The Huntington Library is Three Huge Attractions Posed as One

When someone hears ‘library’, he or she usually thinks about a building. The Huntington Library Los Angeles knows is a 130-acre estate in San Marino with a rare book collection that features a Gutenberg Bible, a gallery housing one of the most recognized portraits in the English-speaking world, and more than a dozen botanical gardens – each of which could justify the journey alone.

This is what you need to know before you go to the Huntington Library: there is no such thing as a proper visit to The Huntington Library in Los Angeles in two hours. People make an attempt to do this, but as a result, they visit a third of all places that are open, and it is the wrong third. The Huntington Library Los Angeles visitors come to this place in order to enjoy their day, and not to spend it in vain.

The Huntington Library Address and the Way to Get There

The Huntington Library address is 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino, which is just south of Pasadena and around twenty minutes away from downtown in normal traffic conditions. This place is located in a quiet residential area, which might be a surprise for first-timers who expected something like a civic campus.

Everyone who tries to find The Huntington Library in Los Angeles should know that this place is officially located in San Marino, even though it is a part of the greater Los Angeles region and everyone knows it in this way. The Huntington Library in Los Angeles is located to the east, and should be paired with Pasadena and not the Westside.

The Huntington Library Tickets and Their Price

The Huntington Library tickets are the only real expenses here, and they are not cheap – the adult entrance costs around thirty dollars, with additional fees for weekends and lower midweek prices, and with discounts for seniors, students, children, and members.

It is recommended to book the tickets in advance through the Internet. The Huntington Library tickets are sold with timed entries, and during weekends, the tickets sell out, especially in the spring time when the gardens are in their best form. Children under a certain age enter for free, and memberships pay for themselves in two-three visits. Free community days are held from time to time and should be attended.

The Huntington Library Hours and Time Needed

The Huntington Library hours normally include 10AM to 5PM, and the site is closed on Tuesdays. The last entry time is well before the closing and the gardens start to close one after another.

It requires at least four hours, although it would be better to stay a full day. The Huntington Library opening hours are best used by coming at the opening time, visiting the gardens during this time when the light is soft and temperature is comfortable, eating something at the site, and then visiting the indoor galleries when the temperature rises to the highest point. It is a common mistake to go there in the opposite way, because gardens at the mid-afternoon at the hottest time of the year are really hard to visit.

The Huntington Botanical Gardens and Sixteen Worlds Inside Them

The Huntington botanical gardens are the main reason why people come to this place, and they are organized as a series of independent gardens, rather than one huge park.

The Desert Garden is the main attraction for some of the visitors – ten acres of cacti and succulents that resemble another planet, and one of the largest collections of this kind in the world. The Rose Garden, the Camellia collection, the Australian Garden, the Subtropical Garden, the Jungle Garden, the Herb Garden and the Children’s Garden each has its own place on the site. The Huntington botanical gardens also contain the Japanese Garden with its moon bridge, drum bridge, and historical Japanese House, which is the main photo spot on the whole site.

The Huntington Chinese Garden and Why It Should Be Visited Separately

The Huntington Chinese Garden – Liu Fang Yuan, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, is the largest classical Chinese garden outside China, and was built in stages over twenty years.

It is fifteen acres of lake, pavilions, rockwork, bridges, and covered walkways, and it was built in the traditional way using materials and builders brought from Suzhou. The Huntington Chinese Garden also has a tea house that serves authentic tea, and its own restaurant. It takes an hour to visit it separately. Many visitors come for this garden only and visit nothing else, which is a completely reasonable way to spend an afternoon.

Library and Art Collections Inside the Site

Inside the site, the library has around eleven million items, and the exhibition hall contains the best pieces: a Gutenberg Bible on vellum, the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, early editions of Shakespeare’s works, Audubon’s Birds of America and manuscripts signed by people you learned about at school.

The art galleries have Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy and Lawrence’s Pinkie next to each other, which is an authentic pop culture moment for everyone who saw these pictures reproduced. American art is displayed in a separate building, and the collections rotate often enough that it makes sense for repeat visitors to come again and again.

The Huntington Library Parking and Practical Information

There is good news after the high prices of the tickets: The Huntington Library parking is free. The parking lots are large and are located on the site and included with the admission.

It changes the economics of the visit substantially, and should be mentioned because of the fact that so many Los Angeles sites charge a lot of money for parking. The Huntington Library parking is packed on the spring weekends, which means that the early arrival is a good thing. There is no public transport here – this is a drive-to place, and the residential streets nearby are permit-restricted, so the parking is the only solution.

The Huntington Library Events and Programs

The Huntington Library events include lectures, concerts, plant sales, seasonal garden celebrations, Chinese New Year festival in Liu Fang Yuan, and summer evening openings.

The fastest-selling events at The Huntington Library are the seasonal ones – cherry blossom viewing, the rose season, and the evening garden openings when the site is open for night time. Checking the calendar of the events before choosing the date is a good idea here, because the festival day completely changes the atmosphere of the site, and the evening opening shows you the site in a completely new form.

The Huntington Library Reviews and Opinions of Visitors

The Huntington Library reviews are among the best for any cultural site in the Southern California, and the key word that repeats here is ‘overwhelming’ in the positive sense. Visitors report that they run out of time, and not out of places to visit.

Honest comments in the Huntington Library reviews are about cost and stamina. Admission is expensive for a family. This site requires a lot of walking in the paths and slopes, mostly outdoors. And in the high summer, the exposed gardens are very hot. Visitors who came in a cooler month, arrived at the opening time and planned a full day visit, wrote the best reviews.

After the Estate, the Rest of the Day

Practically speaking, Pasadena is minutes away with Old Town for food and the Norton Simon Museum nearby, so the east side cultural day is assembled quite easily.

However, after four hours of walking in the gardens and reading the labels, something usual happens. Children reach their limit with the plants. Adults are tired and full of the beautiful things. And the group wants something enclosed, air conditioned and interactive rather than one more acre to contemplate.

From Gardens to the Room You Have to Solve

This is our half. We run escape rooms in Los Angeles – six locations, more than twenty private rooms – and the drive to the west from San Marino brings you close to several of our locations.

The difference is the point. Garden hour is slow, receptive and open – beauty at a distance. Escape room hour is enclosed and urgent: your group is inside the created world, whether it is the Egyptian tomb, underwater research station, or a Victorian mystery, and you have sixty minutes on the clock and every person is needed. The gardens provide you with calm. The room provides you with adrenaline and the story that your group will retell for weeks.

Why Do Groups End Their San Marino Day Here

Because the format suits everyone who made the journey. Families – Temple of Lost Gold at our Robertson location is designed so that a nine-year-old child will actually solve something, and not trail behind. Birthdays – we hide a gift inside the room for the birthday person to discover during the game, and the reception area can take the outside food, so the cake comes after the escape. Dates – gardens in the morning and a private room for two in the evening is a good day. Corporate teams – half day and full day events that beat any conference room.

Every booking is private, only your group and no strangers. Prices start at $37 per person. We are open every day from 10AM to 11PM, the hours that no garden or gallery can match, so no matter what time the estate closes its gates, the room is always available. Five-star reviews on Google, Yelp and TripAdvisor are a result of years of building our sets and creating stories with passion – just like it was done while building a classical Chinese garden by hand over twenty years – but aimed at an hour you get to play inside.

 

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