In the Capital Region, where climate and landscape vary from valley floors to foothill ridgelines, responsiveness often defines the final outcome.
Last New Year’s weekend, I visited Asilomar in Pacific Grove — a conference center originally built for the Young Women’s Christian Association and designed by architect Julia Morgan, of Hearst Castle fame.
It’s one of those places that envelops you and anchors you in time. Though construction began there in 1913, its weatherworn buildings seem as native to the landscape as the Monterey cypress trees twisted by coastal winds. The buildings are grand yet soft on the eye, which moves easily over sandy-colored stone facades, wooden beams and shingle siding — a continuation of the textures that surround.
Having come from a lineage of aesthetically minded women, I’ve agonized over such a seemingly trivial question as: What’s your favorite architectural style? But of late, I’ve realized that I prefer whatever style best complements the landscape.
Because when you’re building in Northern California, why spoil the view?
And for more on Julia Morgan’s legacy in the Capital Region, check out our profile on the North Star House.
– Dakota Morlan, managing editor
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Some recommendations from our editors
Judy: For once, I’m enjoying social media! Visitors from around the globe are in the U.S. for the World Cup, and they are posting everything they love about America. The World Cup is being played in 16 different cities, so Europeans are tasting their first barbecue in Texas, drinking their first Big Gulp filled with ice in Atlanta and hitting the beach in LA. Boston residents have been invaded by kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing Scots, while South Korean soccer fans drank tequila with Mexican fans. The Europeans love our Waffle Houses, Bass Pro Shops and Buc-ee’s mega service stations that serve brisket and unlimited soft drinks at fast food joints. I’m so glad my father gave me a love of sports, the great uniter.
Jennifer: I’m a passenger rail fan, but lately I’ve got more into learning about the freight trains that still chug along trans-continental track all across our country. The documentary production company 7Idea made some interesting films about these important networks, including the impressively steep route that runs past Mount Shasta in Northern California.
Odds and ends
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