My Visit to Lomaland

In early August 2002, I attended Comic-Con in San Diego, which gave me the opportunity to take an afternoon to visit the Point Loma area where Kenneth Morris had lived for twenty-two years between 1908 and 1930. It was a gorgeously sunny day, with bright blue skies with some clouds, yet as hot as temperature was, the steady breeze coming in off the Pacific mitigated the heat and gave the whole place a magical quality.

The area where the Theosophical community lived and worked is now a part of the Point Loma Nazarene University (known as PLNU). Not many of the Theosophical buildings survive, but the few that do are distinctive.

Here is Cabrillo Hall, which has been moved from its original location. Initially it held the offices of the Theosophical Society, but it became the home of Katherine Tingley, leader of the Theosophical Society, from 1909 until her death in 1929.

Rumors and stories that the building is haunted have inspired a book, Holy Ghosts: True Tales from a Haunted Christian College (2015) by David J. Schmidt, a 2002 graduate of PLNU. A local television news-story about the book and the hauntings (typical in its over-the-top treatment) is available here. The videos are quite interesting because they show various parts of the building and area, past and present.

This is Mieras Hall, an administration building on the PLNU campus.  Formerly it had been the residence of Arthur Spalding, who founded the Spalding sporting goods firm which continues to this day. The amethyst dome at the top is not the original--it was restored in 1983.

 The Greek amphitheater is probably the most distinctive landmark remaining from the Theosophical Society days.The audience faces the theater with the Pacific ocean as its backdrop.

Finally, here are some photos of the western slope of the campus, and down towards the ocean.