2025 Doors Open California
75+ Sites Across the State | Just $20 to access all sites | Weekends from September 6th – 28th
Doors Open California is the largest statewide celebration of historic places in California. Enthusiasts of historic architecture, design, and cultural heritage will have access to over 75 sites across the state on the weekends during the month of September 2025.
Registration is now open!
Click here or find the form at the bottom of this page.
This project has been funded in part by a grant from the National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Register
Registration Details
Registration is now open – for just $20/person for access to all sites! Please complete the form below. You will receive email confirmation and additional details as we get closer to the Doors Open events.
Registration Form
Doors Open California is the largest statewide celebration of historic places in California. Enthusiasts of historic architecture, design, and cultural heritage will have access to over 70 sites across the state on the weekends during the month of September 2025.
What Your Registration Includes
Your Doors Open California registration fee of just $20 includes the following exciting perks.
- Complete access to more than 70 sites across the state of California in six regions
- A Doors Open wrist bracelet, giving you access to all sites on the weekend
- Access to our special Doors Open California virtual map of participating sites
- Self-guided and virtual tours made available from Doors Open partners
- Special experiences and unique curated content, accessible only to Doors Open participants.
Sites & Schedule
More than 780 sites on weekends in the month of September are planned for Doors Open 2025. Below you’ll find sites organized by weekend in September (please note that select events in a region may not always correspond to its weekend, so it’s helpful to look at all weekends). With your registration, you have access to as many as you can attend!
Broadly, sites in each region correspond to the following wekeends:
- Sierra Nevada, Gold Country, and Eastern California (September 6-7)
- Los Angeles, San Diego, Pasadena and Surroundings, and Inland Empire (September 13-14)
- San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, and San Jose Areas (September 20-21)
- Special Programming at Select Sites Statewide (September 27-28)
Sponsorship & Media Kits
Sponsorship and Media Details
Sponsorship
Sponsorship provides significant marketing exposure at key Doors Open events. To become a sponsor, you can select the option below or visit californiapreservation.org/doca/sponsor/
Media Details
The California Preservation Foundation invites media professionals to cover the 3rd Annual Doors Open California, a unique statewide event offering behind-the-scenes access to over 70 historic sites every weekend in September 2025. For more details, contact Jon Haeber at jon@californiapreservation.org or (415) 495-0349 x201.
Media Information & Press Kits
We’ve provided some downloadable resources and social media promotional tools for you to help spread the word about Doors Open California! Media inquiries can be directed to cpf@californiapreservation.org or by dialing 415.495.0349.
Sponsorship Information
Doors Open California is a signature statewide event that draws over 1,000 participants who will get rare & special access to amazing architecture and hidden histories weekends in September. As a sponsor, you will be highlighted as a supporter of the largest statewide celebration of historic places. Walking tours, hidden vaults of local museums, inaccessible areas of historic buildings, or enlightening stories – it’s a chance to experience history first-hand. Over 80 amazing places in California will be highlighted.
Our Sponsors are invited to join us in supporting our third-ever Doors Open California event, where local, nonprofit, government, and enterprise partners will showcase sites in 50+ distinct cities in all corners of California.
BECOME A DOORS OPEN SPONSOR
Click here or on the thumbnail below for the 2025 sponsorship brochure
Partnership Information
Doors Open California Partners are critical to making this event creative, inclusive, and compelling. Partners could be nonprofit organizations, firms, local governments, educational institutions, museums, property owners, or anyone interested in sharing a special, unique place in their community that is worth recognizing and protecting.
Partners create or provide access to places that typically aren’t accessed by the public, and they may share histories that aren’t typically told. Partners, in turn, tap into CPF’s international audience of more than 40,000 supporters and followers. Partners may also solicit Doors Open attendees to support their own efforts – as volunteers, donors, or other types of supporters.
Ways to Partner with Doors Open…
Submit a Proposal for Doors Open 2025
We would love to hear your ideas! This simple form is meant to be completed in less than five minutes. For full details, visit: https://californiapreservation.org/doca/ideas/
Sign Up as an Affiliated Local Business
Local businesses near Doors Open Sites can choose to sponsor Doors Open – or, if they’d like to be included on participant itineraries, they can offer a special discount or gift to registered Doors Open participants wielding a wrist band.
General Information
The California Preservation Foundation announces the 3rd Annual Doors Open California, offering exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of historic places statewide. Spanning September weekends, the event features over 70 unique sites, including hidden museum vaults and inaccessible historic buildings. For a $20 flat fee, attendees gain rare access to preserved architecture and enlightening stories across various cities. Some museums will offer free entry.
Please Note: All sites noted with an asterisk (*) are likely to fill up and have limited capacity, so we recommend registering early and selecting your planned sites to visit as early as possible.
