The hook
A French château with a stone tower and terraced Italian gardens looks down over Redlands, built by citrus money and left, whole, to the public.
01Why it's worth it
Kimberly Crest went up in 1897, a châteauesque house of turrets and steep roofs that looks transplanted from the Loire, set above formal gardens of cypress, roses, and a lily pond stepping down the hillside. It later became the home of Alfred and Helen Kimberly, of the paper company that grew into Kimberly-Clark, and their daughter Mary lived here until 1979 and arranged for the house and its original furnishings to pass intact to a foundation. That's the rare part. You tour real rooms with the family's own things still in them, not a reconstruction. The gardens, free to walk, are reason enough on their own, and they explain why Redlands still thinks of itself as the elegant heart of the citrus era.
02How to experience it
It's on Prospect Drive in Redlands, about seven hours from the Bay. The grounds are open most days at no charge; guided house tours run Thursday, Friday, and Sunday afternoons for a fee, and it's worth timing your visit to catch one. It sits by Prospect Park and the town's other Gilded Age landmarks, an easy pairing with the Lincoln Shrine and downtown Redlands.