{"nrhp_refnum":"71000148","name":"Lummis House","other_names":["Charles Lummis Home"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"200 E. Ave. 43","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.093105423000054,"lon":-118.20695569699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-05-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Literature","Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Lummis Home (El Alisal) is a rambling two-story stone and concrete house of about 14 rooms at 200 E Avenue 43 in Los Angeles, on a sloping three-acre tract beside the Arroyo Seco. Construction began in 1897 and took about 15 years.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the house as the work of Charles F. Lummis, an author, editor, poet, athlete and archeologist, who built it largely himself from local stone. It was a destination for many famous visitors, and while living there Lummis wrote and lectured on the Southwest and founded the California History and Landmarks Club and the Southwest Museum.","narrative":"Set on a sloping three-acre tract along the Arroyo Seco in Los Angeles, El Alisal is a rambling two-story house of random rubble stone and concrete. Its walls, two to four feet thick, are made of riverbed boulders laid in cement, lime and sand mortar on deep concrete footings, and the sloping roof is covered with wood shingles or shakes. The house has about 14 rooms. Charles Lummis began building it in 1897 and worked on it for roughly 15 years, assisted by a few Indian laborers. He consulted architects Sumner Hunt and Arthur Benton on structural problems. Lummis was an author, editor, poet, athlete and archeologist. The nomination says the home drew more famous visitors than almost any other in Southern California. While living there he wrote and lectured widely on the Southwest and founded the California History and Landmarks Club and the Southwest Museum. Safety codes now restrict how many people may occupy the building.","period_of_significance":"1897-1912","architect_builder":"Charles F. Lummis (builder), who consulted architects Sumner Hunt and Arthur Benton on structural problems","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked fair and altered. The building does not meet current Los Angeles City Building Code requirements, and occupancy is limited by safety code restrictions. Owned by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.006969-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/71000148.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000148/09e3a2f459-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000148/09e3a2f459-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Croman653","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lummis_House_in_Los_Angeles,_California.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Croman653</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lummis_House_in_Los_Angeles,_California.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859297","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lummis_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6703371"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/lummis-house-71000148/"}