September 6 - 7 (Sierra Nevada, Gold Country, and Eastern California)
September 6 – 7 (Sierra Nevada, Gold Country, and Eastern California)
City: Forest CityRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Gold Rush Boogie: Forest City Dance Hall Sierra County’s last standing 1870s dance hall still has its original spring-loaded floor (for all-night waltzes) and graffiti from miners who paid $1 per dance. The museum displays ‘hurdy-gurdy girl’ contracts and a shotgun used to settle disputes over claim jumpers. |
|
City: AlleghanyRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Alleghany’s Gold Rush Theater The 1930s theater – usually locked – opens to reveal hand-painted scenery flats and a projection booth with original carbon-arc lamps. Locals will share tales of mining town premieres where the Sixteen to One Mine workers traded gold nuggets for popcorn. |
|
City: TruckeeRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Outlaw Jail: Truckee’s Steel Fortress The 1875 stone jail added railroad track ceilings after an 1904 escape. See ‘Baby Face’ Nelson’s graffiti and the ‘drunk tank’ with a 500-lb door. New exhibits explain how the 1964 closure coincided with the Winter Olympics – and the town’s last public hanging. |
|
City: BridgeportNEW THIS YEAR! |
Ghost Town Alive: Bodie’s Arrested Decay Wander Bodie’s frozen-in-time streets, where 8,000 gold seekers once roamed. A 1932 fire spared only 10% of this 1870s boomtown, leaving saloons stocked with whiskey and schools with chalkboards intact. Rangers explain ‘arrested decay’ preservation – peek into the mill where ore was crushed, and spot bullet holes in the jail’s walls. |
|
City: Red BluffRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Chinatown Footsteps: A Family’s Journey Walk with fourth-generation descendants through Red Bluff’s forgotten Chinatown, where their ancestors ran laundries in 1865. The tour ends at Oak Hill Cemetery with traditional Qing dynasty mourning rites. Participants receive replica 19th-century ‘certificates of residence’ – papers Chinese immigrants were forced to carry. |
|
City: Sierra CityRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Sierra City’s Gold Stamp Mill The 1888 mill’s 10-stamp batteries still crush ore monthly – stand close to feel the floor shake! Guides demonstrate how mercury extracted gold (and poisoned miners), while the assay office displays Loeffler family photos – including Adolph, killed in a 1944 mine explosion. |
September 13 - 14 (Los Angeles, San Diego, Pasadena, and Inland Empire)
September 13 – 14 (Los Angeles, San Diego, Pasadena, and Inland Empire)
City: Indian WellsNEW THIS YEAR! |
Desert Oasis: The Cavanaugh Adobe One of Indian Wells’ first homes (1922), this adobe survived desert extremes to become Historic Landmark #1. Architect Michael Burch’s restoration preserved its hand-troweled walls and ‘El Oasis’ gardens – a rare example of early Coachella Valley homesteading. Look for the original citrus trees planted by the Cavanaugh family, who hosted Hollywood stars escaping prohibition. |
|
City: Desert Hot SpringsRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Cabot’s Desert Fantasy: A Folk Art Palace 9/13 and/or 9/14 | 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Doors Open California participants will receive free and special access to this marvel of a museum in Desert Hot Springs. Cabot’s Pueblo was built beginning in 1941 and was always intended to be a museum in addition to the residence for Cabot and Portia Yerxa. The Hopi-inspired building is hand-made and created from reclaimed and found materials from throughout the Coachella Valley Self-taught architect Cabot Yerxa built this 5,000 sq ft pueblo from salvaged railroad ties and soda bottles. The ‘musical staircase’ plays notes when climbed, and hidden courtyards mimic Hopi villages he studied. Don’t miss the rooftop view of the San Andreas Fault. |
|
City: RiversideRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Riverside’s Recycled Manor: The Peter J. Weber House Architect Weber built his 1930s home from demolition scraps – Mission Revival tiles from a razed church, a staircase from a silent movie set. The ‘radio room’ has speakers embedded in hand-carved redwood panels. Ask to see the secret patio where Weber tested concrete mixes. |
|
City: San BernardinoRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Enterprise: The Inland Empire’s First Skyscraper The 1927 ‘modern classical’ tower housed the region’s first elevator and a speakeasy behind the 5th-floor law library. Original blueprints show how the Andreson family built it to survive prohibition – spot the hidden compartments where they stashed liquor permits. |
|
City: Long BeachNEW THIS YEAR! |
Coastal Time Machine: Rancho Los Alamitos This 7.5-acre Tongva-Gabrielino site evolved from native village to Spanish ranch to 1930s garden showpiece. The 1790 adobe’s walls contain horsehair for strength, and the barnyard preserves rare Shire horse breeds. Don’t miss the ‘Moonlight Garden’ with night-blooming cereus planted in 1926. |
|
City: Long BeachNEW THIS YEAR! |
Elmer Grey’s Hidden Cathedral: 440 Elm The 1913 First Church of Christ Scientist astonishes with 30-foot coffered ceilings and a 2,500-pipe organ. Architect Elmer Grey (Beverly Hills Hotel) designed this Long Beach landmark with Moroccan tilework and a 7,000 sq ft ballroom. The most impressive room is the Sanctuary, with 30′ coffered ceilings, leaded-stained glass doors, a 7000 sq ft ballroom, 2 story stained glass, and a hand-carved organ grill covering a 2500 pipe Murray-Harris organ. Learn how its stained glass survived earthquakes to become an events venue. |
