Excellent location, vineyards, super well maintained Victorian state, luscious small rose garden with cherubim fountain and classic tall Californian palms. More excellent I would say was the surprised that my bestie, yelpette Alexandra B., had in hand for me: a historical place, very close to downtown Livermore, in the middle of the way to her home and with vineyards (of course) even for the ones like me who are not into wines too much. I care more about the landscape of these places. 'Landscape is bigger than grape' is my motto (just invented, but sounds cool). Seriously, this is not a wine tasting place but was a site were vine was bottle and in the back of the 2-3 buildings you can see the names of the brands they bottled and years and in what international competitions they participated and all those anecdotes. I saw this like an ideal place to take perfect photo shoots in a very hot and sunny day. I loved walking by the vineyards pretending I am doing some work. They are kind enough to let you wander freely (and free parking too). They have tours but my friend and I preferred the freedom to browse on our own, but really appreciate and value (as a volunteer for several causes myself) the work of these precious senior volunteers dressed in Victorian attire. The baby carriage conquered by heart (I should have brought one of my toys to put in these!). All so lovely, including the poster you get as gift for visiting. Awesome treatment to the visitors. I would love to go back with my picnic basket and enjoy the premises. Definitively I will visit Ravenswood whenever they do one of those historical events I saw in their activities calendar. read more

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Beautiful house that's over 100years old. There is a small gift shop inside. We came today for a special event in Dec where Santa Claus and Mrs Claus is there to take pictures with the kids. There were cookies and hot cocoa for sell. Thank you for supporting guide dogs for the blind. Our club had a booth there and guide dogs were there to meet guests. We had a wonderful time today. read more

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My husband and I looked everywhere for venues, and we quickly realized if we didn't want to start marriage in debt ... we might need to look at this wedding thing differently. We quickly realized that doing more DIY/BYO in our wedding was the way to go. But not many venues let that happen. You have to use their caterer, or their wine. Then we realized that Ravenswood was right in town where we lived. We went and instantly realized this is where we were getting married. It's beautiful, it won't break the bank, and we could make our wedding what we wanted. The one downfall was I always envisioned at dance party until midnight. But, Ravenswood isn't the venue for late parties. And I quickly came to realize that was ok because of the value of Ravenswood. We had a food truck, we had a freezer full of frozen ice cream treats, we had a beautiful ceremony in the trees, we had umbrellas in each table for our hot June wedding, a dance area, and lawn games! Carol was helpful, responsive, organized, and knew her information! I found the open house they had early this year really helpful, because it allowed us to get on property before our wedding and envision things when we had more of our vision finalized. I am SO happy we ended up with our wedding at Ravenswood, and highly recommend it to anyone up here in NorCal/Tri Valley. We stayed under budget thanks to a venue like this. (All photos done by Ananda Rochita Photography) read more

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The Ravenswood historical site is a Victorian country state that has been restored . The grounds are pretty with fountains, flowers, and vineyards. This is an excellent location for photographs that really showcase what the California wine country looks like. The historical site can also be rented for weddings and events. The rental rates are very reasonable and this is a beautiful location for a summer or fall wedding. The Ravenswood historical site also has tours available. If you want to come and visit make sure you contact them to check on the hours because they only open a few times a month on Sundays from 12 to 4. They also have an old-fashioned ice cream social in August and a Christmas celebration in December. For these events the docents addressed in Victorian apparel. The historical site also has a small gift shop with very cute Victorian gifts. The prices are reasonable and they also sell local products such as locally produced olive oil and soaps. read more

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Came to the apple fest with my young cousins. It was a good but small event. Kids were able to learn a lot about the process of apple cider. However there were not many apples left to pick on the trees here. The property has lots of shade and a small gift shop. read more

Ravenswood Historical Site - Apple fest - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Livermore, California

The location, the orchards, the house, the barn, the ruins, the vineyards and the tree lived path... I could go on. I fell in love with this place. Nothing flashy, no faux glamour or extra bells and whistles. It's just gorgeous in the most natural way. Perfect in the midst of all the little imperfect things you find. 5* for Ravenswood. 4* on the staff/communication. Kevin was great; I worked with him just before my wedding to get the seating/floor plan set up. Carol sometimes missed a few details or forgot to communicate things to me. This made for a handful of hiccups. In the end, it was all manageable. read more

