How to Tour Tor House

Robinson Jeffers was a twentieth century American poet who wrote on natural and classical themes. He, his wife Una and sons Garth and Donnan settled in the California town of Carmel and were so captivated by the landscape that Jeffers apprenticed himself to a stone mason so he could build a home on a granite outcropping overlooking the Pacific Ocean. What started as a small cottage grew into a compound which includes the romantic, Irish-style "Hawk Tower." The Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation now gives guided tours of this remarkable literary landmark on Fridays and Saturdays. It's a must-see for lovers of poetry, architecture or nature.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Get your ticket at the docent office by the garage, and proceed to the cottage, the first structure built on the property, completed in 1919. Observers have likened the cottage to a hobbit house, and indeed it it small, dark and cozy. The paneled living room, opening right off the front door, includes Una's piano and her little writing nook, with books and desk and windows overlooking her garden.
2. Turn right from the living room into the guest room. Jeffers died in this room, and indeed he designed it for that purpose. The window looking out onto the Pacific Ocean seems to most people to be set too low on the wall--they can't see out of it while standing up. But the view is perfect from the level of the bed. The cottage also includes a small kitchen and bath, as well as a steep staircase to the attic, which is closed to tours. The attic contained bedroom spaces for the family and a study area for Jeffers.
3. Proceed next to the dining room, built between 1924 and 1929. Its features include an Irish spinning wheel, a corner fireplace and embedded into the walls, stones brought back from all the the world. Some are carved with significant names, dates or mottoes. Beyond the dining room is a wing built between the 1930s and 1960s, completed by Donnan to house his family.
4. Go across the courtyard garden, where Jeffers' ashes were scattered, to the key feature of the complex: Hawk Tower. When Jeffers and Una learned that poet William Butler Yeats lived in a tower in Ireland they decided they needed one of their own, and Jeffers built it himself after finishing the cottage and garage. The forty-foot-tall tower includes two playrooms for the boys, an observation deck, a study and narrow indoor and outdoor staircases.