Adamson House at Malibu Lagoon State Beach

Frederick Rindge laid fifteen miles of his own railroad across this ranch in 1903 to exploit a rule that stopped a competing line running parallel to it. After he died his widow May kept the fight up with lawyers and armed guards, and lost at the Supreme Court in 1923, which held that a county could take private land for a scenic highway. She opened Malibu Potteries in 1926 to raise money; fire gutted it in 1931 and it closed the next year. Its best tile is in her daughter Rhoda's house, and the road runs past the door.

What the plaque says

Designed by Stiles O. Clements in 1929, this Spanish Colonial Revival home contains the best surviving examples of decorative ceramic tile produced by Malibu Potteries. During its short existence from 1926 to 1932, Malibu Potteries made an outstanding contribution to ceramic art in California through its development and production of a wide range of artistic and colorful decorative tile. The home was built for Merritt Huntley Adamson and Rhoda Rindge Adamson, daughter of Frederick Hastings Rindge and May Knight Rindge, last owners of the Rancho Malibu Spanish grant.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Santa Monica Pier — 11 mi
  Where the Mother Road runs out of continent, and where the End of the Trail sign gives the drive somewhere to finish.

More markers nearby

• Point Dume — 7.6 mi
• Old Santa Monica Forestry Station — 9.4 mi
• Serra Springs — 13 mi
• Harold Lloyd Estate (Greenacres) — 15 mi