> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Time for a trim
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/time-for-a-trim/
- Published: 2008-04-19T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T23:54:35.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Environment, Downtown, #archive-import

*Historic Moreton Bay fig tree to receive some maintenance*

*By DAILY PRESS STAFF Brandon Wise IMPORTANT PROJECT: Officials at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel are making plans to trim the historic Moreton Bay fig tree.*

DOWNTOWN Standing just inside the gates of The Fairmont Miramar Hotel, the impressive Moreton Bay fig tree has been welcoming guests and visitors from around the world for more than a century.

While it hasn’t been that long since the historic landmark was last trimmed, the tree has seen better days and those at the hotel are planning to give it some tender loving care in the next few weeks to ensure it stays around for another 100 years.

“There are certain areas of the tree that are carrying an awful lot of weight and some of those branches are so heavy and fragile that it has become a safety issue,” said Ellis O’Connor, general manager of the Fairmont.

“We just want to get the word out and let people know what we are planning to do because the tree is one of the focal points of Santa Monica,” O’Connor added. “Everyone is proud of it and we want them to know we are doing this for the right reasons, for the best interest of the tree.”

Ever since City Hall decided to remove dozens of ficus trees on Second and Fourth streets residents have been paying closer attention to Santa Monica’s urban forest. A group of residents known as Santa Monica Treesavers formed to fight the removal of the ficus trees. The removal, which was part of a more than $8 million streetscape improvement project, has been put on hold pending a court decision.

O’Connor said the Fairmont has been working with City Hall and professional arborists to come up with the best plan to preserve and strengthen the fig, which could include using cables to support some of the larger limbs. Fairmont is awaiting approval from the Landmarks Commission and hopes to start trimming May 1.

“We have done extensive reports about the effects of possible over trimming to see how much should be taken off of it,” O’Connor said. “We have been in close communication with the city of Santa Monica and their tree department.”

The company that will perform the work is ValleyCrest. The job should take anywhere from five to 10 days, O’Connor said.

The Fairmont’s fig has a rich history. Dating back more than 100 years ago, an unknown sailor from Australia is believed to have carried the original sapling off his ship into a local Santa Monica watering hole. Unable to pay for his drinks, he gave the sapling to the bartender as payment. The bartender, having no use for the sapling, gave it to the wife of Nevada’s Sen. John P. Jones, who founded Santa Monica in 1885 and who built the original Miramar as a family mansion in 1889\. The Jones’ gardener, a man by the name of W.H. Lee, planted it in the garden amongst some rare and exotic plants, some of which are still thriving today.

The Jones family sold their home shortly before the senator died in 1912 and it was converted into the Miramar Hotel in 1921\. By this time, the original sapling had already grown to an impressive size and was widely recognized as the “Jones Family Tree.” Although a modern building replaced the Jones’ residence in 1938, the tree continued to serve as a focal point for outdoor meetings and local festivities, a tradition that is still followed today.

In 1969, the Santa Monica chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held a special ceremony commemorating the planting of the tree and issued a memorial plaque which is now affixed to the tree’s base among the flowers near the sidewalk path. The Santa Monica Landmark’s Commission during the United States bicentennial year in 1976 declared the tree an historic landmark.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 19, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041908.pdf?ref=smdp.com)