|
City: Los AngelesNEW THIS YEAR! |
Bank to Books: Spring Arts Tower’s Reinvention Crocker National Bank’s 1920s Art Deco HQ now houses LA’s last indie bookstore. Marvel at the original vault doors repurposed as art installations and the 14-foot chandelier that once watched over million-dollar deposits. Architects will point out the building’s clever ‘banker’s light’ system – still functional. |
|
City: Los AngelesNEW THIS YEAR! |
1931 Frozen in Time: CalEdison’s Lobby and 4th Floor Balcony City Views Step into Downtown LA’s best-preserved Art Deco lobby, where black marble floors reflect gilded elevator doors and a ceiling mural of ‘the Spirit of Light.’ The 4th-floor balcony – rarely open – offers views of Pershing Square exactly as 1930s tycoons saw it. Fun fact: The building’s clock has kept perfect time for 90 years. |
|
City: los angelesNEW THIS YEAR! |
Book Lover’s Paradise: The Last Bookstore Navigate labyrinthine shelves in this 1914 bank turned literary wonderland. The Annex’s vault holds rare first editions, while the ‘book tunnel’ and suspended book sculptures make perfect Instagram moments. Staff share tales of the building’s haunted past – listen for the ghostly clinks of old safety deposit boxes. |
|
City: Los AngelesNEW THIS YEAR! |
Time Warp: Union Theatre & Velaslavasay Panorama LA’s oldest movie house (1910) now hosts a 360-degree painted panorama of 1920s Shenyang – the West Coast’s only surviving example of this Victorian art form. Climb into the rotunda to be surrounded by the 40-foot-tall artwork, then explore the theatre’s neon ‘orange ball’ sign that guided silent-film audiences. |
|
City: Los angelesNEW THIS YEAR! |
Deco Dreams: Downtown LA’s Architectural Jazz Glide past gilded lobbies and geometric marvels on this tour of DTLA’s Art Deco icons. The Eastern Columbia Building’s turquoise terra-cotta and the CalEdison’s 1931 opulence reveal how L.A. embraced the Jazz Age. Guides share tales of craftsmen who molded these landmarks – like the Cicada Club’s hidden speakeasy past. |
|
City: Los AngelesRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Hollywood High’s Deco Treasure The 1935 Streamline Moderne library houses a WPA mural of Hollywood’s golden age – spot the hidden Clara Bow likeness and the Hollywood Bowl shell made of drama masks. Alumni include Carol Burnett and Laurence Fishburne; their yearbooks are displayed during tours. |
|
City: Los AngelesRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
The Ebell’s Roaring ’20s Revival L.A.’s 1927 women’s club (where Amelia Earhart spoke) opens its Moroccan Room and Wilshire Ebell Theatre. Step behind the scenes of Hollywood history with Filmed at The Ebell, an all-new guided tour of The Ebell of Los Angeles and the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. Discover how this iconic women-led campus has quietly starred in over a century of film and television—from Break of Hearts with Katharine Hepburn, to Forrest Gump, to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Docents share tales of suffragette meetings and the secret tunnel to the now-gone Brown Derby. Attendees will be able to explore the main building, the luscious garden & courtyard and the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre, which together comprise the breathtaking 94,000 square foot campus, a noted architectural treasure recognized as a Los Angeles Cultural Monument and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guests may reserve a spot for either the 11:00 AM or 1:00 PM tour. Each 90-minute walking tour is limited to 50 participants (100 total for the day) and includes multiple staircases. If you have mobility considerations, please reach out to Amelia at amelia@ebellofla.org so we can discuss accommodations. Please note that due to the historic nature of the building, not all areas are fully ADA accessible. |
|
City: Los AngelesRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Los Angeles Union Station Hidden Gems Built in 1939, Los Angeles Union Station is an architectural gem in the heart of downtown L.A. The historic Ticket Concourse features a restored 110-foot-long ticket counter crafted from American black walnut, a hand painted, stenciled acoustic ceiling adorned with massive bronze, chandeliers, towering 43-foot windows, quarry tile flooring traversed by a multi-colored marble runner, glazed polychromatic “Deco†tiles from Gladding McBean Co., and much more. While this space is not typically open to the public, the “Hidden Gems” tours will offer Angelenos a behind the scenes look at this breathtaking treasure. Union Station is designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historical Resources. Additional historic public spaces include the grand Waiting Room, entry vestibule, and the view of the facade with its iconic clock tower, followed by a stop at the original Fred Harvey restaurant, now a brewpub frequented by travelers and patrons alike. |
|
City: Los AngelesRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
|
Time Capsule: Neutra’s Family Sanctuary Sat., Sep. 13, 2025 | 10AM to 3PM Enter the 1951 Reunion House preserved as Richard Neutra’s family left it. See Dion Neutra’s library, vintage Knoll furniture, and the architect’s drafting tools. Experience signature ‘biorealism’ features: spider-leg supports, mitered glass corners, and integrated fountain. Hourly tours for 15 guests; park on Silverlake Blvd. Don’t miss this unforgettable journey into the lived legacy of one of modernism’s most iconic families.
