Sunset began in 1898 as a promotional magazine for the Southern Pacific Railroad designed to combat negative Wild West stereotypes about California. In 1912, it merged with Pacific Monthly to form Sunset: The Pacific Monthly and was sold in 1914 to William Woodhead & Company. The Theodore Roosevelt administration comically indicted the editor, writer, photographer, and aviator associated with a story entitled "Can the Panama Canal be destroyed from the air?" citing national security concerns.  In 1929, it was sold to Lawrence W. Lane, a former advertising executive with Better Homes and Gardens. At the end of World War II, Sunset presented a series featuring innovative plans for homes by architects including Portland's Pietro Belluschi and Los Angeles's Harwell Hamilton Harris.  Ownership passed to Lane's sons Larry and Mel.  Since 1957, Sunset's Western Home Awards program, cosponsored by the American Institute of Architects, has introduced readers to works by Richard Neutra, Charles Moore, and Frank Gehry. Its 1951 new Meno Park headquarters was designed by Cliff May with landscape design by Thomas Church. Lane Publishing, including Sunset Magazine and books, was sold to Time Warner in 1990. The Menlo Park campus was sold in 2014. The magazine's extensive archival collection was acquired by Stanford University. In 2017 Time sold Sunset to Regent LP, a global private equity firm led by Michael Reinstein.