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HISTORIC HOMES
LIMITED PARKING •SOLUTION: (after many foiled attempts to build a garage). A cerulean blue Mini-Cooper.
CURRENT RESIDENT: •Bachelor and caretaker since 1970.
ALSO KNOW AS: •Mirlo Gate Lodge, the Stone Tower, the Watchtower, Mirlo Gate Lodge Tower, Tower House.
SPECS: •18-inch walls made of Palos Verdes stone; 15foot interior diameter on two floors. Downstairs is the kitchen and living room with stone fireplace. Upstairs is the bathroom and a conical vaulted bedroom.
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ON A CLEAR DAY: Treehouse views from most windows and take-offs and landings from the Torrance Airport. The best view is from the window over the bathroom sink, down Anza Avenue through much of Torrance and into downtown Los Angeles.
ARCHITECT: •Clarence E. Howard, 1925 blueprints. CONCEIVED BY: •The Palos Verdes Home Association to serve as a guarded entrance to a gated community that never materialized. DEEDED •The city ofTO: Verdes Estates in 1939. Palos DECORATIVE •CHALLENGES: “What are you going to do with round walls?” says the resident. “You can’t put up a painting. That explains the sword.”
LESS IS MORE: •“You have to limit the amount of stuff,” says the resident, paraphrasing humorist Dick Barry. “If you have to dust something, throw it away.” HOME •ENTERTAINMENT: No TV. No Internet. A turntable and bookcase filled with volumes by his favorite writers, H.L. Mencken and George Orwell.
WHERE TO FIND IT: •Intersection of Hawthorne Boulevard and the 4400 block of Via Valmonte (formerly Via Mirlo) at the entrance to Palos Verdes Estates.
HOME IMPROVEMENT: •As a caretaker, the tenant’s upgrades included installing copper pipes and a heater under the stairs; dropping the water heater down to the basement; replacing the door; putting in stained glass; and designing and building the tower in miniature to serve as a mail box.
Anatomy of a Tower
THE STORY BEHIND ONE OF THE SOUTH BAY’S MOST UNUSUAL HOMES: THE GATEHOUSE IN PALOS VERDES
The current tenant of the Gatehouse fell in love with the tower as a child, when his family drove through via Mirlo (as an entrance to Palos Verdes before Hawthorne Boulevard extended up the hill) in 1962 to the current Peninsula Center. The closest architectural relative we found is a 12th-century castle in Dover and the windmills of La Mancha in Spain. Here, a few interesting tidbits about the historic, unique structure.
WRITTEN BY FABIENNE MARSH PHOTOGRAPHED BY SIRI BERTING
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southbay HOME II 2012