Spend an Afternoon at the Often Overlooked Adamson House

FEATURED IN 12 OF THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN MALIBU

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Located right next to the Malibu Lagoon off of Pacific Coast Highway, The Adamson House is one of Malibu’s most historic, if not the most historic icon the city has to offer. The house was built in 1929 by husband and wife Merritt Adamson and Rhonda Rindge Adamson. This ocean front house was built on a section of land Rhonda’s father bought in 1889 for $10 an acre (can you imagine?). The house currently remains well kept and in tact as a national historic site, a California historical landmark, and as a California State Park. The house itself was constructed with Spanish and Moorish architecture influences in mind, featuring “dazzling displays of decorative tiles and one-of-a-kind craftsmanship including hand-carved doors, hand-painted frescoes, molded ceilings, distinctive cast ironwork and lead-framed bottle glass windows.”

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Often overlooked as a State Park, the Adamson House property is indeed a great place to spend a relaxing afternoon. Although access inside the house is only permitted on Fridays and Saturdays via their guided tours, the grounds around the house remain open to the public from sunrise to sunset all days of the week. The property serves as the perfect substitute for places like the beach where you can go and relax with a blanket, picnic basket, or whatever and just enjoy the outdoors. There are plenty of grassy areas to set up for a picnic with shaded and sunny areas throughout. The property also overlooks Surfrider beach where you can watch the surf and enjoy the sounds of the ocean. Unfortunately, there is no beach access provided inside the property. We highly recommend an afternoon spent on the Adamson House property.

Below you can find a video of a quick stroll through the grounds. This was taken on a Monday afternoon, and as you can see, the property is completely empty. This is pretty typical during the workweek if you can make it :).

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As previously mentioned, the Adamson House provides wonderful tours with interesting information and facts about the history and construction of the house and property. Tours of the house are offered on Friday and Saturday starting at 11am and ending at 3pm, with the last tour starting at 2pm. The house tours last about an hour, however they do offer a garden tour exclusively on Fridays beginning at 10am that includes a tour of the house. These tours are available for individuals and groups of ten or less and no reservations are required. If you have a group of 11 or more a reservation is required. Tickets are 7$ for 17 and older, 2$ for ages 6-16, and 5 and younger are free.

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For more information about the tours and the Adamson House in general visit their site here:  www.adamsonhouse.org

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