BEST BET

OK, so you’ve grilled one too many albacore steaks, smeared on sufficient suntan lotion to contribute to a major oil spill and waited in line at enough theme parks to last you into 1992. Why not escape from the dog days of summer for a couple of hours in the air-conditioned, rarefied atmosphere of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino?

The temperature is a constant 70 degrees inside the art galleries and the libraries, founded in 1928 by railroad magnate and real estate tycoon Henry Huntington.

While you’re cooling your jets in the library, you could take a look at the Gutenberg Bible, circa 1455, or an illuminated manuscript of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales,” circa 1410. Or stroll over to the Huntington Gallery and watch Thomas Gainsborough’s “Blue Boy” stare down Sir Thomas Lawrence’s “Pinkie.”

Then meander through some of the 150 acres of gardens established by Huntington, who began collecting rare books and art during World War I, when many of Europe’s great private collections went on the auction block. Although there have been other donations to the institution, Huntington’s collection still forms the core of items on display.

When he died, Huntington left a private endowment that funds the private, nonprofit institution.

The Huntington, which has always featured British and American art, is readying its first exhibit of local artwork.

The exhibit will showcase furniture and decorative arts designed by Pasadena architects Charles and Henry Greene, pioneers of the Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the century.

Who knows? If you linger long enough in the air-conditioned elegance, you may still be there when the new exhibit opens--Sept. 11.

The Huntington is located at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, and is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Admission is free, but a $2 to $4 donation per adult is suggested. For information, call (818) 405-2141.