Robert Louis Stevenson House

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Stevenson House
Stevenson House Monterey.JPG
Stevenson House, Monterey, California.
Location map Monterey Peninsula.png
Red pog.svg
Location in the Monterey Peninsula
Location530 Houston Street, Monterey, California
Coordinates 36°35′50″N121°53′36″W / 36.59722°N 121.89333°W / 36.59722; -121.89333
Builtcirca 1836
Architectural style Spanish Colonial Revival architecture
Website Stevenson House State Historic Monument
NRHP reference No. 72000239 [1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 7, 1972

The Stevenson House, is a historic two-story Spanish Colonial style building located at 530 Houston Street in Monterey, California. It was a boarding house called the French Hotel, built circa 1836. The Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson lived there in 1879, writing and courting his future wife. It is now a museum and property of the Monterey State Historic Park. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 1972. [2] The building is also listed as a California historical landmark #352. [3]

Contents

History

Robert Louis Stevenson House, illustration by Jo Mora. Robert Louis Stevenson House.jpg
Robert Louis Stevenson House, illustration by Jo Mora.
Robert Louis Stevenson House, Photo by Julian P. Graham. Robert Louis Stevenson House, 530 Houston Street, Monterey (Monterey County, California).jpg
Robert Louis Stevenson House, Photo by Julian P. Graham.
Stevenson House kiosk provided by Monterey State Historic Park. Stevenson House kiosk.jpg
Stevenson House kiosk provided by Monterey State Historic Park.

The original adobe was built circa 1836 by Don Rafael Gonzalez, who was the customs administrator at the Port of Monterey. [4] Some of the walls are of chalk rock, which was laid up in mud mortar. Other walls are of wood frame. The exterior walls are plastered with limestone mortar. The bracketed overhanging roof has wood shingles. [5]

From 1856 to 1870s, merchant Juan Girardin operated a general store on the first floor and lived upstairs. Some additions were made and spare bedrooms were rented, when it became the French Hotel. [6] [4]

In the autumn of 1879, Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson stayed at the French Hotel. Stevenson lived there while recovering from Ill health as he was crossing the United States to court his future wife Fanny Osbourne. While at the hotel, he dined at a nearby restaurant run by Frenchman Jules Simoneau which was located at what is now the Simoneau Plaza. It was at the hotel that Stevenson wrote The Amateur Emigrant; The Pavilion on the Links; Prince Otto; essays on Henry David Thoreau and the Japanese reformer Yoshida Torajiro; The Old Pacific Capitol; and inspiration for Treasure Island. [5] [4]

In 1920s the Monterey Group of painters were meeting at Stevenson's House Some of them were associated with the Society of Six. [7]

In 1937, the hotel was purchased by Edith C. van Antwerp and Mrs. C. Tobin Clark to preserve it as a memorial to Stevenson. They bestowed it to the State of California and it was restored as a home representing the Spanish Colonial period. [4] The hotel was later named the Stevenson House in honor of Robert Louis Stevenson. It holds a large collection of Stevenson papers and Stevenson memorabilia. It features a bas relief depicting the author writing in bed. [5]

An outside kiosk provides information about the Stevenson House, Robert Louis Stevenson, and directions to visit the Monterey State Historic Park website for more information.

See also

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References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Welts, Allen W. (March 20, 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Monterey State Historic Park for Stevenson House". National Park Service. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  3. "Robert Louis Stevenson House". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Path of History Is wide in Monterey". The Californian. Salinas, California. July 11, 1977. p. 136. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "National Register Of Historic Places Inventory, Nomination Form". United States Department Of The Interior National Park Service. Monterey, California. January 7, 1972.
  6. "Monterery's Historic Trails by Sea and Land". The Times. San Mateo, California. April 25, 1970. p. 33. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  7. Boas, Nancy (1997). The Society of Six: California Colorists. University of California Press.