Adamson House

Infobox_nrhp | name =Adamson House
nrhp_type =


caption = Adamson House
location= 23200 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 2
lat_seconds = 4
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 118
long_minutes = 40
long_seconds = 42
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built =1930
architect= Stiles O. Clements
architecture= Mediterranean or Spanish-Moorish
added = October 28, 1977
governing_body = State
refnum=77000298cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Adamson House, also known as Vaquero Hill, is a historic house in Malibu, California that has been called the "Taj Mahal of Tile" due to its extensive use of decorative ceramic tiles created by the Malibu Potteries. The house was built in 1930 for Rhoda Rindge Adamson and Merritt Huntley Adamson, based on a design by Stiles O. Clements of the architectural firm of Morgan, Walls & Clements. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and designated as a California Historical Landmark in 1985.

History

Rindge-Adamson family

Rhoda Agatha Rindge Adamson was the daughter of the developer of the 24,000-acre Rindge Ranch. Her father, Frederick Hastings Rindge, purchased the ranch for $10 an acre in 1887, and the family became enormously wealthy owning and developing the area that is now Malibu, California.

Merritt Adamson (1888-1949) was a graduate of the University of Southern California law school and was the captain of the 1912 football team, the first USC team to be known as the "Trojans." Adamson met Rhoda Rindge while he was employed as the foreman of the Rindge Ranch. Rhoda Rindge reportedly became interested in him when she helped to nurse him back to good health after he was injured in an accident. The couple was married in 1915, and in 1916 Adamson established a dairy business in the San Fernando Valley known as Adohr Farms, the name representing his wife's name spelled backwards. The business became one of the country's largest dairies, operating one of the largest herds of Guernsey cows in the world.

Construction and architecture

The two-story, ten-room Adamson House was designed by Stiles O. Clements and built of steel-reinforced concrete.cite news|author=Robert W. Stewart|title=Adamson Home in Malibu: State Lacks Funds for Historic House|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1983-01-06] Completed in 1930, Stiles called the house an outstanding example of modified Mediterranean-style architecture.cite news|title=Seaside and Hillside Homes Erected: Residences Mark Start of Shore Development|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1930-03-16] Others have referred to the style as Spanish-Moorish.

The house features teak woodworking, fireplaces in several rooms, handpainted ceilings, lead-framed bottle glass windows, and "wrought-iron filigrees fitting over the windows like intricate jewelery." The main floor is dominated by a large living room with windows on three sides. The room is still furnished as it was when the Adamsons lived there, including the large radio on which the family received news of the attck on Pearl Harbor. Other rooms on the main floor include a guest bedroom with a bathroom that is tiled literally from floor to ceiling, a dining room with an old convent table overlooking the ocean, a kitchen with an early version of a dishwasher and a colorful tiled clock, and the main entrance with its imposing wood door and tiled entrance table.

There are four bedrooms and a small kitchenette upstairs. The master bedroom is at the western end of the house where Mr. and Mrs. Adamson resided. It has a large tiled bathroom, and Mrs. Adamson's clothes and hat collection remain in her closet. Next to the master bedroom is the the one designed for the Adamsons' son; its bathroom has detailed tiles depecting ships and nautical scenes. The girls' bedroom in the center facing the ocean has a tremendous view of the ocean and coast. These three bedrooms open onto a large upstairs patio with the home's most spectacular panoramic view of the ocean, the Malibu lagoon and the coast in both directions. The fourth bedroom upstairs is at the eastern end of the upstairs and looks out of a large Erythrina (or coral tree) that blooms with spectacular bright flowers in the spring.

Another striking feature of the house is the tiled swimming pool set into the sand that was equipped with a special filtering and heating apparatus that permitted the pool to be filled with either salt or fresh water. The "Los Angeles Times" in 1930 noted that the unusual features made the "plunge one of the finest in the southland."

"Taj Mahal of Tile"

Adamson House is best known for its extensive use of local Malibu tile. In 1926, May K. Rindge (Rhonda Rindge Adamson's mother) established a tileworks east of the Malibu Pier. The factory hired European artisans to design decorative art tile, employing more than 100 persons in the late 1920s and creating "some of the most colorful and inventive glazed tiles in the country."cite news|title=Malibu|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1977-03-03] Hand-crafted art tile fired from local clay was specially designed for each room of the Adamson House, with no two tiles being alike. Even the ceilings of the bathrooms were tiled. In 1930, the "Los Angeles Times" reported: "Striking tile effects have been obtained from original designs of the craftsmen and artists of the pottery and floors, walls and patios." Sixty-seven years later, the "Los Angeles Times" was still writing about the home's extraordinary tilework: "This huge Spanish-style mansion, built in 1929 (sic), might as well be called the house that tile built. Tile is everywhere -- from the ceramic wall clock above the tile-topped oak table in the kitchen to the floor-to-ceiling tiled bathrooms."One of the home's most popular examples of tilework is a 60-foot imitation Persian rug made of tile, including small pieces designed to look like rug fringes. Behind the house, the colorfully tiled Neptune Fountain and Star Fountain are among the home's most photographed examples of tilework. Nearby, there is also an elaborately tiled outdoor tub used by the Adamsons to bathe their dogs.The bathhouse and swimming pool are also covered with Malibu tile, and the dressing rooms have tiled showers with decorative motifs. The house has been called a "museum of tile" and the "Taj Mahal of Tile."cite news|author=Jane Hulse|title=Jaunts in and around the Valley: Taj Mahal of Tile; Malibu's historic Adamson House is a showcase of colorful ceramic material|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1997-12-18] The Malibu Potteries only operated for six years from 1926-1932,cite news|author=Aaron Betsky|title=Architecture: Malibu Mansion Still Embodies California Dream|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1993-07-01] and the Adamson House has many of the potteries' most significant remaining works.