I can't believe I never thought to review Ravenswood. This place is great. I think it's a really cool part of Livermore. I've been here for both docent-led tours as well as weddings. The FREE tours are offered the second and fourth Sunday of each month. They've really spruced the place up, quite a few antiques/furniture/decor reflecting the era when the Buckley family lived on the site as far back as the 1880s. I've been here for a couple weddings too, and they were very nice. The area behind the house is very picturesque for the ceremony itself. The last one I went to had tables set up in the front lawn for the reception. The whole place is back far enough from the road, separated with a small vineyard. Overall, a great facility. Ravenswood also hosts a couple cool annual events: the Ice Cream Social in the summer and the Yuletide Celebration in December. These events are also free! It even looks pretty just driving by down the road. A nice change from all the housing developments popping up on this end of town. read more

Looking for wedding venue? This is the right one if you're looking for a romantic backdrop with some real history. Built in the late 1800's, the Livermore Area Recreation and Park have kept this place true to its Victorian Era condition. All my wedding guest were overwhelmed with its beauty. With lush, green grass, tall billowing trees and the delicate vineyards, it's no wonder everyone found it so astounding. I kept getting asked how I found the place. In addition to its allure, rental is not too expensive and the staff is great to work with (especially Josh who was so patient with me). It truly is just a visually stunning place to look at. See my photos for what I'm talking about! read more

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Beautiful venue. Surprisingly I was alright with allergies and all. Very nice view of the vineyards and on a day like the one I experienced it was perfect weather to enjoy a day outside for a wedding celebration. Very open area, lots of room to roam about the area. We had a seating area, food section, game section for the kiddos, and there was still more areas you can walk and venture to if you needed a little time away from the party. read more

Ravenswood Historical Site - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Livermore, California

Site in general *Amazingly beautiful. We are lucky to have a place like this in in the heart of Livermore! The drive in feels like a movie scene. The grounds are kept impeccable! Site as a wedding location *I am in the beginning stages of wedding planning so I will update later as we plan on having our wedding here in the Spring of 2011. We like the indoor and outdoor option. We don't like the rules of having to be completely cleaned up and out of there by 8 (guests out by 7). We will make it work though as we are thinking of doing an after party bus to downtown. There is a 70 person max inside, just fyi. So far staff has been great to work with and very helpful with all of my questions. Let me know if you have any questions and I can hopefully help. I will update this review after my wedding :) read more

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I was so happy my husband found this place for our wedding. It was exactly what I had wanted. The old wine building, or what's left of it anyway, made the perfect backdrop to our pictures. The staff was very friendly and accommodating as well. Although they were late to let my husband in on our wedding day so he was a little upset, but everything went well and we had fun, so all was forgiven. read more

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A beautiful Spot for weddings... especially photographing them! I recently visited for a tour, and I was reminded of how cool this place is, it reminded me of a wedding I photographed here several years ago... September and REALLY hot, but georgeous sunlight! The place is definitely haunted, in a good way! read more

Honestly the PERFECT place to have a wedding!! Defiantly affordable for brides on a budget. I really didn't want to decorate because it was honestly beautiful all on its own. Sooo much space on the grounds to do whatever you can put your mind to. I have no regrets what's so ever. Carol was so helpful and organized. If I had a question she was an email away. She responded super fast and kept good contact with me the whole time. The staff was supper attentive the day of. They made everything stress free. I couldn't have picked a better place to have my wedding. My wedding day was honestly perfect! read more

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From the moment we booked Ravenswood in January 2019 for my daughter's June 2020 wedding, Carol has been so attentive with all of our emails, questions, and was exceptionally thorough with the planning/walk-through. It is such a beautiful venue! Unfortunately, Covid-19 happened so we had to cancel the venue. However, I wanted to be sure to give LARPD, Ravenswood, and Carol a shout-out for the outstanding service we received. read more

