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All the United States California Los Angeles Lummis Home ("El Alisal")

Lummis Home ("El Alisal")

A castle that was built stone by stone by an eccentric journalist.

Los Angeles, California

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Interior view of sitting room, 1902   Public Domain. University of Southern California. Libraries.
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2012_06_24_Charles Lummis House   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
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2012_06_24_Charles Lummis House   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
Lummis House side wall, enormous stones   sophiemggiblin / Atlas Obscura User
Lummis garden, two skinny friends   sophiemggiblin / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Charles F. Lummis was an author, activist and historian who, after dropping out of Harvard in 1884, decided to walk from Cincinnati to Los Angeles in a pair of street shoes. He had been offered a job as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and as he made his way across the country by foot, he captivated the nation with weekly letters of his escapades and detailed descriptions of the countryside he passed through.

Upon his arrival, he was named first city editor. A do-it-yourself kind of guy, when Lummis was faced with the decision of where he would hang his hat in his new city, he decided he'd like to live in a castle. Los Angeles did not have an abundance of castles for sale, so Lummis built one by hand out of stones he pulled out of the river. The 4,000-square-foot home took 13 years to build.

By taking a much shorter walk than Lummis did, you can enjoy a free tour of his castle house and gardens, now a historical landmark displaying artifacts and tales of the adventures of this little-known eccentric. The house is credited with being one of the first to spark the Arts & Crafts aesthetic that would soon monopolize architecture styles. Word on the street is that by asking for the “dirty tour,” you become privy to a much more interesting version of Lummis and his shenanigans.

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Architectural Oddities Eccentric Homes Architecture Homes

Know Before You Go

El Alisal is located at 200 E. Avenue 43. Hours are Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Added By

serflac

Edited By

Rachel, elizabethhorkley, Keri Kilgo, hibbibi...

  • Rachel
  • elizabethhorkley
  • Keri Kilgo
  • hibbibi
  • sophiemggiblin

Published

February 1, 2012

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  • http://www.charleslummis.com/
  • http://socalhistory.org/historical-sites/lummis-home.html
Lummis Home ("El Alisal")
200 E. Avenue 43
Los Angeles, California, 90031
United States
34.09372, -118.207117
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