The oldest known photograph of the original Banning mansion on M Street, taken by William Godfrey in 1873 (Photo courtesy of the Banning Museum)
Long a beautiful Wilmington landmark, it's hard to imagine the Banning Mansion as anything other than a gleaming historic showplace set within a pristine park.
But after the last family member to live there, Hancock Banning, died in 1925, its future was clouded by uncertainty.
Patriarch Phineas Banning built this building in 1864 to replace Wilmington's first home. This building was a small building on Canal Street (now Avalon Boulevard), not far from Bunnings Landing, a pier where ships docked in the Port of Los Angeles.
Born in Delaware in 1830, Mr. Banning came to the San Pedro area at the age of 21, one year after California became a state. (He chose the name Wilmington for the 640 acres he eventually purchased near San Pedro in honor of the capital of Delaware, where he grew up.) A true visionary, he They quickly realized that transporting goods was key to the expansion of the rapidly growing city. Los Angeles area.
He started with a stagecoach line, but soon added shipping, due to its proximity to the natural port of San Pedro. Then, in 1869, he opened the region's first Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad, connecting the port to the larger city 32 miles north.
All these businesses quickly made Bunning very rich. He decided he needed a larger home, not only for his wife Rebecca and their three sons, but also to host social and political events befitting a growing man. Did.
The Banning House was built in the Greek Revival style, which was popular among Delaware's wealthy people in the early 1800s. Her original 30-room home was three stories high, with a prominent second-floor balcony. A rooftop cupola was added soon after the house was built. From there, Banning was able to train the telescope on shipping activity in the harbor.
Phineas Banning died in San Francisco in 1885 at the age of 54 after his health began to decline in the early 1880s.
His sons, William, Joseph, and Hancock, made many improvements to the mansion at 401 West M Street after their father's death. The house was extended and the surrounding grounds decorated.
Charlie Lim Yong, the family's Chinese cook, famously planted a wisteria vine on the property in 1896, which grew to great size. Its fame spread like a vine, and in 1931 the annual Wisteria Festival began here. The event continues today as Banning Museum's annual fundraiser, Wisteria Festival.
Joseph Banning is credited with adding the first indoor bathroom to the mansion in 1893. Hancock Banning made many changes in his early 1900s, adding a kitchen, ballroom, and nearby sunken garden by 1911.
Hancock's wife, Anne, sold the mansion and grounds to the City of Los Angeles in 1925 to cover inheritance taxes. This led to a critical moment in the mansion's history: an election by Wilmington residents on March 10, 1927, to decide whether to develop the mansion and the surrounding 20 acres as a public park.
Residents voted overwhelmingly in favor, with 1,281 votes in favor and 55 votes against. Banning Park quickly became a popular destination for the community. However, the house itself needed renovation, and the family had removed most of the original furniture.
The city's plans to develop the land moved more slowly, but the house was opened to the public on a special occasion in 1931. The site's recognition as a California Historic Landmark was made contingent on donations of antiques from other local pioneer families. mansion.
Finally, in 1936, the city signed an agreement requiring the mansion to be established as a permanent history museum and became California Historic Landmark No. 147. The official dedication ceremony on June 6th was attended by many dignitaries and included a congratulatory message from President Franklin. President Delano Roosevelt's speech was read to the assembled crowd.
Due in part to economic conditions during the Great Depression, financing for much-needed renovations to the house and grounds continued to be delayed. The transformation into a working museum was further stalled by the outbreak of World War II.
During the war, the U.S. military took over the site and turned the mansion into a “no camping” headquarters. The military placed anti-aircraft guns and other units on the grounds of the mansion, built temporary barracks, and stationed WAC troops in the park. The mansion's furniture was stored in a warehouse for safekeeping.
The park provided temporary housing for veterans and their families for three years after the war. After that was completed, Banning Park was returned to Wilmington residents. But first it needed to be repaired.
The restored mansion finally opened its doors three years later, on March 30, 1952, to an estimated 2,000 visitors. Since then, Banning Museum and Park has been the region's crown jewel and active historic center.
The City of Los Angeles added it to the National Register of Historic Places in 1963 and the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971.
source:
“About Us”, Banning Museum website.
daily breeze archive.
An epic adventure: The Banning family and the making of Southern Californiaby Tom Sitton, Huntington Library, 2010.
“Lecture on Historic Buildings at the Banning Museum,” video presentation by Michael Sanborn, Banning Residence Director, December 16, 2020.
Los Angeles Times archive.
san pedro news pilot archive.
wilmington press journal archive.