The Saratoga Foothill Club and has deep roots in the historic Northern California community of Saratoga, a charming, walkable village nestled in the scenic, redwood-forested foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The Foothill Club, as it is locally known, started out as a women’s study club in January of 1907 by a group of twelve determined Saratoga women who were some of the town’s earliest settlers. These women were isolated on their family farms and orchards. They longed for community and intellectual stimulation. At the time, Saratoga was mainly an agricultural community best known for its fruit orchards within “The Valley of Heart’s Delight.”
In the early 1900’s, club meetings were held in members’ homes. As the membership expanded, participants were often relegated to sitting on fruit boxes topped with pillows for meetings. Members soon decided they needed a permanent location to meet. They wisely choose architect Julia Morgan to design the new Foothill Clubhouse. Julia Morgan was a University of California Berkeley engineering graduate. She also happened to be a sorority sister of one of the Foothill Cub’s founding members.
The choice of Julia Morgan to design the new Foothill Clubhouse proved to be a momentous decision. As a young woman, Julia Morgan pursued her dream to become an architect in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. At that time, women in America could not even vote. They were certainly not supposed to become architects, let alone successful ones. Morgan’s unrelenting passion and perseverance eventually allowed her to succeed on the highest levels in her chosen field, despite many setbacks along the way.
A San Francisco Bay Area native, she was the first woman ever to graduate from the School of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. This was before the college even offered architectural studies. She was also the first woman ever to obtain a certificate in architecture at the elite and prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. And she did it in three years, which the vast majority of male-enrolled students didn’t.
Morgan was also the first woman architect licensed in California. She designed more than a thousand buildings in the San Francisco Bay area during the first half of the 20th century. She is most famous for designing and overseeing the construction of Hearst Castle, the magnificent estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
The Foothill Clubhouse is located on Park Place near downtown Saratoga on what was once the known as the “Village Green.” Morgan proposed building a redwood structure nestled in the wooded area where:
“Your majestic oaks will give a dappled effect with charming appeal. Dark wood, a rose window to bring in westerly light and open beams will create a distinctive look.” – Julia Morgan
In 1988, the City of Saratoga designated the bungalow-designed building as the community’s Historic Landmark #1. In 2005, the clubhouse was listed on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places for meeting both social history and architectural standards. And in May 2022, the Santa Clara County Preservation Alliance recognized our clubhouse for “Outstanding Restoration of a Building.”
Both Foothill Club and community members are truly proud of this beautiful building, as is reflected in their ongoing stewardship of the clubhouse through support of the Saratoga Foothill Club Historic Landmark Foundation (SFCHLF).
Past SFCHLF projects –In 2012, the patio and grounds were entirely redone. The catering kitchen and bathrooms were completely modernized soon after. And in 2022, the process of re-siding the entire exterior of the building was meticulously completed using existing oil-salvaged shingles and new eco-salvaged, old growth, hand-split redwood shingles. The results are stunning, giving the 1915 historic building a lighter, brighter look.
Today, the exterior of the moderately scaled Arts and Crafts building blends in seamlessly with its historic residential neighborhood. Its interior reflects Morgan’s hallmarks of carved trellises with projecting brackets, open beamed ceilings, and abundant windows. It also features Morgan’s signature circular paned rose window and a glass paned folding wall that allows natural light to pour throughout the building.
Over a century later, the nationally recognized Foothill Clubhouse serves as a valued meeting space for the Saratoga area community. In addition to hosting Foothill Club membership activities, the historic structure is available for rental to the general public as a venue for non-profits, corporate meetings, weddings, memorials, galas, music concerts/recitals, reunions, and educational lectures. With its quiet dignity and understated elegance, the Saratoga Foothill Club continues to serve the community.
Architect Julia Morgan envisioned a bungalow-style clubhouse building with an open redwood beamed ceiling, a westerly rose window (one of her signature elements) and abundant natural light streaming through the wavy glass windows. Above: Setting up for an event.