The first Spanish governor of California deeded this land as part of a vast 36,000-acre rancho to Corporal José María Verdugo in 1784 for his loyal service. The property remained in the Verdugo family until 1869. In 1937, the property was purchased by E. Manchester Boddy, owner of The Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, and managed as a working ranch. He built a two-story mansion of 22 rooms, designed by Beverly Hills architect James E. Dolena. He also purchased more than 400 acres north of the original property, the source of mountain streams that provide water for Descanso Gardens today. In 1942, when people of Japanese ancestry were forced into internment camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Boddy purchased up to 100,000 camellia plants from two Japanese-owned nurseries in the San Gabriel Valley run by his friends, the Uyematsu and Yoshimura families. He built his camellia collection – and later his rose and lilac collections – assisted by horticulturist J. Howard Asper and hybridizer Dr. Walter E. Lammerts. In 1953, Boddy sold this property to Los Angeles County and relocated to San Diego County. Four years later, local volunteers formed the Descanso Gardens Guild, Inc. Now a 501 nonprofit organization, the Guild today manages all garden operations in a public/private partnership with Los Angeles County.
The Boddy House is the original 22-room mansion built by E. Manchester Boddy and designed by James Dolena in the Hollywood Regency style in 1937. The house is located in the far southeast corner of the property, overlooking the San Gabriel Mountains. In 2007, the Boddy House was rehabilitated for the 43rd annual Pasadena Showcase House of Design, and decorated in a contemporary re-interpretation of its original Hollywood Regency style. Subsequently, a major grant from the Ahmanson Foundation enabled the addition of a museum-quality Heritage Exhibit, with exhibits about the gardens, Manchester Boddy's life and times, and important donors and volunteers for the Descanso Gardens. Executive Director David Brown led the 2007 rehabilitation of the Boddy House; he planned to retire in 2017 after 12 years leading the botanic gardens. In 2019, the Boddy House was once again reimagined by Showcase House designers.
Sturt Haaga Gallery
The Sturt Haaga Gallery opened in the Fall of 2011. The gallery is named for the initial gift of $2.1 million from Heather Sturt Haaga and Paul G. Haaga, Jr. Other donations followed, also from private entities. Mr. Boddy's original garage was restored and houses two galleries. The facility was enhanced by the addition of a contemporary structure which doubled the size for exhibitions and with its ceilings allowed larger single pieces of art, completing the rehabilitation of site buildings begun in 2007. The contemporary structure was designed by the architects Frederick Fisher & Partners and completed in 2011. The Gallery presents three exhibitions per year. The focus is on work by contemporary artists that portrays themes and subjects relevant to its setting in the Desconso Gardens. The first exhibit of 2014 included works by over 150 contemporary artists, some entered in a jury competition, others commissioned by the Gardens. The exhibition involved contemporary photographs of the Descanso Gardens in a video gallery, using the hashtag #Portraitsofthegarden to collect the photos from social media web sites Twitter and Instagram.
