Travel by Design
Historic-House Road Trip: West Coast
Pack up the car — history, architecture and design inspiration await at these 8 properties
Summer vacation typically means leaving the house. But when you’re a historic-architecture buff, it can be just as fun to make a house your destination. Historic and architecturally significant homes are spread across the U.S., and as road trip season gets underway (a 2018 National Association of Convenience Stores survey found that, among those likely to take a vacation this summer, 85 percent planned to travel by car), there are countless sites to visit in each corner of the country.
If you’re looking to string together a selection of notable houses into one extended behind-the-wheel excursion (or several), we’ve mapped out a few history-heavy routes. They are by no means comprehensive itineraries. Just a handful of houses in the same region — from simple pioneer settlements to grand Victorian estates to sleek midcentury residences — with compelling stories to tell.
First up, eight historic properties along the West Coast.
If you’re looking to string together a selection of notable houses into one extended behind-the-wheel excursion (or several), we’ve mapped out a few history-heavy routes. They are by no means comprehensive itineraries. Just a handful of houses in the same region — from simple pioneer settlements to grand Victorian estates to sleek midcentury residences — with compelling stories to tell.
First up, eight historic properties along the West Coast.
Photo from Thunderbird Lodge Lake Tahoe
Stop No. 2: Thunderbird Lodge Lake Tahoe
Incline Village, Nevada
Things get a little more rustic but carry on a sense of striking lavishness at Lake Tahoe’s waterfront Thunderbird Lodge. Eccentric millionaire George Whittell Jr., born into a real estate and railroad family, completed the Tudor Revival-meets-Tahoe rustic lodge in 1939.
Stop No. 2: Thunderbird Lodge Lake Tahoe
Incline Village, Nevada
Things get a little more rustic but carry on a sense of striking lavishness at Lake Tahoe’s waterfront Thunderbird Lodge. Eccentric millionaire George Whittell Jr., born into a real estate and railroad family, completed the Tudor Revival-meets-Tahoe rustic lodge in 1939.
Photo from Thunderbird Lodge Lake Tahoe
Whittell was a colorful and controversial character. After high school, he left his San Francisco home to join the circus. Later, he married three times, collected expensive custom cars and built a luxurious yacht visitors can still charter, brought a lion cub named Bill and an elephant named Mingo to live with him at the lodge, and eventually became something of recluse, building an elaborate 600-foot tunnel on the property so that he wouldn’t be seen going from the main lodge to the boathouse.
The house, designed with Scandinavian elements by architect Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps, and its grounds feature the main house (its great room is shown here), a card house for high-stakes poker games, an elephant barn, an opium den and a poolhouse, among other outbuildings.
Docent-guided public tours are available by land, tour boat or kayak Tuesdays through Saturdays from early June until mid-October.
5000 NV-28, Incline Village, NV 89451
Whittell was a colorful and controversial character. After high school, he left his San Francisco home to join the circus. Later, he married three times, collected expensive custom cars and built a luxurious yacht visitors can still charter, brought a lion cub named Bill and an elephant named Mingo to live with him at the lodge, and eventually became something of recluse, building an elaborate 600-foot tunnel on the property so that he wouldn’t be seen going from the main lodge to the boathouse.
The house, designed with Scandinavian elements by architect Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps, and its grounds feature the main house (its great room is shown here), a card house for high-stakes poker games, an elephant barn, an opium den and a poolhouse, among other outbuildings.
Docent-guided public tours are available by land, tour boat or kayak Tuesdays through Saturdays from early June until mid-October.
5000 NV-28, Incline Village, NV 89451
Suggested Detour: San Francisco Bay Area
Lake Tahoe >> Sacramento: About a two- to three-hour drive
Sacramento >> San Francisco: About a two-hour drive
If you have time for two more historic architecture-packed cities, Sacramento and San Francisco are right on the way. Tour the state Capitol in Sacramento or the nearby Leland Stanford Mansion. In San Francisco, spend an afternoon admiring the pastel Victorians that line the streets, like the famous row of Painted Ladies shown here along Alamo Square.
