Filoli
Filoli (fye-low-lee) is a historic country estate about 25 miles south of San Francisco, in the Santa Cruz mountains. Visitors can explore a Gilded Age mansion, formal gardens, and nature trails.
Filoli was built in 1915-17 by William Bowers Bourne II and his wife, Agnes. Bourne was one of the wealthiest men in California, thanks to his entrepreneural savvy with a major gold mine, a merger of gas and electric companies that became PG&E, and the company that supplied water to the city of San Francisco. Bourne coined the name “Filoli” from his personal credo: Fight for a just cause, Love your fellow man, Live a good life. These are good words to live by! The second owners of Filoli were Lurline Matson Roth, a shipping heiress, and her husband William Roth. In 1975, Mrs. Roth donated the entire estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Our first stop was the nature trails, which started with a wooden footbridge across the San Andreas Fault. Several large nest sculptures by Jayson Fann seemed to say, “Come in and sit down, and consider the trees and animals that live here.”
The highlight of our walk - and the reason I wanted to visit Filoli in the first place - was Rose Wonders, a giant wooden troll by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. We first saw Dambo’s trolls two years ago, at the botanical gardens in Maine, and I am a big fan! Rose first appeared at the 2025 Burning Man festival. She is 27 feet high, the largest Dambo troll built to date, and the only one with a staircase inside. It was fun climbing up to Rose’s hands and seeing her huge smiling face up close. Dambo builds his trolls from reclaimed wood and other scrap materials, with help from local volunteers. Each troll has a story, and reminds us that it is possible to create beautiful things from trash.
After our trail walk, we strolled through the formal gardens, which were extensive (16 acres!) and beautifully maintained, thanks to seventeen full-time gardeners! The gardens were picture-perfect, so it was no surprise to see many people posing for engagement, wedding, and quinceañera photos.
My favorite spots were the dahlia section of the Rose Garden and the Vegetable Garden. There was even a garden just for growing blooms that would be cut and arranged for the mansion.
Finally, we explored inside the mansion, a Georgian style house designed by San Francisco architect Willis Polk. The 54,000+ square foot house had 17 fireplaces and 56 rooms, including 10 main bedrooms, 14 staff bedrooms, and 15 bathrooms.
The spaces for living and entertaining were not as over-the-top opulent as the mansions we had toured in Newport; this home exuded quiet luxury. The grand ballroom was used for concerts and debutante balls, and, in 2023, lunch for President Biden and the President of China. My favorite room was the library, with an informal portrait of Mrs. Roth in the rose garden.
The staff wing featured an enormous kitchen with a 17-foot ceiling (to help it stay cool) and a separate kitchen for baking. Displays told intriguing stories about the estate staff employed by the Roths; they included a Japanese butler, a Chinese chef, and a French maid. My favorite room was the butler’s pantry, with a walk-in safe for storing all the silver.
I was surprised at how much there was to see at Filoli. If not for my “troll hunt,” I wouldn’t have known this beautiful place existed.
