Mrs. Clinton Walker House

Mrs. Clinton Walker House
Mrs. Clinton Walker House - Frank Lloyd Wright
Mrs. Clinton Walker House is located in Monterey Peninsula
Mrs. Clinton Walker House
Mrs. Clinton Walker House is located in California
Mrs. Clinton Walker House
Location26336 Scenic Road, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Coordinates36°33′19″N 121°55′24″W / 36.55528°N 121.92333°W / 36.55528; -121.92333
Area1.2 acres (0.49 ha)
Built1951 (1951)
Built byMiles Bain[2]
ArchitectFrank Lloyd Wright
Architectural styleOrganic architecture
NRHP reference No.16000634[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 17, 1977

Mrs. Clinton Walker House, also known as Cabin on the Rocks, is located on Carmel Point, near Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It has the appearance of a ship with a bow cutting through the waves. The house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1948 and completed in 1952 for Mrs. Clinton "Della" Walker of Pebble Beach. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 17, 1977.[3][1]

History

In 1918, Willis J. Walker and his wife purchased 216 acres (87 ha) of land in Carmel, which included this lot on the ocean. In the 1940s it was deeded to Mrs. Walker's sister, Della Walker. It was given to her under the condition that she find a noted architect to design the house. Della reached out to Frank Lloyd Wright and told him she wanted a house “as durable as the rocks and as transparent as the waves."

Miles Bain and Mark Mills were hired by Wright to carry out the construction of the house.[2][4][5]

Design of Mrs. Clinton Walker House

The house, an example of Wright's organic architecture, is built on a mass of granite boulders, uses the local Carmel-stone, and has a roof the color of the sea that is shaped to resemble the bow of a ship. It is the only Frank Lloyd Wright house that overlooks the ocean. The house has a view of the Carmel Bay and Pebble Beach.[6][7]

It has a Usonian design; it is a small (originally only 1,200 square feet), single-story house that incorporates a hexagon concrete floor with 120-degree angles, with three rooms completely open with views of the ocean. The low roof was once covered with triangular porcelain panels because of the copper restrictions during the Korean War in the 1950s. Della later replaced it with copper shingles, which lasted forty-five years before being replaced with standing-seam copper sheets.[4] The living-dining room is centered around a floor-to-ceiling fireplace with built-in furniture. The hexagonal modules of the floor plan gave the appearance of a honeycomb. The window frames are painted in Wright's signature "Cherokee Red" color with reverse-stepped glass windows. A master bedroom was added in 1956. The floorplan is based on a hexagon.[6]

In 1954, Wright said, "The over-all-effect is quiet, and the long white surf lines of the sea seem to join the lines of the house to make a natural melody." The California Style landscape design was achieved by Thomas Church, who is one of the pioneer landscape designers of the 20th-century.[1][8]

In the 1959 movie A Summer Place, the characters Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan) and Sylvia (Dorothy McGuire) have a beach house, which was filmed at the Clinton Walker House. In the film, Sylvia tells Molly (Sandra Dee) that Frank Lloyd Wright designed the house, seemingly located on the East Coast near the movie's "Pine Island" location. The film shows views of the Walker house's interior, exterior and patio. Additional scenes were filmed at a cottage located at Mission Ranch Hotel and Restaurant in Carmel.[9]

Walker House updates

Della had a studio addition to the master bedroom designed in 1956 and built by Sandy Walker in 1960-61, nephew of Mrs. Walker.[3]

In 1964, San Francisco sculptor Robert Howard installed a crushed stone and copper ore mermaid sculpture on the deck, called Undine. The 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) two-ton sculpture sits on a base that can be rotated for viewing.[10]

The house sold off-market in February 2023 for $22 million.[11] Its current owner is Patrice Pastor.[12]

Gallery

  • Ocean view of Mrs. Clinton Walker House
    Ocean view of Mrs. Clinton Walker House
  • Street view of Mrs. Clinton Walker House
    Street view of Mrs. Clinton Walker House
  • Side view of Mrs. Clinton Walker House
    Side view of Mrs. Clinton Walker House
  • Ocean view of Mrs. Clinton Walker House
    Ocean view of Mrs. Clinton Walker House
  • Prow view of Clinton Walker House
    Prow view of Clinton Walker House
  • Carmel has its own mermaid Undine
    Carmel has its own mermaid Undine

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Seavey, Kent (2007). Carmel, A History in Architecture. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Arcadia Publishing. p. 123. ISBN 9780738547053. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
  3. ^ a b Richard N. Janick (2001). "Carmel Historic Survey Volume Blocks a69". Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: City of Carmel. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  4. ^ a b Paul, Linda Leigh (2000). "Walker House". Cottages by the Sea, The Handmade Homes of Carmel, America's First Artist Community. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Universe. p. 156. ISBN 9780789304957. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  5. ^ "Historic Context Statement Update, 1966-1990" (PDF). City of Carmel. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. December 4, 2019. p. 27. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  6. ^ a b MALLOY, BETSY (2019-06-26). "Mrs. Clinton Walker House by Frank Lloyd Wright". www.tripsavvy.com. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  7. ^ "I Name Names". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. 22 Jun 1951. p. 19. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  8. ^ Gebhard, David (1997). The California architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. pp. 58–61. OCLC 988843325. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  9. ^ Susanne Hopkins (September 5, 1996). "Eastwood Style: Clint's Resort Will Make Your Days (and Nights) California Carefree". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  10. ^ Joan Woods (May 8, 1964). "Carmel Has Its Own 'Mermaid'". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  11. ^ Abby Montanez (February 23, 2023). "Frank Lloyd Wright's Only Waterfront Home Design Just Sold for $22 Million". RRI. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  12. ^ https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/news_blog/carmel-city-council-approves-property-tax-break-for-frank-lloyd-wright-house-owned-by-patrice/article_fc4c113c-dda5-11ee-8825-3f0a9da2e744.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mrs. Clinton Walker House.
  • Frank Lloyd Wright: American architect for the twentieth century
  • The life & works of Frank Lloyd Wright
  • Home of the Week Overlooking Carmel Bay
  • Mrs. Clinton Walker house (Carmel, California). Cabin on the Rocks
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