|
City: Los AngelesRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Richard Neutra’s Midcentury Lab Attendees will see the Neutra Office constructed originally as the Planning Professionals Building in 1950. The office housed Neutra and Alexander’s combined practice during their partnership. The building features a number of character defining features associated with Mid-Century Modern architecture as well as some unique features of the architecture of Richard Neutra. The Building also has two office apartments (not accessible for this tour, but viewable via a QR code with video) offering insight into an early live/work, MFR, project by a master Modern architect. |
|
City: San PedroRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Cold War to Nature Preserve Join us on Sat, Sept 13 at 1pm for a walking (approx. 1 mile) tour of the Preserve’s restored coastal sage habitat and historic military structures.. A 1960s Nike missile assembly building now houses tide pool exhibits. The bunker tour reveals graffiti from soldiers awaiting Soviet nukes, while the restored coastal sage scrub habitat hides foundations of WWII artillery emplacements. Look for the ‘ghost road’ of paved-over gun mounts. |
|
City: La Puente ValleyNEW THIS YEAR! |
Bridges to Early San Gabriel Valley History: Workman & Rowland Estates Explore two brick landmarks from California’s transition from Mexican to American rule. The 1842 Workman Adobe hides a tragic suicide room, while the 1855 Rowland House (southern CA’s oldest brick structure) features ship masts repurposed as ceiling beams. Historians decode hidden symbols in the La Puente rancho’s 50,000-acre history. |
|
City: OjaiNEW THIS YEAR! |
Retirement Revolution: Grey Gables’ Legacy AARP founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus transformed this 1950s Ojai retreat into a model for active aging. See her original office with midcentury disability adaptations and the courtyard where retirees first danced to ‘Rock Around the Clock.’ The onsite historian shares never-before-seen photos of early member rallies. |
|
City: Santa MonicaNEW THIS YEAR! |
Shotgun House: Santa Monica’s Tiny Time Capsule This 1897 worker’s cottage – just 12 feet wide – showcases adaptive reuse at its best. Originally housing blacksmiths, it now displays artifacts from Santa Monica’s 150-year history, including vintage surfboards and photos of the ‘Looff Hippodrome’ carousel. The backyard reveals original citrus trees from its farming days. |
|
City: Santa MonicaNEW THIS YEAR! |
Hearst, Hollywood & Julia Morgan: Beach House Secrets The Annenberg Beach House hides wild stories: Marion Davies’ 110-guest parties, William Randolph Hearst’s hidden tunnels, and Julia Morgan’s pool designed for underwater film shoots. Docents share cocktail recipes from the 1920s and point out Morgan’s clever drainage systems – still protecting the guesthouse from sea spray. Documentaries on Marion Davies and Julia Morgan will be viewable. The historic core is part of the present day Beach House, operated by the city of Santa Monica, and open to all. Back on the Beach Cafe, a quintessential beach cafe, is on site and a fantastic amenity for Open Doors visitors. |
|
City: NeedlesNEW THIS YEAR! |
Route 66 Resurrection Tour Journey through the Mojave’s quirkiest preservation wins: a 1962 neon-lit truck stop turned artist colony, a Harvey House with its original Fred Harvey china, and Roy’s Motel’s Googie sign relit after 40 years. Guides share how NPS grants saved these icons – and where you can still get a vintage ’66 burger. This weekend event will showcase multiple restored, reused, and/or preservation-in-progress sites along the California Historic Route 66 Needles to Barstow National Scenic Byway. Attendees can take a guided motorcoach tour on Saturday and use their own cars on Sunday – visiting different properties each day, with speakers at each site. Participants can register for and attend one or both days’ tours; each tour leaves from Barstow. If they wish, participants can stay at a group-rate hotel in Barstow on Friday and/or Saturday nights. On Saturday, bus tour stops will include:
On Sunday, tour stops will include: · Daggett: Multiple buildings reflecting the ghost town’s era as a railroad stop and supply point. One, the 1926 California Information Bureau Building, received a 2024 NPS grant toward its rehabilitation and upcoming reuse as a museum. Several are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the 1890 Alf’s Blacksmith Shop, designated in 2025; the architectural historian who authored that nomination (and two others in town) will speak. · Newberry Springs: Legacy businesses that are seeking grants or undergoing other fundraising efforts for their rehabilitation · Barstow: Casa Del Desierto, a 1911 train station / Harvey House hotel. Now adaptively reused with office space, two museums (open on Sunday), etc. |
|
City: Palos Verdes EstatesRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Behind the Scenes in a Historic Seaside Library Myron Hunt’s 1929 Mediterranean Revival landmark—flanked by an Olmsted Brothers-designed garden—was the Peninsula’s first civic building. The reading room’s hand-stenciled beams echo local kelp forests, while original leaded-glass windows cast dappled light onto terrazzo floors. Outside, the ‘Moonlight Garden’ blooms with night-scented cereus, a 1920s horticultural trend. The adjacent Malaga Cove Plaza (National Register-listed) features its iconic tile fountain, where early residents gathered after library lectures. Docents highlight Hunt’s design quirks, like the study alcoves sized for ocean-view contemplation. Ask about the library’s original 1929 card catalog—still intact—which lists titles like ‘California Gardens’ by Lockwood de Forest, reflecting the Peninsula’s horticultural obsession. |
