed from road. Image:Kimberlycrestfront.jpg, Driveway to porte-cochere and principal entrance at the architectural rear of the house. Image:Kimberly Crest porch.jpg, View from the front porch showing the gardens and the San Bernardino Valley beyond. Image:Kimberly Crest carriage house.jpg, Kimberly Crest carriage house.

References

External links

Kimberly Crest House and Gardens
– ''Official website'' {{National Register of Historic Places in California Houses in San Bernardino County, California Historic house museums in California Museums in San Bernardino County, California Buildings and structures in Redlands, California California Historical Landmarks Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in San Bernardino County, California Houses completed in 1897 Châteauesque architecture in the United States Renaissance Revival architecture in California Victorian architecture in California History of Redlands, California