Regular admission is $12.50 for adults and $5.00 for children. However, the first Thursday of every month admission is free at The Huntington, and we thought we would give it a whirl.

Hundreds of other visitors decided to try the free day too, as it was very, very busy.

The large parking lot was filling up fast at 11:00, and, once parked, we walked a good distance just to get to the main entrance. [below]

The Huntington has so much to see. Along with their permanent art collections and library displays, are two temporary exhibits:

Drawn to Art: Art Education and the American Experience, 1800 - 1950 [below right]
Edward Weston: A Legacy. [below left]

Wells Fargo Bank sponsors the free admission day, with a banner [above] and a genuine Wells Fargo wagon. Their representative was dressed in turn-of-the-century garb. Very cute.

Other exhibits are here too, plus lots of activities for members, which the staff was promoting heavily to us 'freebies.'

The grounds of the Huntington sprawl out in many different directions, [below] and, since much of it is a series of gardens, much of it is out in the sun. It's been really hot and sunny recently, but for some reason, I didn't think to bring a hat.

The Library Exhibition Hall is very close. This is the actual library building, [below] and a small section has been set aside to display a sample of their rare books and manuscripts.

 

To protect the works on display, it's very dimly lit, and, at first blush, it does feel a bit stuffy and serious [read: boring].

Once we realized that we were looking at a first edition of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", [right] an early Gutenberg Bible, and actual manuscripts from Mark Twain, it all became rather awe-inspiring.

If it hadn't been for the crush of visitors, jockeying for position, we might have stayed longer.

In the Library's West Hall, we enjoyed the "Drawn to Art" exhibit, which explores the history of art education in American public schools.

With displays of children's paint sets, and wonderful old photographs of students drawing, working a loom, using a drill, and chalking designs on a blackboard, we learned how art in schools has always been a tough sell, and that our recent budget cuts in 2003 are not that different from other times in history.

Since our goal for this visit was to just get a taste of the Huntngton, we decided to go to the former residence, to see the stars of the show, "Pinkie" and "The Blue Boy."