|
City: PiruRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Myth and Reality at Ramona‘s Real-Life Setting This 1853 rancho inspired Helen Hunt Jackson’s ‘Ramona’ – see the chapel where the novel’s wedding scene unfolded. The newly opened archives reveal photos of Mary Pickford filming here in 1910. Don’t miss the ‘Myth Wall’ debunking Hollywood’s Spanish fantasy vs. Californio reality. |
|
City: San GabrielRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Mission San Gabriel: Rising from Ashes The 1771 mission’s post-fire restoration reveals hidden layers – original Tongva pigments under whitewash, earthquake repairs using railroad ties. The garden’s ‘mission grapes’ are descendants of Father Serra’s plantings. New exhibits explain how the 2020 arson accelerated preservation tech. This special tour will be led by members of the restoration team. |
|
City: Newport BeachRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Richard Neutra’s Healing Architecture at his Medical Office Complex 9/13 and/or 9/14 | 9A to 10A This 20,000-square-foot medical office complex, designed by Richard Neutra in 1963, exemplifies his innovative approach to healthcare architecture. The building integrates outdoor gardens and water features with clinical spaces, reflecting Neutra’s belief in nature’s role in patient well-being. The 2023 restoration reinstated original design elements, including floor-to-ceiling windows and a central courtyard. Located in Newport Beach, the property is noted for its modular exam rooms and minimalist aesthetic. Tours highlight Neutra’s use of industrial materials like steel and glass to create a serene, functional environment.
|
|
City: OrangeNEW THIS YEAR! |
|
Artisans of Light: Historic Fixture Tour Sat, Sept. 13th, 2024 | 8am to 2pm Step inside Orange’s premier lighting workshop, where artisans handcraft period-accurate fixtures for landmarks like the Gamble House and Union Station. Watch traditional metal-spinning and glass-blowing techniques recreate historical designs from original blueprints. See how 1920s patinas are replicated using century-old formulas. Tours at 8am, 10am, and 12pm (max 20 guests). Note: Factory has uneven surfaces.
|
City: San MarinoNEW THIS YEAR! |
Adobe Resurrection: Michael White’s Legacy One of LA County’s last 19th-century adobes, this 1870s San Marino treasure was saved from demolition by students. Its walls mix traditional tar with broken dishware for insulation. Preservationists will demonstrate adobe brick-making and share plans to turn it into a living history lab. |
|
City: South PasadenaNEW THIS YEAR! |
Treasures Unlocked: South Pasadena’s Attic Housed in an 1886 train station, this museum displays quirky local history: Charlie Chaplin’s forgotten cane, a gold-plated ‘meteorite’ hoax, and puppet heads from 1970s freeway protests. See the original 1903 photo of the Great Electric Train Race—a streetcar stunt that drew thousands—and blueprints for a ‘ghost mansion’ whose owner disappeared. Staff occasionally showcase fragments of Gilded Age staircases salvaged from demolished NYC mansions. |
|
City: PasadenaRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Prairie Style Secret: The Blinn House Chicago architect George Maher’s only West Coast creation (1906) hides symbolism in every detail – from iris-motif stained glass (for owner Kate Blinn) to a fireplace inscribed with her favorite poem. Recently saved by Pasadena Heritage, the third-floor servants’ quarters reveal early 20th-century domestic life. |
|
City: San DiegoRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Villa Montezuma: Spiritualist’s Palace This 1887 Queen Anne Victorian, built for spiritualist pianist Jesse Shepard, features stained glass portraits of Mozart and St. Cecilia that cast colored light across its music room. The séance chamber’s mirrored ceiling reflects candlelight—a dramatic touch for Shepard’s alleged spirit communications. While guides share tales of midnight concerts, the museum emphasizes its documented history as a Gilded Age salon for artists and occultists. |
September 20 - 21 (San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, and San Jose Areas)
September 20 – 21 (San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, and San Jose Areas)
City: Santa ClaraNEW THIS YEAR! |
Time Layers: 2,000 Years Under SCU Santa Clara University’s campus sits atop a Native American village, Mission-era walls, and 1850s college foundations. This rare tour showcases artifacts from ongoing digs – Ohlone tools, Spanish ceramics, and ROTC relics – stored in the 1888 Ricard Observatory. You may even get to see a 3D-printed replica of a Gold Rush-era pistol found near the Mission gardens! |
|
City: FremontRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Babies & Bunkhouses: Shinn Ranch’s Untold Stories Psychologist Milicent Shinn’s 1890s child studies (conducted here) revolutionized early education. See her notebooks documenting baby ‘Joseph Jr.’ – and the cook Fong Gan who spoiled him with sweets. The adjacent bunkhouse, one of the last ‘China Camp’ structures, reveals Chinese workers’ roles in California horticulture. |
