Press Kit
Media Contact: Catherine Boire
Tel#: 707-255-5997 Email: CBoirePR@aol.com
ASILOMAR – A SIGNATURE WORK
OF FAMED ARCHITECT JULIA MORGAN
Julia Morgan is renowned for many extraordinary accomplishments. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 1894 with a degree in civil engineering, the only woman in her class. She earned her certification at L’Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris at the age of 29, the first ever granted to a woman. She was California’s first female licensed architect.
In her admirable 49-year career, Julia Morgan designed nearly 800 buildings from a bell tower on the campus of Mills College in Oakland and the rebuilding of the Fairmont Hotel after the 1906 earthquake, to development of the Hearst Ranch, where her work spanned from 1919 to 1947.
One of the magnificent aspects of Asilomar is that the historic property houses the largest collection of buildings designed by Julia Morgan in the world, all of which are listed on the Registry of National Landmarks. Firm in her mission that Asilomar be a haven of peace and inspiration, she designed the buildings in the true California Arts and Crafts architectural style, with usage of open space, natural light, local wood, and stone.
Julia Morgan’s work stands today at Asilomar as a tribute to her life’s dreams and achievements, her finest example of the Arts and Crafts style, and the solid foundation of this noted retreat.
Asilomar opened in 1913 with the first building, the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Social Hall (now the Administration Building), along with tent houses and a large dining tent. Fifteen years later Morgan had completed 16 structures. The remaining original structures are:
• Stuck-up Inn (1918)
• Pirates’ Den (1923)
• Grace H. Dodge Chapel Auditorium (1915)
• Phoebe Apperson Hearst Social Hall (1913)
• Health Cottage (Viewpoint) (1917)
• Visitor’s Lodge (1918)
• Engineer’s Cottage (1913)
• Director’s Cottage (1927)
• Merrill Hall (1928)
• Mary Ann Crocker Dining Hall (1918)
• Entrance Gates (1913)
• Scripps Lodge Annex (1927)
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