OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Google Map (new tab)

Google Streetview (new tab)

William B., Jr., and Agnes Moody Bourn of the Spring Valley Water Company commissioned San Francisco architect, Willis Polk, to design this 40-room mansion on the San Francisco Peninsula. Bourn's father, William B. Bourn, Sr., was a mining magnate who owned the gold-prducing Empire Mine, in Grass Valley, CA. Bourn, Sr., committed suicide in his San Francisco house 08/02/1874, an event that shook the city. The Bourns sold the estate to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth in 1937. Mrs Roth was an avid gardener, and she actively pursued the cultivation of Filoli's grounds. In 1975, she deeded the property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The name, "Filoli," was drawn from the first two letters of each sentence of William Bourn, Jr.'s personal motto: "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life."

In 1928, a 2-story porch was added.

PCAD id: 7837