By Deborah Belgum
The famed Robinson Department store may be long gone, but the family’s legacy lives on in a six-acre Beverly Hills estate in California that has been open to the public for 45 years.
Known as the Virginia Robinson Gardens, the compound was built in 1911 by Harry and Virginia Robinson, who wed in 1903 and took a long honeymoon to Europe, India and Kashmir, where the newlyweds collected merchandise for the family department store and themselves.
Returning to Los Angeles, California, they were driving one day to the new Los Angeles Country Club when they got lost and ended up on a barren hilltop. What they saw was a view of the Santa Monica Mountains on one side and, on the other side, the plains below that would become the incorporated city of Beverly Hills in 1914.
Gary Smith
One of the things that I wish to do in the future is to visit the Robinson Gardens. I very much enjoy the newsletters that I receive from you. I wonder if it would be possible to show pictures of the inside of the pool house? I’ve also wondered what the views from the edge of the estate look like over Los Angeles. Thank you
Donna J Miller
Will you be offering inside tours of the Mansion soon?
Friends of Robinson Gardens
Hi Donna – the current docent tours do include some indoor spaces.