I had my wedding at Ravenswood in April - it's a beautiful indoor/outdoor space with so many varied areas, that it's really perfect for an outdoor wedding. There's the Victorian house, a rose garden, a vineyard, romantic tree-lined paths, a tank house that looks like a farmhouse, and even some old ruins! So many photographic possibilities without having to walk far at all. We chose it for its character, its affordability, it's flexibility, super-easy parking, and the fact they'd only allow 70 guests inside for the winter months. It was a good excuse to limit the guest list and keep it small! They allow for any caterer to come in, and you can bring your own alcohol, although you need to buy a permit to serve it. Penny and Kevin of the LARPD were fantastic over email. Penny was happy to answer all my random questions, me being a DIY crafty bride! Kevin even called me when he realized there was a mix-up with the table setup plans. Since the weather in April was going to be unpredictable, we came up with two seating plans. One for a sunny day and one for a rainy day. I emailed Kevin at the beginning of the week and we decided on the sunny day plan, which worked out great because it turned out to be more than 80F there the day of! The people who are there setting up tables and chairs at the events are all volunteers, and are very accommodating. It turns out it was a bit TOO hot that day, and my mom suggested setting up some tables inside the house so we wouldn't roast. They were happy to do so, and our guests really appreciated it! There are a few caveats, of course. Since it's a historic site, you're not allowed to put anything on the walls. And you wouldn't need to anyway - the house and grounds has such character to begin with! There's no crazy lighting setups inside or outside. You can't have a band but you can have a DJ inside, though it's pretty small so I'm not sure how dancing would be like. April was still considered a winter month, so we all had to be off the premises by 6pm due to lack of outdoor lighting. No crazy late-night wedding benders here! But all in all, it really was perfect for our casual afternoon "garden party" wedding. It was so affordable, even for nonresidents. (The difference was only $200, not a big deal.) April was the perfect month, because the rental price increased almost 2x in May, haha. But then you'd be able to stay out until 8pm. ;) I had several guests tell me that it was the best wedding they'd ever been to. Huge thanks to Ravenswood for being such a huge part of that day! read more

This is an interesting place in the middle of nowhere. Definitely a historic landmark. The old farmhouse and the barn where they used to shoe horses still there. I'd love to attend the tea here they do annually. There's a small kitchen in the great room. I found the old telephone system interesting. There were wires under the house from one building to the other that still work. All the items are authentic. I loved seeing the old record player and the fact the the staff here are all very knowledgeable about the grounds and its history. For this house and its contents to still exist and in the condition they are in is amazing. The grounds are impeccable and peaceful. Great place to come, kick back and read a book on a fall or spring day. Summer time forget it, you'll roast. read more

Went to a wedding here and I have to say that I was very impressed. The staff was amazing and always spot on. The grounds are great and offer the ability to have several themes/venues in one. The property is in fantastic shape and it is obviously well taken care of. If it is hot there are plenty of trees for shade relief. Plenty of parking. If a friend asked me if they were thinking about this place for their wedding I'd definitely approve. read more

We ended up discovering Ravenswood when we were trying to locate an SF area wedding venue that would allow us to have food trucks and home brewed beer. They were incredibly accommodating, the property is gorgeous and well-maintained, and they had tables, chairs, and umbrellas as part of their rental, which made our lives easier. We primarily worked with Carol and Kevin, who answered all of our questions promptly, helped us design sunny and rainy day seating plans for both the ceremony and reception, and generally went above and beyond to make sure our wedding day happened smoothly. Carol and the facility staff helped us set up the day-of; and the on-site facility manager, Carl, was a big help and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the day. Definite Positives: - Flexible catering options (even non-traditional services) - Provides tables, chairs, and umbrellas (linens not provided) - Has additional services such lawn games, for reasonable price - Communication, contracts, and guidelines very clear - Reasonable price, given the area and the services provided - Beautiful location, well-maintained Things to Keep in Mind: - Seasonal hours (facility is open a shorter period of time during winter months, however "summer" hours begin early in the year) - Good for day weddings, but is not available after sunset read more

