Druid Heights

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For the neighborhood in Maryland, see Druid Heights, Baltimore.

Coordinates: 37°53′21.174″N 122°33′52.9596″W / 37.88921500°N 122.564711000°W / 37.88921500; -122.564711000

Druid Heights was a bohemian community on the southwest flank of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California, about a mile from the Pacific Ocean.[1]:267–268 It was founded by carpenter Roger Somers and poet Elsa Gidlow in 1954 on five acres of a former chicken ranch. The community was a popular retreat and meeting place for three countercultural movements in the United States, including the Beat Generation of the 1950s, the hippie movement of the 1960s, and the women's movement of the 1970s.

Located above Muir Woods National Monument, Druid Heights was acquired by the National Park Service in the 1970s[2][3] and is currently under review for a proposed listing on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

History

Poet Elsa Gidlow and carpenter Roger Somers started "Druid Heights" in 1954.[3] Accessible by a dirt road connected to Muir Woods Road, Druid Heights occupied a five-acre ranch formerly known as Camp Monte Vista Sub One. Somers, influenced by Japanese architecture and American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, built many of the structures with unique furniture designed by Ed Stiles.[5] Gidlow was fond of organic agriculture and grew vegetables for the people in the community.[6]:136

Buildings and structures

"With [Gidlow's] skill as a gardener and [Somers'] as an architect they transformed this area into a paradise, a Garden of Eden...All this they accomplished with imagination and muscle...It has what people who are only rich find so frustrating, because you cannot buy it with money."

Alan Watts[1]:268

There are approximately 16 historic buildings and structures in Druid Heights.[4] Major structures include:

  • Cloud Hidden, a large rock named by Alan Watts.
  • The Library, constructed out of redwood
  • Mandala House, a cabin shaped like a lotus-flower. It was originally built by Stiles for Elsa Gidlow's sister.
  • Moon House, meditation area with stained glass windows
  • Love Garden
  • Water Tower

Residents

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Watts, Alan (1972) [2007]. In My Own Way: An Autobiography, 1915–1965. New World Library. ISBN 1577315847.
  2. ↑ Oldenburg, Chuck (2012). "Druid Heights". The Mill Valley Historical Society.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Davis, Erik (May 2005). "Druids and Ferries". Arthur. 16.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brown, Patricia Leigh (January 25, 2012). "Oasis for Resisting Status Symbols Just Might Get One. The New York Times. A15.
  5. ↑ Mill Valley Historical Society (2012). "Druid Heights". The History of Homestead Valley, 2012 Articles.
  6. ↑ Watts, Alan (1973). Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown: A Mountain Journal. Pantheon Books. OCLC 532215

References

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