Lummis Home (El Alisal)

The Lummis Home (El Alisal) is located in Highland Park. The house and garden, named for Charles Fletcher Lummis, is a peaceful area in the middle of a bustling area by the Freeway and Figueroa Avenue. The home was completed in 1910 and Lummis intended for it to last a thousand years. Lummis stated the architecture " is part of my life and my brains and my love and my hands." The house is located on the west bank of the Arroyo Seco, a dry riverbed that runs from the San Gabriel Mountain south to the Los Angeles River. Like the Los Angeles River, the Arroyo Seco is mainly a concrete terminal designed to control flooding. The south side of the home is made of stones acquired from the stream bed. Charles Lummis was a Native American rights activist, a writer, the city librarian, a translator and ethnographer. The house is an example of Lummis' passion for the Southwest. The home represents the start of the Arts and Crafts movement in architecture and design. The home is the site of the Historical Society of Southern California. The society was founded in 1883 and is the oldest historical society in the state. The society makes an effort to reach out to the community of Los Angeles and offers tours and events that celebrates Southern California's history.