The History Behind Villa Montalvo

Front Lawn Villa Montalvo

Front Lawn Villa Montalvo

Bride crowd surfing

Bride crowd surfing

The Sound In Motion team has been a part of hundreds of events at Montalvo Art Center aka Villa Montalvo.

It's one of the prettiest venues you will come across in the Bay Area. There's a great bit of history about it.

Have you ever wondered about the story behind such an amazing property?

Here's some history for you:

"It was built in 1912 by James Duval Phelan (1861-1930). Phelan, a passionate Californian who had been a three-term progressive mayor of San Francisco, went on to become California's first popularly-elected U.S. Senator. Villa Montalvo was Senator Phelan's favorite home and a center of artistic, political and social life in Northern California. Phelan invited leading writers and artists to Villa Montalvo to work on individual artistic projects in an environment rich in dialogue and fellowship. Jack London, Ethel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, Douglass Fairbanks, and Edwin Markham were among Phelan's many guests.

The name "Villa Montalvo" is a reference to popular 16th-century Spanish writer Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo, who coined the name "California". In one of his fables, he described an island rich with gold and jewels, peopled by Amazons whose queen was Califia. On this storybook island of California, Montalvo's Amazons rode griffins, the mythical winged guardians of precious treasure. Griffins can still be found throughout the Montalvo grounds, standing guard over one of California's true precious treasures." ***Quote from Montalvo Art Center Website***

If you are considering this venue as your wedding day - Between Kathleen and Tiffany at Montalvo, you'll be in great hands! If you're in need of entertainment services, make sure to check out SoundInMotionEG.com.

Adrian Cavlan