What Happened to Oakland's Greatest Loss? (The Pines)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Explore The Pines, a magnificent estate that once graced the hills of Oakland, California. Built in 1911 by Philip and Mary Bowles, this 22-room Italian Villa style mansion was a true marvel, nestled within 51 acres of stunning gardens and natural surroundings. From pergolas and gazebos to serene ponds and lush greenery, we'll take a journey through its history and beauty. Discover the architectural splendor of this lost gem and delve into the captivating story of the Bowles' legacy.
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Location: Oakland, CA
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Public Domain Photos from: Library of Congress
CC BY-SA 3.0 Photos from: Wikipedia User: Itsthomson
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Music from Epidemic Sound
As a person who grew up in Oakland, I never knew of this. The interior of the home was awesome. I loved the indoor/outdoor living concepts. The conservatory was my favorite room in what was displayed.
Isn't it amazing when we discover a local piece of History that was never know to us and many others?
It makes me wonder, "Just what really transpired in this area I live?"
Without a "resource", book, photos, individual to share the info, we remain unaware.
Beth Bartlett
Sociologist/Behavioralist
and Historian
The interior was stunning, yet very livable and not too over the top.
My goodness, what a tasteful dwelling and splendid gardens. The house didn't bow to some need to replicate an historical style. Instead, it used simple, purposeful design. I love the doorways and the sunken living room. Nothing overwhelmed the design. Such a shame it no longer exists.
What a perfect place inside and outside! They were the perfect couple ❤❤
I love the whole Rockrigde and Piedmont area where the estate was. It’s just a different part of Oakland. At least the Claremont Hotel is still there👍🏻
Thanks for sharing!
The landscape is what I would love to experience!
This house was so much more to my taste & liking than all others. Delightful! Beautiful! Peaceful!
The gardens appear to be some of the finest I have ever seen for a residence. Too bad they couldn't have been preserved, but it sounds like the couple really enjoyed them.
Love the gardens and the house is beautiful
The house is gorgeous. The landscaping was my favorite, I would have loved walking around there, coming across secret pools and such, so beautiful.
I loved this house and the grounds, so peaceful and very beautiful the way that everything opened up to the outdoors.
What a beautiful home and exceptional landscaping. I love that it is not ostentatious. I love their love story as well. Such a shame the whole thing is gone. Would have made a great park.
I love it all.
The entire garden is so dreamy; the interior is gorgeous.
I love the tower, the French doors, every single thing I see..
The iron entrance gate to the property reminds me of a scene in an old movie, or a painting.
Too bad such a beauty was demolished.
Thank you, Ken.
The gardens were fabulous!
The Pines is beautiful but the landscaping is just heavenly and the photos say it all . Wow that Gated Entry into this Estate and the drive is incredible!! What a Beautiful Sumptuous Property . They were so very lucky to live on a Beautiful Land . It’s like The Garden of Eden !! Love this one Ken Laura in Canada 👍🏻👍🏻☀️☀️😊😊🙌🏻🙌🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻❤️❤️🇨🇦🇨🇦
I liked it all! That breakfast room was so lovely. Perfect in every way. What a shame that beautiful house is gone. :(
Fabulous inside & out - and as you said "livable". 1911-1938, RIP.
It’s always about developers buying something heavenly and ripping it to shreds for the land.
The gardens should have been protected for their own sake as a testament to the natural beauty of the area and for its design and aesthetic, but to see what sits in place of a 22 room mansion today, is nothing short of Sad!! Greed spoils everything, always!😮
Who is going to pay for it? The land is worth more than the house.
@farmplantsandseeds
I mean technically, but it's not Americans doing the breeding. Stop importing, and suddenly all problems go away.
I would have to agree to that, No more immigration thanks very much, we like our planet too much.
Love the Claremont area of Oakland, it has a great energetic vibe. Never heard of the Pines. Phillip and Mary Bowles seem to have led a charmed life. Thanks again "This House," for another nostalgic glimpse into the past. Your videos are always worthy of my attention -- a precious commodity these days.
