Marston, George W., House

About this property

The George W. Marston House (or George Marston House and Gardens, also referred to as the George and Anna Marston House or the Marston House) is a museum and historic landmark in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It is maintained by Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO). The George W. Marston House is located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. The home spans 8,500 square feet (790 m2) and is surrounded by five acres of lawns and gardens. Completed in 1905, the house is considered a prime example of architecture from the Arts and Crafts Movement. Home to George White Marston (1850–1946) and his wife, Anna Gunn Marston (1853–1940), the three-story house and gardens were a lively family home, where two of the five Marston children were married and the eldest lived out her life. The house was designed and built by renowned architects William Sterling Hebbard and Irving Gill. Inside the house, the rooms are furnished with a variety of different pieces designed by renowned Gustav Stickley, L. & J.G. Stickley, and Charles Limbert. Other notable furnishings are the Gill, Mead & Requa furniture and the plein air art exhibit featuring paintings by artists Alfred Mitchell, Maurice Braun and Charles Fries. Many of the family's original items are still on display at the museum. According to the Marston House general release, "the family lived on two floors plus an attic. On the first floor, redwood-paneled rooms unfold off a wide hallway, which narrows to include a bench built into the staircase. The living room and adjoining oak-paneled dining room open onto the south terrace and overlook the lawn and canyon. Including the second floor’s north wing, the house has six bedrooms, a sleeping porch and four baths." The Marston House was converted into a museum in 1987 after the Marston family gave the house to the City of San Diego. It is currently maintained by Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO), which runs the museum and the shop located in the carriage house on the property. The Marston house gardens were initially designed in 1905 by landscape gardener George Cooke. The house and gardens were upgraded during the late 1920s. Hale Walker, from the landscape architectural firm of John Nolen Cambridge, Massachusetts, redesigned the grounds and in particular the rear formal garden which coincided with the Marstons’ 50th wedding anniversary. The garden spans over 5 acres with lush exotic and native trees, shrubs, vines and flowers. The Marston's also acquired plants and landscaping ideas from their friend noted pioneer horticulturist Kate O. Sessions, as well as local San Diego nurserymen. Some of the plants found in the garden at its prime and still extant today are: Pinus canariensis Canary Island Pines, Eucalyptus, and Quercus agrifolia California Oaks, Ceanothus leucodermis, wild lilacs, Solandra guttata Mexican Cup of Gold vines and Queen Elizabeth roses, daughter Mary Marston's favorite. Many of the original plants survive and Save Our Heritage Organisation is restoring other features of the garden as well. The geranium, a flower considered to represent the legacy of George Marson and the Marston House, also makes an appearance in the garden. (During Marston's two unsuccessful campaigns for mayor of San Diego, the difference between him and his pro-growth opponent was characterized as "smokestacks vs. geraniums".)

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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