| Lone Cypress | |
|---|---|
 The Lone Cypress, April 2024 | |
 | |
| Species | Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey cypress) |
| Location | Pebble Beach, California |
| Coordinates | 36°34′07″N121°57′55″W / 36.5687466°N 121.9652095°W |
| Date seeded | c.1750 [1] |
| Custodian | Pebble Beach Company |
The Lone Cypress is a Monterey cypress tree located in Pebble Beach, California. Standing atop a granite headland overlooking Carmel Bay, the tree has become a Western icon and has been called one of the most photographed trees in North America.
The tree is believed to have been seeded circa 1750 in what was then the Spanish colony of New Spain. However, due to the invasive nature of traditional dendrochronology, the precise age of the tree is unknown and can only be inferred. [1] [2]
Over the centuries the tree has been weathered by the wind and salt spray coming off the Pacific Ocean, gradually altering its appearance. The earliest known depictions of the tree's likeness in paintings and photographs date to the 1880s, which shows the tree with a lush dome-shaped canopy. [3]
In 1941, a stone retaining wall was constructed around the base of the tree to protect its roots from erosion. [2]
In 1948, a series of cables were installed to help support the tree. [2]
In 1969, the tree was fenced off to the public in order to protect its roots from being damaged from trampling. [2]
In 1984, an unknown arsonist attempted to set fire to the tree. The tree survived with only minor fire scarring. [2]
On February 16, 2019, the tree lost one of its limbs during a severe weather event known as a Pineapple Express. This dramatically altered its appearance. [4] [5]
The future longevity of the tree is unknown. [2] The longest-lived Monterey cypress based on physical evidence lived to only 284 years old. [6]
The tree is located off 17-Mile Drive between Cypress Point Club and the Pebble Beach Golf Links, two of world's best-known golf courses.
The Monterey cypress grows naturally only in Pebble Beach and Point Lobos. [2]
A drawing of the tree was registered as Pebble Beach Company's trademark in 1919. The company said the trademark protected not only the logo but also the tree itself. [7]
The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populated stretch of coastline known as Big Sur.
Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California, United States. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf courses of Cypress Point Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, and Pebble Beach Golf Links. Nonresidents are charged a toll to use 17-Mile Drive, the main road through Pebble Beach, making it a de-facto gated community.
17-Mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California, much of which hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses, mansions and scenic attractions, including the Lone Cypress, Bird Rock and the 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees.
Stevenson School is a coeducational, private school for boarding and day students in preschool through 12th grade. Its high school campus is in Pebble Beach, while its PK-8 campus is in an unincorporated area of neighboring Carmel.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California, near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February on two different courses, currently Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and previously, Monterey Peninsula Country Club.
Spyglass Hill Golf Course is a links golf course on the west coast of the United States, located on the Monterey Peninsula in California. The course is part of the Pebble Beach Company, which also owns the Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Links at Spanish Bay, and the Del Monte Golf Course. The PGA golf head pro at Spyglass Hill is Patrick Gannon.
Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links is a public 18-hole golf course owned by the city of Pacific Grove, California.
Poppy Hills Golf Course is the newest golf course in Pebble Beach, California, after undergoing an extensive 13-month renovation that was completed in April 2014. The original Poppy Hills was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., and opened in 1986. Along with Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Poppy Hills co-hosted the PGA Tour's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am from 1991 to 2009, replacing Cypress Point in the rotation. Poppy Hills co-hosted the Champions Tour's Nature Valley First Tee Open with Pebble Beach for three years, beginning in September 2014.
Pebble Beach Golf Links is a public golf course on the west coast of the United States, located in Pebble Beach, California.
Potentilla hickmanii is an endangered perennial herb of the rose family. This rare plant species is found in a narrowly restricted range in two locations in coastal northern California, in Monterey County, and in very small colonies in San Mateo County. This small wildflower, endemic to western slopes of the outer coastal range along the Pacific Ocean coast, produces bright yellow blossoms through spring and summer.
Ghost Tree is a famed big wave surfing location off the 18th hole of Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. The wave breaks off the rock-strewn shoreline known as Pescadero Point. On rare winter days with the proper westerly angle, waves are focused by the deep Carmel Canyon to rear up as much as 60 ft (18 m) in height. Formerly known as Pesky's, Ghost Tree is considered one of the most dangerous waves in the world due to its slab shape, massive boils, strong current, bull kelp, and the underwater labyrinth of natural rock pillars in the impact zone. It is also frequented by white sharks.
Cypress Point Club is a private golf club located in Pebble Beach, California, at the northern end of the Central Coast. Its single 18-hole course has been named as one of the finest in golf, best known for a series of dramatic holes along the Pacific Ocean.
Pasatiempo Golf Club is an 18-hole golf club on the West Coast of the United States, located in Pasatiempo, Santa Cruz County, California.
Samuel Finley Brown Morse was an American environmental conservationist and the developer of Pebble Beach. He was known as the Duke of Del Monte and ran his company from the 1919 until his death in 1969. Originally from the eastern United States, Morse moved west and fell in love with the Monterey Peninsula, eventually owning and preserving vast acreage while also developing golf courses and The Lodge at Pebble Beach.
The TaylorMade Golf Pebble Beach Invitational is a non-tour professional golf tournament. The event debuted in 1972. The 2019 purse was $300,000 with $60,000 going to the individual winner. There is also a team competition. Professionals from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, and Korn Ferry Tour all compete against each other. Tee placements vary for each tour, based on average driving distances. The event takes place in November of each year.
Marion B. Hollins was an American amateur golfer. She is known as an athlete and as a golf course developer, one of the only known female golf course developers in history. She won the 1921 U.S. Women's Amateur and was runner-up in 1913. She also had many other amateur wins. She was the captain of the first U.S. Curtis Cup team in 1932.
The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach.
The Hotel Del Monte was a large resort hotel in Monterey, California, from its opening in 1880 until 1942. It was one of the finest luxury hotels in North America. During World War II, it closed and the building was leased to the United States Navy. It first was used by the Navy as a school where enlisted men spent the second, third, and fourth months of an 11-month course being trained as electronic technicians. Later the Hotel Del Monte became the Naval Postgraduate School. Today, the building is named Herrmann Hall. It contains school administrative offices and the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites, a hotel.
Julian Pitzer Graham, nicknamed “Spike” was an American photographer. His legacy is over 40,000 photographs and negatives of many famous people that visited and lived on the Monterey Peninsula. Between 1924 and 1963, Graham, was an independent, official photographer for Del Monte Properties, which is known today as the Pebble Beach Company. His photographs appeared in magazines such as Life and National Geographic, national and international newspapers, books, fashion layouts, and promotional material used for advertising the Pebble Beach Company. Graham's photographs chronicle the history of the Monterey Peninsula which includes the creation of Cypress Point Golf Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club. His career lasted 39 years until his death at his home in Carmel Valley, California on March 13, 1963.
