This exhibit focuses on Luther Burbank at his small home on this property and at the Tupper Street home from 1906 until his death in 1926. We highlight domestic moments with family, friends and pets as well as Luther’s lighter side, clowning around with friends and showing off for the neighbor kids.
Due to his introduction of hundreds of new plant varieties, Luther Burbank became internationally famous. He was an early media celebrity, and many people sought him out every day. He welcomed visitors from around the world here at his home and gardens.
We have decorated the lovely antique walnut whatnot cabinet from our LBH&G collection with mementos from Luther’s life, perhaps in a way that his widow Elizabeth might have done. It includes a photo of Luther as an infant in his mother’s arms, a replica of a small oil painting he painted as a teen, and the funeral announcement.
Because we found so many photos we liked, we also put together a scrapbook so that we could share the rest of the photos that didn’t fit in the cabinets!
In response to interest on the part of our visitors, we are continuing the exhibit entitled “What Blooms In Our Garden.” It uses changing photos taken through the seasons, and includes a site map visitors can take with them to find the featured plants in their actual settings.
Visitors also can examine an unusual oversized photograph taken in 1915 when Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone came to see Luther Burbank in Santa Rosa — a day when some of the most famous people in the early 20th Century gathered here in this small California town! We’ve expanded this display to cover the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition, which was the occasion for Edison, Ford and Firestone to be in California.
The Carriage House Museum exhibits feature a variety of subjects, all with an underlying theme: Yesterday and Today at Luther Burbank Home & Gardens, where important things have been happening for more than a century!