Blog


Name and Title: Taryn McMillen, Getty Marrow Curatorial Intern 2020 Education info: I studied art history at California State University, Long Beach, and graduated spring 2020 What led you to pursue an internship at the Rancho? I have always been interested in pursuing a career in museums, and after meeting with Sarah, the curator, I[…]

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In honor of National Diversity Week 2020, we are proud to share our recently adopted Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) statement. In 2018, with the support of the California Arts Council, our Board, staff, and volunteers began DEIA training to transform the work of our organization. We are committed to continuing this important work to[…]

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The Heliotropum (Heliotrope) is looking beautiful this month. In Adobe Days, Sarah Bixby Smith lists the plants she remembers from Temple’s garden. She ends with, “… and heliotrope made a heaven of fragrance.” Honoring that list, Ralph Cornell – the 1930s landscape architect at RLC – installed six heliotropes, and our horticulturist, Marie Barnidge McIntyre,[…]

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The Rancho Los Cerritos museum shop is full of one-of-a-kind products. These products are hand made by local artisans and volunteers. These hand-made products belong to either the Artisan Collection or the Legacy Collection. Artisan Collection items are made by the garden crafts committee under the guidance of horticulturist Marie Barnidge McIntyre. Our artisan collection[…]

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Grass Resodding Our grass is being resodded so that it will look great for when we can have in-person events in the future. This means that starting September 11th portions of the grass will be roped off so that the new grass can take root and grow lush and healthy! You can enjoy all the[…]

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Recruited by Long Beach Police Captain Tom Williams as a “social experiment” in January 1908, Fanny Bixby Spencer (1879-1930) is believed to have been America’s first policewoman. In her own words, “My work as a special officer was unique because I entered before the days of regular policewoman and I blazed a trail. I went[…]

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Plant of the moment: the Princess Flower   The princess flower (pictured above) or the Tibourchina urvillean,  has 3-4” leaves that can be green, yellow, or even red during weather extremes. Its flowers are clustered near the branch tips, and they bloom in succession. Each bloom is 3” across and has violet stamens that stand[…]

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Meet the Summer Interns! Hello everyone! We are so excited to be interning at Rancho Los Cerritos this summer. Even though things are a bit different due to the pandemic, we will make the most out of this experience and try to learn as much as we can during our time here. Below is a[…]

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  Plant of the Moment: Hydrangea macrophylla – Hydrangea. The shrub next to the veranda in the backyard gardens is having a stellar season, with large clusters of flowers that seem to make an “oldfashioned” statement. In the early 1900s, immigrants to California planted hydrangeas in the shade of their Southern California homes. This was[…]

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Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19th to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday dates back to June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that enslaved people were free. This was two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln’s[…]

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