The Oakland hills have some beautiful estates. Some are grand, others are beautiful because they allow multiple generations of a family to live on the land.
Gargantuan redwoods, ground fed springs, and a view of the city from the hills. Paradise.
I think this is one of my favorite houses! The grounds are beautiful and the interior is very tastefully done.
Amazing and serene!!!
I like the breakfast room, conservatory, and gardens.
beautiful home
My family lived in upper Broadway Terrace area of Oakland. That whole area burned in the 1991 Oakland Hills fire
What a beautiful estate. I really loved the look of the house…this style really speaks to me. I liked the interior as well. Very nice.
Beautiful interior.
I loved it all! Gorgeous. Inside was not so stuffy and heavy.
This beautiful house is very similar to various houses in Lido di Camaiore in Italy. Particularly the turret. And the pines are a typical tree of all Versilia gardens.
I love the Pines Villa, and I am very sad for demolition, all demolitions...
Yes definitely My Philosophy indoor outdoor living
The indoors was much less lavish than many of the mansions we've seen here. I liked the solarium with the arched windows. Indoor/outdoor living is a California thing, whether the house is grand or small. I wonder if any of those massive pine trees are still living. Glad to see some of the Bowles' fortune went to a place of higher learning.
Oh, I wish it had been saved! Those fabulous gardens and that wonderful house. That house ripped down to be replaced with a (Yawn) boring, boring house. All those wonderful large trees taken down. The developer made money, by subdividing, but we all are the losers.
I preferred the landscaping, but that sunken room would have swayed me to come inside for lunch before heading back out to enjoy the property
Cannot believe they replaced that beautiful home with such a lacklustre shack! What a shame. (BTW: Twin beds were not all that unusual for married couples at that time and well into the 1960s. My parents and several other families we knew had them).
It’s difficult to separate the home from the grounds. It was all amazing and lovingly done. As a few have said, such a shame it was demolished. Progress, right?
The address is 2 Bowling Dr if anyone is curious to see the house that sits where the original estate home was. The rest of the grounds have been cut up into many "smaller" homes.
I loved the gardens and the house. It's really sad that the gardens were subdivided for building and even more sad that the grand house was replaced by something that could never hold a candle to the original structure.
The house and grounds were gorgeous. It could have been turned into a house museum with the grounds, like Biltmore. A very sad loss.
I loved both
Loved it all just the way it eas
The gardens
Love the old homes. However I would much prefer homes that have color photos and are still standing !
The replacement is devoid of merit.
I basically liked it all... And shame on those who tore the original house down. I know, I don't understand all the. Reasons about these things but it's a shame to see a beautiful house like that gone
😁👍
Someone demolished that mansion to build that house? Do they think they accomplished something?
About all that remains in Oakland is some of the names, like "Broadway Terrace" and others I am not as familiar with.
The ppl who demolished it should be charged with absence of any taste whatsoever. I liked the breakfast room loggia and grounds were awesome. Not a crystal chandelier in sight. Why the double beds?
Hahaha! Yes, they should be charged!! Great questions, too.
What a shame …
4:06 Doesn’t matter now! Oakland with it’s soaring personal, property crime, and expenses.
Who else but Berkeley could have afford it as long as they did.
Amazes me how everyone took off to live their Hippie and free lifestyles.
Now, people that were born and raised there can’t afford it.
Being demolished was criminal in it’s own right.
How does Oakland lose every thing that is nice Oakland people.
Back when Oakland was affluent, now it's a shythole.
The house that replaced the original home looks kind of underwhelming
Poor replacement ...
What a splendid house and gardens! Another work of art demolished for crackerbox subdivisions! What a shame. I hope they preserved the splendid trees. This house would have been an excellent religious retreat or conference center. So many of these great old houses have been destroyed - for what? Oakland used to be a beautiful city, until WWII, when large numbers of Blacks invaded the city. Look at it now, alas. (Racist remark? Yes. Truthful? Yes.)