Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
For my Thursday Doors post this week I visited Ainsley House located a couple of miles from me in Campbell, CA. A little history about Campbell, and the house.
“Campbell, CA is small city located in Santa Clara County, and Silicon Valley. It’s bordered on the east, and north by San Jose, on the south by Los Gatos, and on the west by a small portion of Saratoga, and San Jose (which is where I live).
Campbell was founded by Benjamin Campbell, after whom the city was named. He came to California in 1846 with his father, William Campbell. William started a sawmill in Saratoga and surveyed the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara. In 1851, Benjamin bought 160 acres (0.65 km2) in southern Santa Clara Valley and cultivated hay and grain on it. This area later became Campbell’s historical downtown core.” ~ Wiki-pedia
This area was largely farm land and orchards in the 1800’s.
” In 1886 John Colpitts Ainsley, and Englishman, immigrated to California and made his fortune here in the canning of fresh fruit, which was almost exclusively exported to England. In 1925, he and his wife Alcinda, built this retirement home in the English Tudor Revival style.
The house is both a symbol of his success and a time capsule of the 1920’s. The house and most of the furnishings were donated to the City of Campbell by the Ainsley’s granddaughters, Geraldine Lloyd Hicks and Georgene Lloyd Bowen.”~ The Campbell Museum Foundation
The house was built in 1925. The house originally sat in the southwest of their 83 acre orchard on the corner of Hamilton and Johnson (now Bascom) Avenues. The historic home was moved to its present location at 300 Grant Street in Downtown Campbell in 1990.
Since its relocation it has been restored to its original 1920’s appearance inside and out.
Today the Ainsley House is a city run historic house museum open to the public.
The carriage house is now the Morgan Gallery. It offers free exhibits and videos detailing the history of Campbell.
Since the museum/house was closed I wasn’t able to get in to see the inside or the backyard, but the Ainsley Volunteer Garden was open so, I popped in there and took a several images of the lovely flowers growing there.
Are these Button Willows? They’re lovely! Tall, and they spread out. They’d be too much for my yard I’m sorry to say.
I don’t know what this flower is either, but it has a lovely cone like center. Is it a Dahlia?
Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm micro lens| Tripod & Hand-held| Delkin Digital Film
This post is part of Norm 2.0’s Thursday Doors. If you love doors and would like to see the doors others are posting, or post doors you’ve photographed and join other door lovers from around the world click here.
At the end of Norm’s latest Thursday Door post is a little Blue Link-up/View button click it to be taken to a page with all the links, or add your own.
More to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
Beautiful doors and flowers!
Great door images and very nice roofing. Macro work on the flowers is always excellent.
Thank you so much Gordon! I’m always sucked in with flowers. 🙂 Thankfully I had a lens with me to do them justice!
The blue flowers are familiar to me: they are cornflowers aka bachelor’s buttons. The last flower is not familiar.
Oh Bachelor’s buttons! Thank you so much Nancy!! I thought it was button but didn’t know for sure. I’ll have to go back and hunt around for a sign or name for the last flower.
What’s most striking to me is the roof with its wavy, scalloped edging. That’s really cool – I’ve never seen a roof like this one before. Even the roof on the carriage house seems to have a *roll* to it.
It’s really neat isn’t it. The carriage house roof does wave a bit too. I’ve never seen another roof like it.
I’m sure it’s even more striking in person. Sometimes a photo just doesn’t give the full impact.
You’re right it doesn’t!
A great house with a lovely door. I always find the idea of whole houses being moved intriguing. 🙂 The flowers are beautiful too!
Thank you so much for the comment!
I’ve never heard of this place. Thank you for showing us. Lovely set. 🙂
Thank you so much Laura! I hope to tour the inside one day. 🙂 Like the Winchester Mystery house that I grew up living next too I’ve only been inside it 3 times in all the years I’ve lived here!
You’re welcome! A tour would be great! It’s kind of like Alcatraz. I’ve been there once. And that was enough lol.
🙂 I’ve been to alcatraz 4 or 5 times. The evening night tour was my favorite of all of them.
Now that I could see doing….the evening tour I mean.
What a beautiful building. It’s hard to imagine that it was actually moved to a different location. It always amazes me how they do that.
Thank you so much Jean! I remember when they first moved it to new site and the house was up on a trailer. I was amazed it didn’t split or crack to pieces!
A very pretty entrance. and I marvel at how they did the shingles on top of the door and the roof. Love the white flower with the purple heart. Thanks for providing the history – it makes this home so much more meaningful.
Thanks Jesh! I love the roof of this house! Faux thatched. 🙂
About the roof – that’s what I thought, but wasn’t sure!
Nice door! I like how it’s recessed.
Thanks so much for the comment Paul! I’m glad you stopped by, and liked the door.
That is a beautiful door, Deborah and such a beautiful estate. I really appreciate the history and the modern context. The flowers are a very nice bonus for a Thursday Doors post.
Thank you so much Dan! I can’t resist flowers. I’m glad you liked those too.
That is a wonderful door on a truly beautiful building. That carriage house is kinda nice too, and who doesn’t like fresh flowers 😉
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Norm! The roof and green and white awnings are really special.
A splendid house & doors, I have never seen a roof like that before, at first I thought it was thatched, but it appears to be shingles?
Thank you so much! Yes, I believe it’s shingles of some wood material. Perhaps we don’t have real thatching material here?
Such a beautiful home and what history! I love the flowers too, what a fun post!
Thank you so much Lynn!
Wow, that roof! Beautiful photos Deborah!
Thank you so much Antonia! I love the roof, and green and white striped awnings.
Lovely photos! Thanks for telling the history-I enjoy learning about places that I haven’t been 🙂
Thanks Amy! I’m glad you liked the history too. I love reading about places I’ve never been to as well.
I don’t know what those flowers are either but they are wonderful! Beautiful images today, Deborah!
Thank you Laura! They are pretty, and warrant another trip over there before the blooms all fade. As I was leaving I noticed a Goldfinch pair feeding on them! I wished I had taken my long lens, and LensBaby with me.