The California Botanic Garden in Mandeville Canyon opened in 1928. The garden closed in 1935 due to financial difficulties brought on by the Great Depression.
Benji Okubo, born in Riverside, was a renowned painter of Japanese ancestry. A graduate of Otis Art Institute (1929), he was active in Los Angeles from the 20's through the 40's. Incarcerated in 1942 in Heart Mountain for the duration of the war, Okubo continued to paint and to teach art classes to fellow inmates. After the war, Okubo returned to Los Angeles with his wife, Chisato, and supported his family as a successful landscape architect. While Okubo continued to paint, his professional career in art did not resume its pre-war level of activity and recognition.
Photograph of 8 Otis Art Institute students holding posters designed to promote attendance at the California Botanic Garden with award winner Benji Okubo on the left. Each poster has an illustration of trees or plants with the caption "Visit The California Botanic Garden." The students are standing on a lawn in front of a stand of palm and other trees at the Otis Art Institute, then located at 2401 Wilshire Blvd.