Lake Tahoe >> Sacramento: About a two- to three-hour drive
Sacramento >> San Francisco: About a two-hour drive
If you have time for two more historic architecture-packed cities, Sacramento and San Francisco are right on the way. Tour the state Capitol in Sacramento or the nearby Leland Stanford Mansion. In San Francisco, spend an afternoon admiring the pastel Victorians that line the streets, like the famous row of Painted Ladies shown here along Alamo Square.
Stop No. 3: Winchester Mystery House
San Jose, California
The sprawling Winchester Mystery House got national attention earlier this year when thriller Winchester gave the Victorian manor’s backstory the Hollywood treatment. The real 160-room maze of a mansion is the impressive work of Sarah Pardee Winchester, the innovative widow to rifle tycoon William Winchester.
Ghost lovers will gravitate toward the house’s spooky origin story — that Sarah Winchester supposedly moved across the country and started construction on the bizarrely configured house to ward off the vengeful spirits of those killed by her family’s rifles.
San Jose, California
The sprawling Winchester Mystery House got national attention earlier this year when thriller Winchester gave the Victorian manor’s backstory the Hollywood treatment. The real 160-room maze of a mansion is the impressive work of Sarah Pardee Winchester, the innovative widow to rifle tycoon William Winchester.
Ghost lovers will gravitate toward the house’s spooky origin story — that Sarah Winchester supposedly moved across the country and started construction on the bizarrely configured house to ward off the vengeful spirits of those killed by her family’s rifles.
But the house’s extensive collection of rare art glass, Lincrusta embossed wall coverings and custom features like a special shower designed for Winchester’s short frame, can appeal to paranormal- and design-minded visitors alike.
Guided tours are available daily.
525 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose, CA 95117
See more photos and read more about the 2018 Winchester Mystery House movie
Guided tours are available daily.
525 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose, CA 95117
See more photos and read more about the 2018 Winchester Mystery House movie
Photo from Hearst Castle
Stop No. 4: Hearst Castle
San Simeon, California
Designed by architect Julia Morgan, Hearst Castle, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst’s 90,000-square-foot hilltop estate, is nestled in the Santa Lucia Mountains with views of the Pacific coastline. The 165-room home, started in 1919 and left unfinished by Hearst in 1947, was donated to the state of California with its entire collection of art and original furnishings in 1958. The property has been open for guided tours ever since.
Stop No. 4: Hearst Castle
San Simeon, California
Designed by architect Julia Morgan, Hearst Castle, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst’s 90,000-square-foot hilltop estate, is nestled in the Santa Lucia Mountains with views of the Pacific coastline. The 165-room home, started in 1919 and left unfinished by Hearst in 1947, was donated to the state of California with its entire collection of art and original furnishings in 1958. The property has been open for guided tours ever since.
Photo from Hearst Castle
The house’s opulent interiors include details like the 15th-century Spanish Mudejar ceiling in the Gothic Study shown here. The space, which contains close to 4,000 books, also features Renaissance- and Baroque-style metalwork and concrete arches painted with biblical and allegorical scenes.
The house’s opulent interiors include details like the 15th-century Spanish Mudejar ceiling in the Gothic Study shown here. The space, which contains close to 4,000 books, also features Renaissance- and Baroque-style metalwork and concrete arches painted with biblical and allegorical scenes.
Photo from Hearst Castle
Elsewhere on the property, areas such as the mosaic tile-lined indoor Roman Pool shown here, Hearst’s wine cellar, his private airport and the zoo where zebras and other exotic animals still roam, shape a portrait of a man with an ambitious vision.
Guided tours are available daily.
750 Hearst Castle Rd., San Simeon, CA 93452
Elsewhere on the property, areas such as the mosaic tile-lined indoor Roman Pool shown here, Hearst’s wine cellar, his private airport and the zoo where zebras and other exotic animals still roam, shape a portrait of a man with an ambitious vision.
Guided tours are available daily.
