Tor House and Hawk Tower (2004)

 I was visiting my friend Ted in San Carlos, Ca. and he had made reservations for us to see Tor House and Hawk Tower on California's Monterey Peninsula. It was the refuge of poet Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) and his wife and twin boys and was where he wrote his most memorable poetry.

It was a great treat to see the property because it was not open to the public then and Ted had used some connections to make it possible. Jeffers had the aid of a builder for “Tor House”. It was modeled after a Tudor barn in England and he used sea-worn granite boulders that he pushed up from the beach. He also placed pieces of rock and stonework, collected by friends from around the world, into the foundation.

The house was lovely, but the 40-foot tower was his alone. It was a hide-away and a gift for his wife Una. He had a study on the ground floor where he did most of his writing and a room above where he and Una could enjoy the view of the ocean. A very narrow “secret” staircase connects the two rooms from the inside or you can choose to use the staircase that curves around the outer walls.

Robinson Jeffers is quoted as saying”

“I built it with my hands. I hung stones in the sky.”