|
City: GilroyRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Gilroy’s Attic: Forgotten Artifacts Unboxed Rummage through the 1910 library-turned-museum’s basement, where Ohlone arrowheads sit beside garlic festival memorabilia. Curators will demonstrate how they preserve 1800s wedding gowns and why a ‘vampire killing kit’ ended up in Gilroy. Look for the hidden vault with Prohibition-era stills. |
|
City: FremontRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Growing History: California’s First Nursery John Rock’s 1884 experimental orchard supplied Hearst Castle’s palms and WWII victory gardens. Today, the ‘Old Adobe’ hosts jam sessions under 150-year-old olives. Seek out the ‘Mother Orange’ tree – parent to 80% of California’s citrus – and the test grove of failed avocado hybrids. |
|
City: FremontRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Blooms Through Time: Nursery Heritage Gardens Frances Roeding’s 1930s ‘show gardens’ dazzled visitors with tulip carpets and rose mazes. Today, volunteers maintain her original designs, including a ‘moon gate’ framing Mount Hamilton. The packing shed’s walls still bear chalkboards tracking shipments to Panama-Pacific Expo (1915) buyers. |
|
City: San JoseRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Two Eras Collide: Adobe to Victorian San Jose’s oldest building (1797) sits steps from Thomas Fallon’s 1850s mansion – compare Mission-era adobe bricks with Victorian gas lighting. Kids can grind corn in the outdoor ‘cocina,’ while historians explain how the Fallons hosted Emperor Norton (SF’s eccentric ‘royalty’). |
|
City: FremontRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Patterson Family Secrets: 1857-1964 Ardenwood Farm’s 1857 mansion hides a Civil War draft dodger’s crawl space and a 1920s ‘icebox’ converted for early penicillin storage. The tour includes attic access to view mourning dresses and the children’s chalkboard where a young heir practiced his cattle brands. |
|
City: FremontRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Time Travel at Ardenwood Farm Patterson House’s architectural tour reveals why the 1850s ‘Italianate’ facade hides a 1910 Craftsman interior – follow the family’s wealth through wallpaper layers. Bonus: The ‘secret room’ where the Pattersons hid Chinese workers during anti-immigrant raids. |
|
City: FremontRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Film Detective: Saving Celluloid Ghosts Historian David Kiehn (who authenticated ‘A Trip Down Market Street’) shows how puddles, license plates, and shadows date forgotten films. Handle 1900s nitrate stock (safely!) and see his latest discovery – a 1912 circus parade with escaped tigers near City Hall. |
|
City: FremontRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Fremont’s First Family of Flowers The 1876 Shinn House showcases Victorian horticulture – check the parlor’s ‘plant windows’ for propagating rare camellias. The bunkhouse displays Chinese workers’ ledgers listing wages paid in opium (legal until 1909). Don’t miss the 150-year-old cork oak – California’s oldest. |
|
City: RedlandsRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
|
Redlands Renaissance: Preservation in Action Explore downtown Redlands’ adaptive reuse success stories, which includes such exemplary projects as the 1908 Barton School (now offices) and Fox Theater’s Art Deco revival. Learn preservation tools like tax incentives that created microbreweries in historic spaces. Includes access to a 1920s bank vault becoming a speakeasy. Conclude with networking in a century-old orange packing warehouse.
|
City: VirtualRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
|
Digital Preservation Lab: IE Heritage Strategies This virtual symposium addresses Inland Empire preservation challenges: adobe conservation in arid climates, repurposing Route 66 motels, and funding Mission-era structures. Case studies will include successful commercial-to-adaptive reuse conversions and midcentury housing rehabilitations using state tax incentives. Learn how stakeholders navigated zoning challenges while preserving character-defining features..
|
City: San Luis ObispoNEW THIS YEAR! |
Sip & Stroll: Art and Wine at Julia Morgan’s Monday Club Step inside a 1930s Julia Morgan-designed landmark, where SLO County wines meet local artistry. The Monday Club’s historic clubhouse – a rare Central Coast project by California’s first licensed female architect – hosts rotating exhibitions by its talented members. Sip regional vintages beneath vaulted ceilings and original woodwork, then explore gardens planted with drought-resistant natives. Morgan’s signature blend of Craftsman and Mission Revival styles shines here, just blocks from Mission San Luis Obispo. |
|
City: AtascaderoRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Feminist Press: Atascadero’s Printery Revolution The 1915 Women’s Press Building was the West’s largest rotogravure press, printing suffrage magazines and LA Times inserts. Founder Mabel Lewis envisioned a utopia where women owned property. Today, restorers are piecing together Ralph Holmes’ murals of pioneering women. The Italian Renaissance building’s terracotta details hide symbols of equality, and the basement preserves original ‘Linotype Lucy’ machines. Recent discoveries include 1910s printer’s proofs for suffrage materials hidden in wall cavities, along with ink stains from producing women’s rights publications.
