Tao House

About this property

The Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site, located in Danville, California, preserves Tao House, the Monterey Colonial hillside home of America's only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill. Eugene O'Neill had won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936, and used the prize money to build what he named Tao House above Danville. O'Neill and his wife lived in the home from 1937 to 1944. By the time he moved here, O'Neill had already lived in over 35 places, but he called this secluded house his "final home and harbor". At this home, O'Neill wrote his final plays: The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Hughie, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Due to a degenerative condition in his hand, he was unable to complete another play after 1943. O'Neill and his wife, actress Carlotta Monterey, showed their interest in Asian art, decor, and thought in preparing the home. The two personally designed the two-story, three-bedroom home from the ground up. The ceilings were dark blue to mimic the sky with dark wood floors representing the earth, as well as Noh masks, Chinese guardian statues, and Chinese lacquerware furnishings throughout the interior. Outside, Carlotta installed a garden in a zigzag pattern which Chinese tradition indicated would keep away evil spirits. They also planted several trees, including pine, almond, and redwood. The O'Neills moved to Boston after World War II. The house was saved from demolition in the early 1970s. Several women formed the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, including president Darlene Blair and executive vice president Lois Sizoo, in order to raise money to buy Tao House, which had been named a National Landmark in 1971. They did so through several fundraising projects, including benefit performances of Eugene O’Neill's play Hughie featuring Jason Robards. Through their efforts, Tao House was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971, a National Historic Site in 1976, and passed into the management of the National Park Service in 1980. The Foundation has produced an annual festival of O'Neill's works since 1999, including performances on site. Congressman George Miller and Senator Alan Cranston introduced companion bills to have Tao House recognized as a National Historic Site in 1975. AB 4539 was signed into law in Sacramento in September 1976, making the site California State property. George Miller's HR 9126 passed in Congress and, on October 19, 1976, President Gerald Ford signed SB 2398 into law. Tao House and the property were designated a National Historic Site. Finally, on June 12 of 1980, ownership of Eugene O'Neill NHS officially transferred to the federal government, making it exactly under the NPS.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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