The Bernheimer Gardens were 8-acre (350,000 sq ft; 32,000 m2; 3.2 ha) 20th-century formal gardens in California in the United States that showcased a private collection of bronze statues from Asia.
| Bernheimer Gardens | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bernheimer Chinese Gardens pictured on a Tichnor Brothers linen-era postcard | |
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| Location | 16980 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA |
| Coordinates | 34°02′30″N 118°32′55″W / 34.0418°N 118.5485°W |
| Opened | 1928 |
| Closed | 1944 |
The gardens were open to the public at (corner of Marquez Street) in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, below what is now the Sunset Highlands neighborhood, from 1928 until 1944. The gardens also featured Asian-influenced plantings and tea houses, presumably chashitsu.[1] They were sometimes called the Bernheimer Chinese Gardens or the Bernheimer Oriental Gardens; surviving photos of the buildings show a strong Japanese design influence.[2]
In 1936, it was reported that some US$3,000,000 (equivalent to about $65,870,500 in 2023) had been invested in the gardens.[3] The Bernheimer Gardens were known for their annual begonia show.[4] A landslide below the gardens closed "Roosevelt Highway" (now called the Pacific Coast Highway) in 1944.[5] This was the first of a series of "devastating landslides" that destroyed the gardens, leading to their closure.[6] The founder of the gardens, Adolph B. Bernheimer, died at the same time as the landslides began and the gardens deteriorated until, by 1951, there was no sign of them left.[7]
The same family had an estate in Hollywood at what is now Yamashiro Restaurant.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Pacific Palisades: Where art, intellect mix like salt, pepper". The Los Angeles Times. 1983-05-22. p. 661. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
- ^ Bernheimer residence in the Bernheimer Gardens in Pacific Palisades, 1930, retrieved 2023-04-24
- ^ All-Year Club of Southern California (1936). Official tourist guide: southern California. Los Angeles: All-Year Club of Southern California. p. 56.
- ^ "Begonia show opens today at Bernheimer Gardens". Daily News. 1941-05-30. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
- ^ "Bernheimer Garden Landslide Closes Roosevelt Highway". Evening Star-News. 1944-03-22. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
- ^ "Bernheimer photo feature". The Los Angeles Times. 1951-09-03. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
- ^ "Auctioneer will sell famed bronzes". Santa Cruz Sentinel. 1951-09-03. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
- ^ Bernheimer Garden, Pacific Palisades, retrieved 2023-04-24