Banning Residence Museum

Los Angeles Pioneer

Description

General Phineas Banning and his family would prove to be an instrumental influence on the development and growth of the budding village of Los Angeles in the mid-nineteenth century. Banning was indispensable in connecting L.A. and parts of Southern California with other parts of the growing nation. Banning had a carriage company and a fleet of steamships, which he ultimately used to help the dusty village of Los Angeles grow into a bustling and important port-town. Banning was also an honorary general in the California State Brigade of the National Guard. Today you can visit the home of the General and his family and get a taste of what life was like on the western expanses in the nineteenth century. His 1864 Greek-revival home is still decorated with many of the same Victorian furnishings that existed in his time, and details of the Banning family are preserved for all who wish to learn about Los Angeles' early days.