|
|
City: San Luis obispoRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
SLO’s Secret Stash: Artifact Warehouse Peek behind the scenes at San Luis Obispo’s collection of 50,000+ objects – from Chumash grinding stones to 1920s surfboards. Conservators will demonstrate how they stabilize adobe bricks and why that ‘ordinary’ lunchbox is actually a rare WWII civil defense relic. |
|
City: San Luis ObispoRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Dallidet’s Oasis: 170 Years of Family San Luis Obispo’s oldest private adobe (1850s) has been home to just two families. The gardens – with original grapevines from French settler Pierre Dallidet – supplied wine to Mission San Luis Obispo. Look for the hidden ‘temescal’ sweat lodge used by Indigenous workers. |
|
City: San Luis ObispoRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Unsung Heroes: WWII Filipino USO Club San Luis Obispo’s 1940s USO club – one of three segregated venues (Black, White, Filipino) – hosted dances for 10,000+ Filipino servicemen. The exhibit features restored jukeboxes, a ‘Victory Garden’ recipe book, and oral histories of farmworkers turned soldiers. |
September 27 - 28 (Special Programming at Select Sites Statewide)
September 27 – 28 (Special Programming at Select Sites Statewide)
City: SalinasRETURNING DOORS OPEN PARTNER |
Boronda Adobe’s Rancho Fiesta The staff and docents will provide guided tours of the 1844-46 José Eusebio Boronda Adobe. Our tours will be presented in English and Spanish for our “Rancho Days celebration” of that weekend. Our tour guides will be costumed as reenactors for the period of significance, and guests will be provided tours of the newly opened Gumper-Castro Library, which includes the integration of vintage Victorian architectural elements and a treasure trove of books on early California history and culture. Finally, smaller groups will be provided a behind-the-scenes tour of the Archival Vaults of the Monterey County Historical Society featuring the Spanish & Mexican Archives spanning the period from 1770 through 1856 and the Archaeology Vault with its collections predating European contact on the central California coast and Monterey Bay. Finally, guests will be provided refreshments consisting of Mexican and early Californio-themed chocolate and soups of the period. |
Full List of Sites by Dates and Region
| Event | City | Region | Date(s) of Your Hosted Event |
| Desert Oasis: The Cavanaugh Adobe | Indian Wells | Inland Empire | 9/13 – 9/14 |
| Cabot’s Desert Fantasy: A Folk Art Palace | Desert Hot Springs | Inland Empire | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Riverside’s Recycled Manor | Riverside | Inland Empire | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Enterprise: IE’s First Skyscraper | San Bernardino | Inland Empire | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Coastal Time Machine: Rancho Los Alamitos | Long Beach | Los Angeles Area | 9/13 |
| Elmer Grey’s Hidden Cathedral: 440 Elm | Long Beach | Los Angeles Area | 9/14 |
| Bank to Books: Spring Arts Tower’s Reinvention | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/14 |
| 1931 Frozen in Time: CalEdison’s Lobby | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/14 |
| Book Lover’s Paradise: The Last Bookstore | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/13 |
| Time Warp: Union Theatre & Panorama | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/13 |
| Deco Dreams: Downtown LA’s Architectural Jazz | Los angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/14 |
| Hollywood High’s Deco Treasure | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| The Ebell’s Roaring ’20s Revival | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Union Station’s Forbidden Spaces | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/20 – 9/21 |
| Neutra’s Midcentury Lab | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | 9/13 |
| Cold War to Nature Preserve | San Pedro | Los Angeles Area | 9/13 |
| Bridges to Early San Gabriel Valley History: Workman & Rowland Estates | owned by the La Puente Valley Historical Society. | Other | 9/13 – 9/14 |
| Retirement Revolution: Grey Gables’ Legacy | Ojai | Other | 9/14 |
| Shotgun House: Santa Monica’s Tiny Time Capsule | Santa Monica | Other | 9/13 – 9/14 |
| Hearst, Hollywood & Julia Morgan: Beach House Secrets | Santa Monica | Other | 9/14 |
| Route 66 Resurrection Tour | Needles | Other | 9/13 – 9/14 |
| Behind the Scenes in a Historic Seaside Library | Palos Verdes Estates | Other | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Myth and Reality at Ramona’s Real-Life Setting | Piru | Other | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Mission San Gabriel: Rising from Ashes | San Gabriel | Other | 9/13 |
| Richard Neutra’s Healing Architecture at his Medical Office Complex | Newport Beach | Other | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Adobe Resurrection: Michael White’s Legacy | San Marino | Pasadena Area | 9/13 |
| Treasures Unlocked: South Pasadena’s Attic | South Pasadena | Pasadena Area | 9/13 – 9/14 |
