Rosecroft (San Diego)

Rosecroft
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Rosecroft
Location	530 Silvergate Ave., San Diego, California
Area	2.4 acres (0.97 ha)
Built	1912 (1912)
Architectural style	Italian Renaissance
NRHP reference No.	03000472
Added to NRHP	September 22, 2003

Rosecroft is a historic estate and gardens in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was built in 1912 by architect Emmor Brooke Weaver for Alfred D. Robinson, co-founder (with Kate Sessions) of the San Diego Floral Association and editor of its magazine, California Garden. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The 15,000-square-foot, Italian Renaissance style mansion, located on Silvergate Avenue in the Wooded Area of Point Loma, sits on 2.5 acres and is considered the largest parcel in the area. The property was originally 10 acres of barley fields. Robinson developed the fields into half a city block of gardens, where he cultivated various ornamental plants, particularly begonias. He became "the pre-eminent begonia expert", developing more than 100 new varieties at the Rosecroft estate. Robinson's were judged "the finest begonias to be grown anywhere in the world" by plant explorer and botanist David Fairchild.

Robinson was born in England on October 9, 1866 and moved to Point Loma in 1903. He began his horticultural career mainly as a hobby. He originally experimented with roses and dahlias, but eventually came to focus on begonias. He originated the idea of using lath houses to grow tropical plants in temperate climates. In 1912 he proposed, in an article in Sunset magazine, that the Panama-California Exposition then being planned for San Diego should include a "Palace of Lath"; this inspired the Botanical Building in Balboa Park.

After Robinson's death in 1942, a new owner opened the garden to the public as Rosecroft Begonia Gardens; the gardens were a popular tourist attraction through the 1960s. In the 1970s the property was sold and the garden area subdivided for residential use.

The mansion was the scene of some notable events including Ronald Reagan's announcement of his candidacy to be Governor of California (1966) and the 80th birthday party of Theodor Seuss Geisel ("Dr. Seuss") (1984). Notable guests at the mansion included Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who spent the weekend there during a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser, and winemaker Robert Mondavi, who spent so much time there that a suite was named for him.

Rosecroft was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 22, 2003, by the current owner, Scott Clifton. Today the home is his private residence, marked by a National Register plaque. Several private residences occupy the site of the Rosecroft Begonia Gardens; a stone wall along Silvergate Avenue is the only reminder of that attraction.

The estate is periodically opened to charity events, garden tours, weddings, film shoots, and other special events. In 2012, the 100th anniversary of the estate and gardens was commemorated by a tour organized by the San Diego Floral Association, which included the debut of a new variety of geranium named for Anna Gunn Marston, wife of George Marston, a contemporary of Robinson. Charity fundraisers that year included a "Great Gatsby" themed event to benefit the charity Voices for Children.