{"nrhp_refnum":"87000823","name":"Asilomar Conference Grounds","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Asilomar Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pacific Grove","county":"Monterey County","state":"CA","lat":36.61940347050006,"lon":-121.93733288310816,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-02-27","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1987-02-27","areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Asilomar Conference Grounds is a historic district on the oceanfront in Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California, developed from 1913 to 1928 as the YWCA's western conference grounds. It contains 11 contributing buildings, an entrance gate and a road plan, all designed by architect Julia Morgan.","why_significant":"The grounds are significant for their role in the YWCA's recreation and leadership work for women and in the development of the Monterey peninsula as a resort area. They are also notable as Julia Morgan's most celebrated complex in the rustic Craftsman mode. Morgan was one of the first women to achieve eminence in American architecture.","narrative":"Asilomar Conference Grounds is a historic complex of 11 buildings set among dunes and Monterey pines beside the ocean in Pacific Grove, California. The Young Women's Christian Association established it in 1913 as its western conference and camp site, on land donated by the Pacific Improvement Company with strong support from Phoebe Apperson Hearst. Architect Julia Morgan designed every historic building, the entrance gates and the road plan between 1913 and 1928, using redwood shingles, split logs and rough granite in a rustic Craftsman style. Key structures include the Administration Building, Memorial Chapel, Crocker Dining Hall and Merrill Hall, once the largest auditorium on the Monterey peninsula. The YWCA sold the property to the State of California in 1956, and newer lodging and meeting buildings now surround the historic core. The grounds are valued for their association with women's recreation and leadership programs and as a major work by Morgan.","period_of_significance":"1913-36","architect_builder":"Julia Morgan","architectural_style":"Rustic \"Craftsman\"","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a conference center owned by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Condition is good overall; Scripps Lodge needs restoration and the Hilltop garden has deteriorated.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.167899-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/87000823_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000823/e20a58588e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000823/e20a58588e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merrill_Hall_Asilomar_edit1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Merrill_Hall_Asilomar_edit1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857970","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asilomar_Conference_Grounds","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2976485"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/monterey-county/asilomar-conference-grounds-87000823/"}