| Prairie Style Secret: The Blinn House | Pasadena | Pasadena Area | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Villa Montezuma: Spiritualist’s Palace | San Diego | San Diego Area | 9/13 and/or 9/14 (TBA) |
| Time Layers: 2,000 Years Under SCU | Santa Clara | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 – 9/21 |
| Babies & Bunkhouses: Shinn Ranch’s Untold Stories | Fremont | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Gilroy’s Attic: Forgotten Artifacts Unboxed | Gilroy | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 |
| Growing History: California’s First Nursery | Fremont | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Blooms Through Time: Nursery Heritage Gardens | Fremont | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Two Eras Collide: Adobe to Victorian | San Jose | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Patterson Family Secrets: 1857-1964 | Fremont | San Jose / Fremont Area | Sunday, September 10 |
| Time Travel at Ardenwood Farm | Fremont | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Film Detective: Saving Celluloid Ghosts | Fremont | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Fremont’s First Family of Flowers | Fremont | San Jose / Fremont Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Sip & Stroll: Art and Wine at Julia Morgan’s Monday Club | San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo / Central Coast | 9/13 – 9/14 |
| Feminist Press: Atascadero’s Printery Revolution | Atascadero | San Luis Obispo / Central Coast | 9/20 |
| SLO’s Secret Stash: Artifact Warehouse | San Luis obispo | San Luis Obispo / Central Coast | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Dallidet’s Oasis: 170 Years of Family | San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo / Central Coast | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Unsung Heroes: WWII Filipino USO Club | San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo / Central Coast | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Boronda Adobe’s Rancho Fiesta | Salinas | San Luis Obispo / Central Coast | 9/27 |
| Chumash Engineering Marvels | San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo / Central Coast | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Julia Morgan’s Sisterhood | San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo / Central Coast | 9/20 |
| Chinatown Stories: Oakland’s Legacy of Belonging | Oakland | SF Bay Area | 9/20 |
| Black Panther Women: A Mural’s Radical Tribute | Oakland | SF Bay Area | 9/20 – 9/21 |
| Riverfront Time Capsule: Petaluma’s Victorian Secrets | Petaluma | SF Bay Area | 9/20 |
| San Francisco’s Lost Arts & Crafts Chapel | San Francisco | SF Bay Area | 9/20 |
| Warnecke’s Blueprint Vault: JFK to Hawaii | Healdsburg | SF Bay Area | 9/20 |
| Maybeck’s Forest Church: A Spiritual Experiment | Berkeley | SF Bay Area | 9/20 |
| Pond Farm Pottery: Bauhaus in the Redwoods | Guerneville | SF Bay Area | 9/20 |
| Julia Morgan’s Berkeley City Club | Berlkeley | SF Bay Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Richmond District Time Machine | San Francisco | SF Bay Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Sonoma’s Secret City: 130 Years of Care | Glen Ellen | SF Bay Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Choo-Choo Time Machine: Redwood Valley Railway | Orinda | SF Bay Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Treasure Island’s Time Capsule | San Francisco | SF Bay Area | 9/20 and/or 9/21 (TBA) |
| Gold Rush Relic: The Canepa House & Pendula Store | Mariposa | Sierra Nevada & Gold Country | 9/20 |
| Gold Rush in Rammed Earth: Chew Kee Store | Fiddletown | Sierra Nevada & Gold Country | 9/20 |
| Fiddletown Gold Rush Jamboree | Fiddletown | Sierra Nevada & Gold Country | 9/20 |
| Gold Rush Boogie: Forest City Dance Hall | Forest City | Sierra Nevada & Gold Country | 9/6 and/or 9/7 |
| Alleghany’s Gold Rush Theater | Alleghany | Sierra Nevada & Gold Country | 9/6 and/or 9/7 |
| Outlaw Jail: Truckee’s Steel Fortress | Truckee | Sierra Nevada & Gold Country | 9/6 and/or 9/7 |
| Hidden Gem: Lim’s Cafe’s Untold Stories | Redding | Sierra Nevada Foothills | 9/13 |
| Ghost Town Alive: Bodie’s Arrested Decay | Bridgeport | Sierra Nevada Foothills | 9/20 – 9/21 |
| Chinatown Footsteps: A Family’s Journey | Red Bluff | Sierra Nevada Foothills | 9/6, 9/7, 9/20, OR 9/21 |
| Sierra City’s Gold Stamp Mill | Sierra City | Sierra Nevada Foothills | 9/6 and/or 9/7 |
| Artisans of Light: Historic Fixture Tour | Orange | Los Angeles Area | Sat, Sept. 13th, 2024 |
| Time Capsule: Neutra’s Family Sanctuary | Los Angeles | Los Angeles Area | Sat., Sep. 13, 2025 |
| Redlands Renaissance: Preservation in Action | Redlands | Los Angeles Area | Sat, Sept. 20 |
| Digital Preservation Lab: IE Heritage Strategies | Virtual | Los Angeles Area | Thur, Sept. 18 |
Map of Sites
In 2024, over 60 sites are participating in Doors Open from all corners of California.
The full Doors Open map of sites for this year can be found here: bit.ly/mapdoca
You can also find a map embedded at the bottom of this page.
We Thank Our Generous Sponsors
Interactive Map of Participating Sites for 2025
DRAFT MAP – SUBJECT TO CHANGE
View the full-screen interactive map here