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Rosecroft (San Diego)

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Rosecroft
Rosecroft
Rosecroft (San Diego) is located in California
Rosecroft (San Diego)
Location530 Silvergate Ave., San Diego, California
Area2.4 acres (0.97 ha)
Built1912 (1912)
Architectural styleItalian Renaissance
NRHP reference No.03000472[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 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 wealthy heiress Marion James Robinson, neé Marion James Duncan (1873-1918), and her retired medical instrument merchant husband Alfred Daly Robinson (1866-1942). Marion and Alfred were co-founders,[2] along with Kate Sessions, of the San Diego Floral Association, and Alfred was editor of its magazine, California Garden.[3] Rosecroft 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.[4] The Robinsons developed the fields into half a city block of gardens, where they cultivated various ornamental plants, particularly begonias.[5] Alfred became "the pre-eminent begonia expert", developing more than 100 new varieties at the Rosecroft estate.[6][7] Alfred's were judged "the finest begonias to be grown anywhere in the world" by plant explorer and botanist David Fairchild.[8]

Marion J. Duncan was born in San Francisco in October 1873, the daughter of Hilarion Duncan (1831-1901), a retired merchant, and his wife Charlotte (Lottie) D. Wadham.[9] Marion was the only grandchild and Hilarion was the only child of the wealthy Scottish merchant James Duncan (1798-1874). Duncan made his fortune in in copper during three decades as a merchant in Valparaiso, Chile, before retiring to Britain in 1864. He was born and is buried on the Scottish Highland Isle of Bute. The name Rosecroft was Marion's nod to her Highland Scottish heritage.

Alfred D. Robinson was born in England and emigrated to the USA in 1888 at the age of 22. He became a medical instruments merchant with the firm Hoppe and Robinson in Santa Ana in Orange County, California. In 1897 he married Marion J. Duncan; the couple had two children.[9] For the first six years of their marriage the couple lived in her widowed father's large home at 1823 Turk St in San Francisco. With the death of Hilarion on November 17, 1901, his daughter Marion inherited the the bulk of her grandfather's fortune; this allowed her 36 year old husband to retire from his merchant business. In San Francisco they heard a lecture by Theosophist Katherine Tingley, describing the utopian community "Lomaland" which she was developing in the Point Loma area of San Diego. In 1903 they purchased 10 acres of Point Loma property near Lomaland and enrolled their first child in the Lomaland school.[10] After making a trip to Britain in 1904, the Robinsons settled permanently in San Diego in 1905.

Alfred began his horticultural career by experimenting 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.[11]

After Alfred 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.[7]

Rosecroft was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on September 22, 2003.[12][5] Today the home is a private residence, marked by a National Register plaque. Several private residences occupy the former 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,[13] 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.[14] Charity fundraisers that year included a "Great Gatsby" themed event held by the philanthropic organization Makua to benefit the charity Voices for Children.[15]

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ California Garden Vol. 10, No. 6, December 1918
  3. ^ Garske, Monica (May 13, 2012). "Historic Gardens Tour in Point Loma". NBC-7 San Diego. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  4. ^ Carter, Nancy Carol. When Dr. Fairchild Visited Miss Sessions: San Diego 1919. Journal of San Diego History. v. 50, nos. 3&4. p. 80. 2004.
  5. ^ a b San Diego Floral Association, California Garden. Vols. 98-99. 2007. p. 6.
  6. ^ Carter, Nancy (January 2006). "The Fern Pine's Voyage". Pacific Horticulture.
  7. ^ a b "Makua's annual fundraising event 2012". Friends of Voices for Children. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  8. ^ Carter, Nancy Carol. When Dr. Fairchild Visited Miss Sessions: San Diego 1919. Journal of San Diego History. v. 50, nos. 3&4. p. 80. 2004.
  9. ^ a b "Marion James Duncan Robinson". Find-a-grave. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Alfred D Robinson (1866-1942)". Find-a-grave. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Founders". San Diego Floral Association. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  12. ^ National Register of Historic Places Listings October 3, 2003. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  13. ^ Board, Josh. "The Magic Touch". San Diego Reader. April 28, 2005. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  14. ^ Ross, Chris. "New Geranium Linked with San Diego's History". U-T San Diego. May 11, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  15. ^ Voices for Children. 2012 Annual Report. p.22.
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