The Blakes deeded the grounds to their alma mater, the University of California, in 1957, which took full control after Anita's death in 1962, implementing a redesign by Geraldine Knight Scott starting from 1964.

One of the original trustees of the University of California, Anson Gale Stiles, purchased land on Piedmont Avenue, east of the present-day Berkeley campus in the late 1860s.

Geraldine Knight Scott was appointed director of Blake Garden and began preparing the site for public visitation by clearing overgrown foliage and creating an influential Long Range Development Plan in 1964.

[9][3]: 132  The remote location proved to be frightening at night and too distant, at approximately 4 mi (6.4 km) north of the Berkeley campus.

[12] Russell Beatty succeeded Scott as the director of Blake Garden in 1967, implementing a new mission as an "outdoor laboratory" for student projects in landscape architecture.

[3]: vii  In 2002, an inspection revealed cracks and water damage; Robert Dynes called it "pretty much unlivable" with a leaky roof, mold, and broken fixtures.

The chair of the Regents of the University of California, Russell Gould, described the mansion as having "great bones, but it is a money pit.

[18] The Seldon Williams House, a historic residence at 2821 Clairemont Blvd, designed by Julia Morgan and completed in 1928, was purchased for the UC president in 2021;[19] according to a news release describing that acquisition, "UC's former official presidential residence, Blake House in Kensington, has been uninhabitable for more than a decade because of extensive — and cost-prohibitive — deferred maintenance, in addition to significant seismic risks and landslide hazards.

[23] The 1967–68 remodel as the UC Presidential house left the building with 12,434 sq ft (1,155.2 m2) of floor space, seven bathrooms, two kitchens, and three bedrooms.

[2][23] The grounds for both estates were designed by Mrs. Blake's sister, Mabel Symmes, who graduated from the university's Landscape Architecture Department in 1914.

Much of her original plan can still be seen in the design of the Formal Gardens east of the house, with its grotto, inspired by the Villa Tusculana at Frascati, Italy and the reflecting pool which was part of a system to take advantage of underground water.

Decorations in the Garden include several sculptures with Asian themes, such as the glazed pagoda, which were purchased and installed originally by Anita Blake.

[6] Plantings on the steep slope west of the house include the Mediterranean Garden, a showcase of drought-tolerant plants from the world's Mediterranean climates in diamond-shaped beds linked by switchback paths leading to a lookout over the Bay on the property's western edge,[6] near a large lawsonite rock outcropping[23] and a picnic shelter reconstructed by Professor Garrett Eckbo.

[24] The original plan also shows a lake in the Australian Hollow, the southwestern corner of the property, taking advantage of the high water table in that part of the garden.

Additionally, the Create with Nature Zone offers a space for visitors of all ages to experiment and build with materials collected from the garden.