Early use

The house was originally a vacation beach cottage, but the Adamsons eventually made it their permanent home. In December 1932, a fire started in the electrical wiring of the garage. One of the bedrooms was badly damaged, and the entire house was threatened by intense flames. The fire was put out by pumping crews from the forestry stations at Fernwood and Las Flores, aided by the Malibu Beach colony fire department. [cite news|title=Mrs. Rindge's Daughter Suffers Loss in Fire|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1932-12-12] During World War II the bathouse was used by the Coast Guard as a local headquarters to watch out over the Malibu coast.

uicide in the bath house

Merritt Adamson suffered a stroke in 1948 and was also injured by a horse later that year. The 60-year-old former athlete and outdoorsman reportedly became depressed over his poor health. In January 1949, Adamson sat in a darkened dressing room in the beach house and shot himself in the temple with a white-bone-handled 22-caliber automatic pistol. Mrs. Adamson discovered him there, sprawled out on the floor dressed in a gray business suit, hemorrhaging profusely and unable to speak. The family chauffeur took off his watch and put a towel under his head, but Adamson died several minutes later.cite news|title=Adamson Ends Life on Malibu Estate: Former Rhoda Rindge Finds Husband Dying; Friends Blame Despondency Over Bad Health|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1949-01-08]

Eminent domain and plans for beach parking

After the death of her husband, Rhoda Rindge Adamson continued to live in the house until her own death in April 1962.cite news|title=Malibu Ranch Developer's Daughter Dies|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1962-04-03] After her death, her heirs announced plans to build a $10-12 million "deluxe Waikiki-type beach resort" on the 13-acre site, while preserving the house as an art and history museum. [cite news|title=Pre-trial Conference Set for Beach Area: Court Date Will Be Determined March 30 Regarding Adamson Estate at Malibu|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1967-02-26] [cite news|title=Final Arguments Due in Adamson Property Suit|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1967-11-26] The State of California, however, filed an eminent domain lawsuit in 1966,cite news|title=Adamson Estate Suit Action Due This Week|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1966-11-20] seeking to raze the house and turn it into beach parking.cite news|author=Gerald Faris|title=Rindge Site to Be Saved for Museum: Retention of Property in Its Present Form Urged by Parks Chief|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1976-05-02 ("Earlier, a task force of state Parks Department staff personnel recommended that hte buildings be razed and the property used for parking, the purpose for which the state originally acquired the land.")] cite news|author=Ray Ripton|title=Want It Maintained as Museum: Preservation of Adamson Home Urged|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1968-03-31 (quoting the chief of the state recreation department's planning and development division as saying "we have to consider the need of the public for beach use -- parking, rest rooms, picnic units -- that sort of thing.")] cite news|author=Gloria Kaufman Koenig|title=Malibu's House of Living History: Adamson Home Restored to Former Glory As Museum|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1985-08-25 ("For a while the Adamson House was in danger of being bulldozed to make way for additional beach parking.")] [cite news|title=Malibu End of Historical Society|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1990-11-29 ("The state acquired the house and grounds in 1968 and announce plans to tear it down to provide beach parking ...")] The state won its eminent domain lawsuit and purchased the property from the Adamson estate at the $2.69 million valuation set by the court. [cite news|title=State Decision Due on Malibu Land Purchase: Court Order Sets Price at $2.6 Million After State, Private Appraisers Differ|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1968-02-01]

Preservation as a museum

Despite the state's victory in the eminent domain proceeding, the Malibu Historical Society, supported by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and the Adamson family, fought over the next ten years to have the Adamson House preserved. While the state's plans to raze the house were put on hold, the house was leased to Pepperdine University from 1971-1982 as the residence of the university's chancellor, Norvel Young.cite news|title=Malibu Historical Society's Dreams for Adamson Mansion May Be Coming True|publisher=1978-10-08] In addition to its extensive use of Malibu tile, preservationists touted the house as "a prime example of California Moorish-Spanish architecture." In 1976, preservationists won a victory when Herbert Rhodes, the director of the state's Department of Parks and Recreation, overruled staff recommendations to use the land for beach parking and recommended preservation of the property. Sylvia Rindge Adamson Neville, a granddaughter of Frederick Rindge, donated money to help restore the house, and additional funds were raised by the Malibu Historical Society. Beginning in October 1982, volunteers from the Malibu Lagoon State Beach Interpretive Association began work converting the garage into a small historic museum. In 1983, the house and Malibu Lagoon Museum (located in the garage) were opened to the public for docent-led tours. [cite news|title=New Malibu museum slates private showing|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1983-10-29] cite news|author=Bill Rollins|title=Family struggled to preserve property: Tile home a link to Malibu's past|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1984-01-08] The house is open to the public for tours on Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

While the house is looked after by a dedicated staff of state employees and volunteers, a lack of funding from the state has led to maintenance problems as of September 2008. The area beneath the upstairs balcony overlooking the ocean shows signs of deterioration. A large iron barbecue that was a gift from Will Rogers to the Adamson family had been left exposed to the elements and is in need of repair. Several tile-topped tables that formerly sat in the backyard have been vandalized and now sit in an enclosed area.

Historic designations

In October 1977, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.cite news|title=Malibu Lagoon Place: Adamson House Put on Historic List|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1977-12-01] And in November 1985, it was also designated as a California Historic Landmark by the California Historic Resources Commission.cite news|title=Three Sites Designated as Historical Landmarks|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1985-11-14]

ee also

*List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California

References

External links

* [http://www.adamsonhouse.org/ Adamson House web site]