Banning Family and Residence Museum Collection
Title
Banning Family and Residence Museum Collection
Subject
The Banning Family and Residence Museum Collection primarily documents the activities, programs, and events of the Residence Museum, with a small amount of materials related to the personal and professional life of Phineas Banning and other Banning family members. The collection consists of a broad range of materials.
Publications include issues of Banner and Banning and Company, newsletters intended for museum volunteers, Friends of the Banning Museum, and Residence Museum staff, with content regarding docent and other training opportunities, special activities, board meetings, general membership meetings, lectures, local school programs, auxiliary committees, and a calendar of events. Documents consist of historical sketches, research notes, and biographical information about Banning family members, as well as flyers, handouts, and other promotional material related to the Museum. Also included are photographs depicting Museum events such as Floriade and the Wisteria Festival, and images of the interior and exterior of the Banning Residence.
Highlights include Wilmington Transportation Company steamship and railroad passes, signed by Hancock Banning, Joseph Brent Banning, and William Banning between 1897 and 1918; reproductions of maps associated with property belonging to Phineas Banning and the Banning family between 1860 and 1891; and the 1992 Historic Structure Report for the General Phineas Banning Residence. The Collection is arranged at the collection level, alphabetically by subject.
Publications include issues of Banner and Banning and Company, newsletters intended for museum volunteers, Friends of the Banning Museum, and Residence Museum staff, with content regarding docent and other training opportunities, special activities, board meetings, general membership meetings, lectures, local school programs, auxiliary committees, and a calendar of events. Documents consist of historical sketches, research notes, and biographical information about Banning family members, as well as flyers, handouts, and other promotional material related to the Museum. Also included are photographs depicting Museum events such as Floriade and the Wisteria Festival, and images of the interior and exterior of the Banning Residence.
Highlights include Wilmington Transportation Company steamship and railroad passes, signed by Hancock Banning, Joseph Brent Banning, and William Banning between 1897 and 1918; reproductions of maps associated with property belonging to Phineas Banning and the Banning family between 1860 and 1891; and the 1992 Historic Structure Report for the General Phineas Banning Residence. The Collection is arranged at the collection level, alphabetically by subject.
Description
Phineas Banning was born on August 19, 1830, to parents John Alford and Elizabeth Banning (née Lowber), on a farm near Wilmington, Delaware. He arrived in California in late 1851, after securing passage as a clerk aboard a cargo ship bound for San Pedro. Banning established a ship-to-shore transportation business, The Wilmington Transportation Company, followed soon thereafter by a shipyard and his namesake wharf at the end of Avalon Bl. (formerly Canal Street).
In 1854, Banning married Rebecca Sanford, and they had eight children, three of whom survived to adulthood: William (1858-1945), Joseph Brent (1861-1920), and Hancock (1865-1925). Rebecca died in childbirth in 1868 giving birth to a fourth son, Vincent, who also died. In 1870, Banning married heiress, Mary E. Hollister (1846-1919), and they had two surviving daughters: Mary Hollister (1871) and Lucy Tichenour (1876-1927). A third child died in infancy. Although both daughters married, neither had children.
In the late 1850s, Banning and a group of Southern California investors purchased 640 acres of land adjacent to San Pedro for port expansion. He first named the area New San Pedro and later changed it to Wilmington, after his hometown. In 1865, Banning was elected to the state senate. In 1866, he introduced a bill for construction of a Los Angeles to San Pedro railroad, but it was defeated. In 1868, the railroad bill passed, and in 1869 southern California’s first railroad, from Wilmington to Los Angeles, opened on October 20.
Phineas Banning died on March 8, 1885 at age 54 at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco. He is interred in the Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery, in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Phineas Banning is considered the Father of the Port of Los Angeles.
The Banning Residence was lived in by three generations of the Banning family until it and the surrounding land were acquired by the City of Los Angeles in 1927. Since that time, the Department of Recreation and Parks of the City of Los Angeles has managed the buildings and gardens and currently does so in cooperation with the Friends of Banning Park, a private, non-profit foundation.
The Phineas Banning Residence Museum consists of a twenty-three-room house built in 1864 in the Greek Revival style. Eighteen rooms of the house containing furniture and decorative elements added during 60 years of Banning family residence in the house are shown to the public during regular tours of the house and grounds. On January 11, 1935, Banning Park was officially made California Historical Landmark #147 and the residence was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
The Museum currently offers a variety of educational programs, permanent and rotating exhibits, annual events, and special activities. The Banning Archives and Library includes a historic photograph collection, maps, blueprints of the Banning residence, and hundreds of rare books from the 19th century as well as guest books, scrapbooks, postcards, and ephemera.
In 1854, Banning married Rebecca Sanford, and they had eight children, three of whom survived to adulthood: William (1858-1945), Joseph Brent (1861-1920), and Hancock (1865-1925). Rebecca died in childbirth in 1868 giving birth to a fourth son, Vincent, who also died. In 1870, Banning married heiress, Mary E. Hollister (1846-1919), and they had two surviving daughters: Mary Hollister (1871) and Lucy Tichenour (1876-1927). A third child died in infancy. Although both daughters married, neither had children.
In the late 1850s, Banning and a group of Southern California investors purchased 640 acres of land adjacent to San Pedro for port expansion. He first named the area New San Pedro and later changed it to Wilmington, after his hometown. In 1865, Banning was elected to the state senate. In 1866, he introduced a bill for construction of a Los Angeles to San Pedro railroad, but it was defeated. In 1868, the railroad bill passed, and in 1869 southern California’s first railroad, from Wilmington to Los Angeles, opened on October 20.
Phineas Banning died on March 8, 1885 at age 54 at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco. He is interred in the Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery, in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Phineas Banning is considered the Father of the Port of Los Angeles.
The Banning Residence was lived in by three generations of the Banning family until it and the surrounding land were acquired by the City of Los Angeles in 1927. Since that time, the Department of Recreation and Parks of the City of Los Angeles has managed the buildings and gardens and currently does so in cooperation with the Friends of Banning Park, a private, non-profit foundation.
The Phineas Banning Residence Museum consists of a twenty-three-room house built in 1864 in the Greek Revival style. Eighteen rooms of the house containing furniture and decorative elements added during 60 years of Banning family residence in the house are shown to the public during regular tours of the house and grounds. On January 11, 1935, Banning Park was officially made California Historical Landmark #147 and the residence was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
The Museum currently offers a variety of educational programs, permanent and rotating exhibits, annual events, and special activities. The Banning Archives and Library includes a historic photograph collection, maps, blueprints of the Banning residence, and hundreds of rare books from the 19th century as well as guest books, scrapbooks, postcards, and ephemera.
Creator
Wilmington Historical Society (Calif.)
Source
Wilmington Historical Society (Calif.)
Date
1860-2020
Contributor
Wilmington Historical Society
Rights
The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law beyond fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Abstract
The Banning Family and Residence Museum Collection documents the activities, programs, and events of the General Phineas Banning Residence Museum, located in Wilmington, California between 1860 and 2020. The Collection also contains a small amount of materials related to the personal and professional life of Phineas Banning and other Banning family members.
Collection Items
Collection Tree
- Banning Family and Residence Museum Collection
Comments
Jeannie Keasler
I noticed a typo in the Banning Family and Residence Museum Collection -
The Collection Item "Event at the Baning Museum" should be Banning
I do love the photos in the collection! Great inspiration for future events at the museum.