750 Hearst Castle Rd., San Simeon, CA 93452
Photo from California State Parks
Stop No. 5: Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
Earlimart, California
Instead of just one historic home, Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park has 22. The structures stand today, along with community buildings like this schoolhouse, as the remnants of a pioneering settlement founded, financed and governed by African-Americans starting in 1908. Born into slavery in 1842, Allen Allensworth went on to join the Navy during the Civil War and later became an ordained Baptist minister. The community-turned-park that now bears his name was founded as a place where African-Americans could govern themselves and live without oppression. By 1914, Allensworth the town was home to more than 200 people.
Stop No. 5: Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
Earlimart, California
Instead of just one historic home, Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park has 22. The structures stand today, along with community buildings like this schoolhouse, as the remnants of a pioneering settlement founded, financed and governed by African-Americans starting in 1908. Born into slavery in 1842, Allen Allensworth went on to join the Navy during the Civil War and later became an ordained Baptist minister. The community-turned-park that now bears his name was founded as a place where African-Americans could govern themselves and live without oppression. By 1914, Allensworth the town was home to more than 200 people.
Photo from California State Parks
The homes that have been restored or reconstructed for the state park, like Col. Allensworth’s house seen here, are a mix of simple rural California rustic-style and early prefabricated houses. Other buildings, like the Hindsman Store, were fixtures of daily life. Inside the houses, many interiors have been furnished to reflect how they likely appeared in the early 20th century when the community was flourishing.
“Life moved at a slower pace, and the sense of community was much more profound,” park interpreter Steven Ptomey says of the unique town. “In a small town, there were few secrets, but at the same time, you knew all your neighbors.”
A handful of families remained in the community throughout the 20th century, even after Col. Allensworth was killed by a motorcycle and the Allensworth railroad stop was moved to another town in 1914. California State Parks purchased the land in 1974 and turned the area into the state historic park visitors can explore today.
Guided tours are available with advance arrangements, and self-guided cellphone tours are available daily. The park also features 15 campsites, open year-round.
4011 Grant Ave., Earlimart, CA 93219
The homes that have been restored or reconstructed for the state park, like Col. Allensworth’s house seen here, are a mix of simple rural California rustic-style and early prefabricated houses. Other buildings, like the Hindsman Store, were fixtures of daily life. Inside the houses, many interiors have been furnished to reflect how they likely appeared in the early 20th century when the community was flourishing.
“Life moved at a slower pace, and the sense of community was much more profound,” park interpreter Steven Ptomey says of the unique town. “In a small town, there were few secrets, but at the same time, you knew all your neighbors.”
A handful of families remained in the community throughout the 20th century, even after Col. Allensworth was killed by a motorcycle and the Allensworth railroad stop was moved to another town in 1914. California State Parks purchased the land in 1974 and turned the area into the state historic park visitors can explore today.
Guided tours are available with advance arrangements, and self-guided cellphone tours are available daily. The park also features 15 campsites, open year-round.
4011 Grant Ave., Earlimart, CA 93219
Photo by D1v1d
Stop No. 6: Gamble House
Pasadena, California
Arts and Crafts style enthusiasts can’t miss a visit to the 1908 Gamble House. Architects and brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene designed the house for Procter & Gamble heir David Berry Gamble and his wife, Mary Huggins Gamble, to use as a winter home.
Stop No. 6: Gamble House
Pasadena, California
Arts and Crafts style enthusiasts can’t miss a visit to the 1908 Gamble House. Architects and brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene designed the house for Procter & Gamble heir David Berry Gamble and his wife, Mary Huggins Gamble, to use as a winter home.
Filled with custom furniture, personalized motifs and 17 species of wood, the house and its interiors, such as the dining room shown here, are known for their bold design, details and craftsmanship. Today, the house is operated by the University of Southern California.
Docent-led public and specialty tours are available Thursdays through Sundays, with shorter Brown Bag lunch tours on Tuesday afternoons.
4 Westmoreland Pl., Pasadena, CA 91103
Docent-led public and specialty tours are available Thursdays through Sundays, with shorter Brown Bag lunch tours on Tuesday afternoons.
4 Westmoreland Pl., Pasadena, CA 91103
Stop No. 7: Stahl House
Los Angeles
The sweeping views of Los Angeles are reason enough to visit to the Stahl House, but the structure’s sleek modern design is just as significant.