My fiance and I reserved the Ravenswood Historic Site in Livermore, CA in the Bay Area, which is a beautiful historic site with an 1800s Victorian-style home as many people have already mentioned from previous reviews. Honestly, the staff including Carol, the facilities coordinator have been very prompt with answering questions. After our initial deposit, we had a change of heart with venues, and Carol said that we would be able to get our deposit refunded except for a $100 administrative fees since the venue was rebooked for that date, which was gracious of them and they did so promptly as well. The site is beautiful with a tree-lined road, gazebo, a vineyard, and the main reception area outside of the main house is beautiful. The venue includes tables, chairs, market umbrellas, and a ceremony rehearsal time. You can BYO catering and alcohol with the inside of the house containing a kitchen and a living room for dancing. read more

As a wedding photographer, and local Pleasanton resident, I LOVE this place. It has awesome history, its beautiful, the landscape is well maintained, and the guy who runs the place is fantastic!!! read more

Ravenswood Historical Site - such a great vintage setting. i love it! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Livermore, California

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I just recently toured Ravenswood with my 11 year daughter in search of a place for our wedding on June 27, 2009. I can not describe to you how magical it was. The trees are beautiful and the Victorian aspect is amazing. They have kept the house and grounds in emasculate condition. There was a butterfly that circled us 3 times and at that moment we looked at each other and said "This is it". So needless to say, We will be getting married here. I will update my review as our time gets closer. read more

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We had our wedding at Ravenswood in October 2016 and it was wonderful. Many of our guests said it was one of the most beautiful wedding venues they had been to. Also, the dance party in the old house at the end of the night was awesome. read more

We recently had a couples photo shoot here! I first saw this place through photos on Yelp, Pinterest and Google and I knew it was the perfect location for a photo shoot. It was love at first sight! I contacted the LARPD and filled out the application for a photography permit about three weeks in advance. It was a very easy process. I filled it out and got a call the next day for the payment info and the permit was emailed to me that same day. The cost for a 2 hour permit for one photographer is $80 which I thought was very reasonable considering you get the whole place to yourself. We arrived a few minutes early and the LARPD employee was a little bit late getting to the location but he opened up the gates an everything was fine. This location is an absolute gem! It has beautiful vintage-like buildings, grassy areas, beautiful trees and a rock wall that is really interesting as well. We have only received a preview of our photos but thus far I couldn't be happier with having them done at this site. Would be a beautiful place for a wedding as well! read more

This review is from a wedding photographer. The outdoor area is gorgeous for photos!!! See here for photos: http://www.robertchenphotography.com/Blog/Jason-Christina-Ravenswood-His read more

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This is an amazing site! I fell in love with it just looking at pics online. The people running the site are amazing and the most professional I've ever dealt with. I had a baby shower here but it is mostly used for weddings! Highly recommended read more

This is not for the site but for the fact that I went there today, the 2nd Sunday of the month, during the hours it was supposed to be open, but it was closed. It was Mother's Day, and I thought it would be a nice outing. Maybe the parks department figured that it should close because of the "holiday", but there should have been a notice on the website and on the sign in front of the gate about the closure. read more

