Saved: Japanese House at Huntington Library, San Marino, CA

Japanese House & Pagoda.  Photo found at the Huntington Library's website.

The California Preservation Foundation and the Huntington Library announced that the Japanese House and related tea garden have been renovated and are now reopened to the public.  Originally built by Japanese craftsmen in Japan c. 1904, the house was then shipped to California and reassembled for a commercial art dealer during a time when Japanese tea gardens were all the rage...including one built for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exhibition in San Francisco.  When the dealers business failed, the Japanese House was bought by Henry Huntington and reassembled again at his estate in 1911 and completed in 1912.  With the house and garden in place now for 100 years, the Huntington Library is celebrating by announcing the completion of the renovation project.

Saved: Richmond Plunge, Richmond, CA.

The Richmond Plunge.  Photo found at Gogobot.

Two years ago this month, the Richmond Plunge once again opened to the public in search of the joyful pleasures of swimming.  Located within Pt. Richmond's Municipal Natatorium (a word not often used today), the site is located within Pt. Richmond's Historic District.  The public pool originally opened in 1926 to accommodate the community's growth in response to nearby rail and refinery success.  As The Berkeley Daily Planet reported, the renovation would ultimately cost $7.5 million, including grants and private gifts.