FILOLI FLOWERs

Filoli was built for Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn II, prominent San Franciscans, whose chief source of wealth was the Empire Gold Mine in Grass Valley, California. Mr. Bourn was also owner and president of the Spring Valley Water Company. The Bourns chose Willis Polk as principal designer for the House. An inventive architect, Polk frequently combined several styles in a single building, an eclecticism clearly evident in his design for Filoli. Construction of Filoli began in 1915 and the Bourns moved into the House in 1917. Bruce Porter, a talented stainedglass artist, painter, muralist, landscape designer, and art critic, was enlisted to help the Bourns plan the layout of the extensive formal garden that was built between 1917 and 1929. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bourn died in 1936.