From the very beginning of my communications with the Facilities Coordinator, Carol Markie, it was unpleasant. I found out about the Ravenswood venue on Here Comes the Guide and sent a message directly from the site. You would think that coming from such a well-known wedding website, there would be more enthusiasm coming from the email interaction. Boy was I wrong! Her first email response was very cold and direct, which initially made me not want to work with her or Ravenswood at all. I waited a couple days while looking into other venues, but ultimately decided that I would check out the space for myself despite her uninviting tone. She had someone else named Megan show me the space on a Saturday. Megan was friendly, however she wasn't able to answer too many of my questions. My finance and I loved the space and decided to move forward with the process. I emailed Carol on Friday to let her know and asked if we could schedule a phone call to discuss the details and the many questions I had. She responded the following Monday and we had scheduled a call for 2PM that day. When 2PM rolled around, I didn't get that phone call. I waited a few minutes and decided to call her myself since we didn't establish who would call whom (but if she had any sort of customer service at all, there would be no confusion). When I had called her, there was no response, so I left a voicemail. I had taken the time out of my busy workday to schedule this call (I even went downstairs into the lobby of my work).I waited five minutes and she eventually called me back. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, thinking "Maybe this is just her tone via email and she will be friendly and customer service oriented over the phone or in person"- nope! She eventually called me back and was not apologetic that she hadn't called me at 2PM, like we scheduled, or that she missed my call. Yes, I understand that you're busy, Yes, I understand that you receive multiple calls and emails regarding the rental of your venue, but it's just unprofessional when you don't live up to your word. I asked my questions she answered them. The only thing I was on the fence about was her. I know I shouldn't have let her keep me from moving forward with the dream ceremony location, but it did. After speaking with her, I decided to sit on it for a few days and wait to see one more venue before booking. I waited a little over a week (during the holiday Thanksgiving week) and after we decided we'd go with Ravenswood, I emailed her, she told me the date was booked. It was very upsetting because the date that we had inquired on was very, very special to us- it was our 3 year anniversary. My initial reaction was to scream and shout at her, but I remained my composure. I understand that I had not put down my deposit, but I would think that Ravenswood or Carol would have some process in place where they would give dates priority to those who inquired about them first (mind you that we had been in communication about the specific date for about 2 weeks). She never followed up with me and she didn't give me the courtesy of letting me know someone else is interested in that date. At that point, I had already booked my photography and my videographer and my reception banquet. Because Ravenswood is such a unique space and such a deal, I had to move all my vendors to another date that she said was still available. As the date grew closer, I decided to go with a friend and my wedding coordinator to check out the place and begin to put some plans into place for the Big Day. Carol seemed fine, and she showed us around. Because my fiancee, at the time, wasn't able to join for that visit, I contacted Carol again to see if it would be OK to return again with my Fiancee. When we arrived onsite that day, Carol was finishing up with another couple. As we were approaching, I heard her say to the couple, something along the lines of "There she is again, this is her second time here, I wonder what she could want". I couldn't believe it. Overall, everything turned out great, and our wedding was gorgeous, but Carol Markie has left a bad taste in my mouth that I cannot seem to wash away. On the upside,Ravenswood is a beautiful location and again, is a great deal. P.S. All of the other staff were great! Especially Kevin Ulrich-my wedding party and I were running really late to rehearsal the Friday before our wedding and I ended up calling him. He was able to confirm that being late wasn't going to be a problem and sounded very friendly over the phone. read more

We were married here in September and loved this place. We searched for a long while to find a good spot to have a casual outdoor wedding that wasn't a ton of money. Overall this was a great place to have a wedding. The staff was easy to get a hold of and responded very quickly. They were even able to get us a deal on having our Rehearsal Dinner inside the house on Friday night also. The only problems we had with this venue is they messed up the time for the Friday evening rehearsal so no one was there to let us in the gate. Also, you can only rent it from 12 to 8PM so it was very hectic to get everything set up and taken down within that time frame. We loved this place for our wedding and would definitly recommend it! read more

Interesting site that's only available for docent tours during the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month. We skipped the tours and just walked around the site. read more

Beautiful location for a wedding and priced very affordable. Carol and Penny were easy to work with, and the day of the event Carol was there to make sure things went okay. The weather cooperated and I can't wait to see the pictures from this historic spot! Carol was very efficient and knows her job, has good advice as to set up and all the other things you need for the wedding. As mother of the bride, it made my life easier to have these things taken care of by Carol and the wedding planner. I can't say enough good things about her! read more

I would never give LARPD a cent. What awful people to deal with. After calling a number of times over a solid week just to schedule this place with Carol Markie we finally got a call back. This was more than 6 months before our wedding day. Two weeks after booking we had some unfortunate events happen in our lives were we needed to change dates. Before we even had a chance to explain we needed to change dates Carol made it clear we were not getting back our $500. No regard for our situation or even wanted to work with us. What a heartless individual and should never have a job in customer service. All they care about is the money. If you want to contribute to that go ahead and have your wedding here. I'm glad writing in a date and erasing two weeks later is worth $500 to them. Thieves! read more

Beautiful site with incredible historical value for both Livermore and San Francisco.

Our event will be in a couple of months but I anticipate a wonderful experience. I do know that the setting is just beautiful and the house has a lot of character. The facility has everything that we need and making the arrangements has been so easy. More to come! read more