Vic C.
Yelp
Phillips Mansion is one of two empire architectural style home in Southern California (the other one is in Anaheim). The Pomona Historical Society owns and maintains this mansion and no longer give public tours. They are only open for private events.
My husband and I were very fortunate to tour the mansion last night for a special private event with Alosta Brewery (found in Covina) as they unveiled their new beer, Second Empire (reason for why they picked Phillips Mansion to debut it).
In 1866, Louis Phillips, a wealthy businessman whom dabbled in sheep herding and cattle, purchased the land (known at the time as Rancho San Jose) from the Vejar family. Louis Phillips married his wife, Esther Blake and together they built this mansion in 1875. Louis Phillips actually made his own bricks (by fire) and they are still original to the home today.
This home was one of the first to have electricity during it's time.
Mr. Phillips lived in his home until he died around 1900 with his wife and their children. Mrs. Philips was 18 when she married Mr. Phillips (whom was 30 at the time. It was common for women to marry older men so that they could live a life of leisure... meaning that an older man would be able to take good care of her and she would not have to work). Mrs. Philips lived in the home until 1916. Children and grandchildren lived in the home until 1931. Eventually the home was converted into apartments (4 apartments, 2 on each floor) during WW2, for those attending Cal Poly Pomona. After some time later, ownership had changed hands and eventually became abandoned in the 1960's. The Historical Society of Pomona ended up purchasing it in 1966 and has owned it ever since. And they continue to restore the home.
There had been substantial damage from past earthquakes to this mansion. But the mansion is now up to code for earthquake safety (but there are still some visible damage seen). However, on our tour, they did not allow us to go upstairs. The docents told us that the 2nd floor needs cleaning but will have plans for tours to include the upstairs in the future.
Unfortunately photos and video is not allowed inside the mansion. But it was nice to see some items that are still original to the home that includes an iron tub and fireplaces. One docent had told us that the mansion was robbed of all the marble slabs/ tiles in all of the fireplaces in the home (must have been a really strong person to have taken all of them.... there are 6 fireplaces).
Brief Description Of The Mansion:
Upon entering this mansion, there is a long hardwood floor hallway and also a banister leading to the 2nd floor. To the left is the main parlor. This parlor can be closed by another door to have an intimate feel. From here, guests can move to the dining room. Behind this room is the butler's quarters in which he would place the fine china, etc. There is also a restroom and a small laundry room. Behind the butler's quarters is a small kitchen. During this era, people would not normally go to the kitchen, with the exception of servants. In the kitchen is a door that leads to the backyard where you will find the smoker (we were not lead outside on the tour but only able to look out). Back from the dining room, there is a small office in which Mr. Phillips would conduct business. There was a door that could be closed so that his ranch hand workers did not mingle with his family. From this small office, there was also a door to enter/ exit directly from the front yard. Often times his workers would come in to pick up their pay, work on paperwork, etc. Then back at the dining room, there is another parlor in front. This parlor was used for Mr. Phillips and his male guests to smoke cigars, drink alcohol, etc after dinner (one tour participant called it a "man cave", lol).
Overall, this tour was pretty interesting. But the 1st docent that lead our tour did not provide too much information about Mr. Phillips. He said to our group that we were his first for the evening. After his tour, my husband and I just joined the other tour and learned a lot more from this docent. She added a lot more interesting stories and facts about the family in particular. And as we were leaving, another member of the Pomona Historical Society was available to ask more questions.
It's too bad that we didn't get to see the upstairs but I did enjoy learning about the history of Mr. Phillips and this mansion. It is a shame that this home is no longer open to the public.
By the way, some say this mansion is haunted. Although the 1st docent told us that he did not personally encounter any ghosts, he said that people have often said they have heard a female's voice in the mansion. He said that it could possible be Mrs. Phillip's voice. But with our 2nd docent, she had said that when she was inside the mansion by herself, she had heard a male's voice. She assumed it was her husband's. However there was no one (spooky!).