Los Angeles
The sweeping views of Los Angeles are reason enough to visit to the Stahl House, but the structure’s sleek modern design is just as significant.
The cantilevered glass-and-steel residence was completed for owner Buck Stahl and his wife, Carlotta, in 1959, the same year architect Pierre Koenig proposed the project to Arts & Architecture as part of the magazine’s Case Study Program recognizing innovative but realistic housing. The two-bedroom, two-bath house jutting over Sunset Boulevard became Case Study House No. 22.
Docent-led afternoon and evening tours are available with advance ticket purchase.
Trip tip: Tour tickets often sell out and should be reserved far in advance.
1635 Woods Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90069
Docent-led afternoon and evening tours are available with advance ticket purchase.
Trip tip: Tour tickets often sell out and should be reserved far in advance.
1635 Woods Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90069
Photo from Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum
Stop No. 8: Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum
Compton, California
After Spanish soldier Juan Jose Dominguez came to California with the Portola Expedition in 1769, he requested and received the first Spanish land grant, a parcel south of Los Angles he named Rancho San Pedro. Dominguez’s great-nephew Manuel Dominguez built this adobe home there in 1826, and the land would go on to serve as the site of the first U.S. Air Meet, or aviation show, in 1910 and the first manned flight in California. Manuel Dominguez also played a major role in funding the Los Angeles San Pedro Railroad, the forerunner of today’s Alameda Corridor.
Stop No. 8: Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum
Compton, California
After Spanish soldier Juan Jose Dominguez came to California with the Portola Expedition in 1769, he requested and received the first Spanish land grant, a parcel south of Los Angles he named Rancho San Pedro. Dominguez’s great-nephew Manuel Dominguez built this adobe home there in 1826, and the land would go on to serve as the site of the first U.S. Air Meet, or aviation show, in 1910 and the first manned flight in California. Manuel Dominguez also played a major role in funding the Los Angeles San Pedro Railroad, the forerunner of today’s Alameda Corridor.
Photo from Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum
The land eventually was passed down to Manuel Dominguez’s six daughters, the descendants of whom still own and operate the Spanish Mission Revival-style property as the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum. The inside kitchen, shown here, was renovated in the 1970s to appear as it would have looked in the mid-1800s.
Guided tours are available every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and the first Thursday and Friday of each month.
18127 Alameda St., Compton, CA 90220
The land eventually was passed down to Manuel Dominguez’s six daughters, the descendants of whom still own and operate the Spanish Mission Revival-style property as the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum. The inside kitchen, shown here, was renovated in the 1970s to appear as it would have looked in the mid-1800s.
Guided tours are available every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and the first Thursday and Friday of each month.
18127 Alameda St., Compton, CA 90220
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Check back for more regional picks in the coming months.
Tell us: What are your favorite West Coast historic homes? What homes in other parts of the country would you like to see included in our upcoming itineraries? Tell us in the Comments.
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Check back for more regional picks in the coming months.
Tell us: What are your favorite West Coast historic homes? What homes in other parts of the country would you like to see included in our upcoming itineraries? Tell us in the Comments.
More
Celebrate Rudolph Schindler’s Kings Road House
Iconic Architecture: 10 Must-Know Modern Homes
Stop No. 1: Pittock Mansion
Portland, Oregon
Perched on a hill overlooking Portland, the 1914 Pittock Mansion is just as noteworthy for newspaper publisher and businessman Henry Pittock’s high-tech (for the time) touches as it is for its dramatic French château-style facade and unusual layout. The home features a central vacuum system, an original Otis elevator, central heating and recessed lighting.
The house, which was saved from demolition by members of the community in 1964, marks Portland’s transformation from pioneer town to industrialized city. Inside, individual rooms are set up to showcase prominent decor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including French Revival, Federalist and Eastlake styles. The adjoining Gate Lodge features Arts and Crafts details, and both are home to many original pieces from the estate.
Self-guided and guided tours are available daily, except in January when the mansion is closed.
3229 N.W. Pittock Dr., Portland, OR 97210