Philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps (1836—1932) played a decisive role in preserving Torrey Pines. Although the City of San Diego had set aside some land to protect the Torrey pines, the best and densest groves were still owned by developers who planned to subdivide and commercialize the area. Scripps bought these lots in 1908, 1911, and 1912. In 1921 she hired naturalist Guy Fleming to care for and protect the property and funded construction of his house there. She also financed the Torrey Pines Lodge, later used as a visitor center and ranger station, and donated it to the people of San Diego; it opened as a restaurant in 1923. In 1932 she bequeathed the groves of Torrey pines to the City of San Diego, asking that they be held in perpetuity as a public park and that the natural beauty of the area be preserved.
