John Medica's Castles & Garden

The bronze promises an oasis for people and animals to enjoy, and it now stands behind the same gate as the gardens, inside a subdivision of large houses. Medica, a turkey farmer born in Croatia or Slovenia depending on the source, began in 1955 with a wall of basalt from an old quarry on the farm. He sold the turkeys in 1957 and built for two decades without drawings: twenty-eight cement castles, six bridges, arches, a grotto and a small railroad. After his death, while the land sat in escrow, vandals pried off the abalone shells.

What the plaque says

John Medica's Castles & Garden "Trying to make it look better," John Medica spent 20 years transforming a barren hillside into a magical garden of plants and creative stone works. Castles were his greatest triumph. A native of Yugoslavia, the self-taught Medica created an oasis for people and animals to enjoy. This imaginative assemblage is one of California's remarkable Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 939 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments a non-profit and educational corporation, April 6, 1987.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Luther Burbank Home and Garden — 2.8 mi
• Hood House — 4.6 mi
• Petrified Forest — 7.4 mi
• Cotati Downtown Plaza — 8.9 mi