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.

Articles on Lomaland, from 1907, 1913, and 1978

Kenneth Morris lived at the Theosophical community at Point Loma, California from January 1908 to January 1930.  The community, which became known as Lomaland, had been founded in 1897 by Katherine Tingley; it lasted until 1942 when the property was sold and the Theosophical Society moved to near Los Angeles.

Over the years there have been a number of articles, and more recently of books, that cover the history of Lomaland.  Here I'd like to recommend three of the articles. These give good insight into what Kenneth Morris's daily life was like during his Lomaland years.

The first one dates from January 1907, one year before Kenneth Morris's arrival.  Called "An Extraordinary Experiment in Brotherhood" it was written by Ray Stanard Baker and appeared in The American Magazine.  The illustrated pdf is downloadable here.

The second dates from October 1913, after Morris had been resident for over five years.  It is "With the Theosophists at Point Loma" by Felix J. Koch, and it appeared in The Overland Monthly. This pdf is also downloadable, at this link.

The third is a more historical perspective, dating from April 1978, "Katherine Tingley's Utopian Vision in Pt. Loma," by Merton Gaudette.  It appeared in The San Diego Reader and is currently available online at this link.

Finally, here is a select list (alphabetically) of books, or books with chapters, on  Point Loma:

Ashcraft, W, Michael. The Dawn of the New Cycle: Point Loma Theosophists and American Culture (2002). Quite interesting, though it is written from a more sociological perspective than an insider's one.

Greenwalt, Emmett A. The Point Loma Community in California, 1897-1942, A Theosophical Experiment (1955). Revised edition under the title California Utopia: Point Loma: 1897-1942 (1978). This is the best and most extensive history of the Point Loma theosophical community.

Hine, Robert V. California's Utopian Colonies (1953; with new material 1983). Includes a chapter “Theosophical Colonies: Point Loma and Temple House” which cover Point Loma (pp. 33-54).

Kagan, Paul. New World Utopias: A Photographic History of the Search for Community (1975). Contains a chapter on “Theosophist Communes in California” which includes a section, illustrated with photographs, on Point Loma (pp. 50-64).

La Playa Trail Association. Images of America: Point Loma (2016). A book of historical photographs with extensive captions covering the peninsula of Point Loma. The theosophical community is covered in one chapter, “Lomaland” (pp. 47-64).

Making (Geographical) Sense of Lomaland

A typical cover of the Raja-Yoga Messenger.*

Ever since I first started studying Kenneth Morris, and seeing photos of Lomaland, I've wanted to make better sense of what the place was like for Morris, who lived there for twenty -two years. Sadly, I never encountered a map of the Theosophical community and its environs on Point Loma, so the references to many of its parts have always been a bit confusing. But the pictorial record is abundant. The community produced a number of magazines which were well-illustrated with black-and-white photographs of the area, as produced by the "Lomaland Photo and Engraving Dept." Attractive picture postcards were also produced and sold. I've collected many of these such illustrations from disparate sources over the years, and will here give an outline of some of the major features which would have been part of Kenneth Morris's daily life. Future posts will elaborate upon those features described here.

The Theosophical community at Point Loma had its origins in 1897, and some of its major features (including the Homestead, the Temple of Peace, and the open air Greek theater) were built between 1897 and 1901. The grounds were then quite barren, but later pictures show fields, orchards and a wealth of gardens all over the community. Kenneth Morris arrived at Point Loma in January 1908, and remained there until January 1930. The Theosophical Society sold off its remaining properties in 1942 and moved up near Los Angeles. Not many of the original landmarks survive today. My final post in this series will included photos taken during my one visit to Lomaland in 2002. 

 Here are some of the main features I will discuss.  1) The Homestead, also called the Raja-Yoga Academy. 2) The Temple of Peace. 3) The Greek Theater. 4) The Gates. 5) The grounds around the Raja-Yoga Academy. 6) Homes and Bungalows. 7) Beaches and Canyons.

I will give each of these areas a separate blog-post, with (perhaps) some additional posts highlighting other features.  In this post I will use some aerial shots, with some annotations, to show the lie of the land.

First, here is an undated post card showing the lower part of the Point Loma peninsula, taken from the Pacific Ocean side. The grounds of the Theosophical community are not visible--they would be to the left of the photograph. But one sees the northern part of San Diego Bay, and the beginnings of the city of San Diego proper at the right. (Click on any image to view it larger.)

Next is a USGS topographical map from 1943. The Theosophical community is marked on the western side of Point Loma, corresponding to where La Playa is marked on the east side.

Here's a current screenshot of a map of the area. Most of the Theosophical community and its building were between the areas labelled "La Playa" and the "Natural Park" icon just below "Sunset Cliffs."

To turn now to Lomaland itself, here is a view of the southern part of the community taken from the south-east. The Pacific is in the west, and the Greek theater is prominently visible.

Next is a view from the south, looking north. The Greek theater is marked D. The blue dot near the letter E marks the south end of Pepper Street (marked on the view above), which runs north to mark B. (The road running from the right of E goes to east to the secondary Egyptian Gate.) The blue dot near the B marks the main entrance (facing east) of the Raja-Yoga Academy. The blue dot marked C notes the main entrance (facing west) of the Temple of Peace. The Blue dot marked A denotes the residence of the Spalding family (it is one of the few buildings which survives to this day). F marks Lomaland Drive. Somewhere to the right of the blue dot would be where the Main Gate (also known as the Roman Gate) to the Theosophical grounds would be found.

Here is a view of the main buildings taken from the south and looking north. The Athletic Fields are visible at the top left, and some of the orchards at the top right.  At the lower right are some of the Group-Homes and Bungalows where the students and staff lived. (In noting the Spalding House, I misspelled the name as "Spaulding.")

Finally, a view from the east, looking west, which shows the Main Entrance or Roman Gate on Lomaland Drive where it meets up with what is now called Catalina Boulevard (formerly it was Point Loma Boulevard). Other features are marked (including another misspelling of Spalding).

*This cover of the Raja-Yoga Messenger shows, at the left, the Greek Theater from the canyon behind it, and, similarly, at the right, the Temple of Peace.

Picture from an Exhibition

In 2018, there was an exhibition at the San Diego State University Library, focusing on the Theosophical Community of Lomaland from 1897-1942, which was initially under the leadership of Katherine Tingley until her death in 1929.  Kenneth Morris lived and taught in this community from 1908 to 1930, when he returned the Wales. There is an exhibit case focusing on Kenneth Morris, which I reproduce below (from this website).   (An overview of the exhibit can be found here.)  Clink on the photo to enlarge it. Notice Morris's own hand-illuminated poems, on the wall behind the display case, and at the left of the two shelves within, and at left on the top shelf of the display case itself. The later poem, gloriously colored, is one of Morris's recensions of classic Chinese poems.