the box office, are located in the building between the mansion and the Carriage House Theatre. Montalvo and its arts programs serve nearly 200,000 visitors each year. Arboretum Still called "Villa Montalvo" by local area residents, the Montalvo Arts Center hosts a arboretum and botanical garden, located behind the center. It is free and open to the public during daylight hours and run as part of a non-profit organization for art, artists, and the local community. The arboretum is adjacent to the villa and is an Audubon Society bird sanctuary. There are dirt paths leading out of a redwood canyon to Lookout Point at altitude . A number of forest types are represented, including chaparral, evergreen, and redwood. Trees native to the Santa Cruz Mountains include bay, California nutmeg, Douglas fir, big-leaf maple, tanoak, and coast live oak. Other plants common in the area are broom, mountain mahogany, chamise, coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), madrone, manzanita, monkey flower, pitcher sage, poison oak, and toyon. Name Phelan named Villa Montalvo in honor of the popular 16th-century Spanish writer Garci Ordonez de Montalvo. Montalvo coined the name "California" in one of his fables. In it he described an island rich with gold and jewels, peopled by Amazons ruled by a queen named Calafia. The Amazons in the fable employed griffins in battle. Images of griffins can be found throughout the arts center grounds, "standing guard". References External links Villa Montalvo official web site A history of Villa Montalvo Houses completed in 1914 Arts centers in California Historic house museums in California History of Santa Clara County, California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Houses in Santa Clara County, California Museums in Santa Clara County, California National Register of Historic Places in Santa Clara County, California Saratoga, California Italianate architecture in California Villas in the United States Art in the San Francisco Bay Area