Driving from Pepperdine to Jack in the Box you’ll pass it sitting silently on the side of the road. Getting on a tan on Surfrider Beach it would seem impossible to miss – but most do anyway. The amazingly beautiful and historically significant Adamson House sits nestled into the back of the Surfrider parking lot.
The house once owned by Malibu royalty the Adamson family is on the National Protected Historic Home list and is a museum that tells the story both of Malibu and this lovely home. The museum is open from Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with tours starting every half hour or so. The tours last a little over an hour and cover a short history of Malibu the Ringe family and the Adamson family as well as a thorough tour of the house itself.
“I must pass this way three or four times a week I just never bothered to stop said Lili Michelle, a Pacific Palisades mother whose children play in Malibu Little League. It seems this is the story with a lot of people. On a gorgeous Wednesday morning there were only a handful of people walking the grounds.
The house was built in 1929 primarily as a weekend getaway. It was a wedding present from Rhoda Ringe, who owned the entirety of Malibu around 1900. Malibu used to be home to the peaceful Chumash Indians, who named the land Humaliwo meaning, the surf sounds loudly.” Fredrick Ringe purchased the 13000-acre plot for $10 an acre in 1892.
The house was designed by master architect Stiles Oliver Clements and it remains one of the only private homes that Clements ever did. The tiling was done by Rufus Bradley Keeler who managed the Malibu Tile Company a firm that had been a staple of the family income from 1920-1930. Every square inch of the interior was hand painted by two Dutch painters Peter Neilson and Ejnar Hansen.
The interior design work that has been done on the property is nothing short of amazing. There are full Persian rugs adorning the main hallway that were made completely out of tile with each piece handset. There is only one framed picture in the entire house yet each room has lovely artwork covering every wall.
The house has an earthy feel with the walls painted a rich brown reminiscent of rich clays found in Malibu and the ceilings are soft shades of blue giving a visitor the impression that the foyer may actually still be outdoors. With views from every room across the Pacific and Neptune standing guard over the main fire place it is clear that this home was built to celebrate its natural breathtaking surroundings.
“It’s like a little Louvre palace dropped on the Malibu coastline said 16-year-old August Trumbull, and that may be the best way to describe the Adamson House, which was home to the Pepperdine Chancelor and his wife from 1971-1981.
Fredrick Ringe likened the estate to the French Riveria, and perhaps he was right too, but there’s no rule against having both be true.
The Adamson House is truly a gem of a museum right in the heart of Malibu. The friendly docents and reasonable prices make it a perfect destination for an afternoon out, and on a clear day the view to Palas Verdes and over the ocean to Catalina is breathtaking.