Julia Morgan Legacy
11am - 12:30pm - Julia Morgan's Paris, a presentation with Q & A by Karen McNeill, Ph.D.
12:30 - 2pm - Guest House open to visitors
Join the Santa Monica Conservancy in a special commemoration of architect Julia Morgan, California’s first licensed female architect. Noted for her collaboration with William Randolph Hearst to create Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Morgan left a legacy of more than 700 projects in her nearly five decades of practice. Posthumously awarded the AIA’s highest honor, a Gold Medal, her brilliant and pioneering work continues to gain public recognition. Morgan designed the Guest House and pool, which comprise the historic core of the Beach House.
The celebration kicks off at 11 am with a presentation by McNeill, an expert on Morgan's life, work, and legacy. Her most recent publication as a contributor to Julia Morgan: The Road to San Simeon, has been acclaimed by architectural critic Martin Filler (New York Review of Books) as “the definitive account of Morgan’s education at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.”
Following McNeill’s presentation, guests may visit the Guest House to see Morgan’s work first-hand.
McNeill’s scholarship focuses on women and gender in the architectural profession as well as how Progressive Era women used the built environment to expand their roles in society as consumers, reformers, educators, and professionals. Her work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Autry National Center, the Bancroft Library, and the University of California Humanities Research Institute. McNeill has taught history and architectural history at colleges and universities in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been involved in historic preservation, successfully nominating a range of buildings to the National Register of Historic Places. She is currently Managing Director of Family History at Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank and serves as a trustee on the board of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF).
Tickets
Julia Morgan Legacy Event is a free event. Space is limited for the presentation; reservations are recommended. All ages welcome. Reservations are not needed between 12:30 - 2pm to visit the Guest House for viewing.
Please note: You do not need to print your ticket. Please provide the name used when making your reservation at check-in.
Getting Here
The Annenberg Community Beach House is located at 415 Pacific Coast Hwy. Parking is available for $3 per hour or $8 per day. Please pay for parking at the machine upon your arrival. Cash and credit card accepted.
Ample bike parking is available; please bring a lock.
The Annenberg Community Beach House is wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. For disability related accommodations, please call Guest Services at 310-458-4904.
The Annenberg Community Beach House at Santa Monica State Beach is operated by the City of Santa Monica. The Beach House is made possible by a generous gift from the Annenberg Foundation, at the direction of Wallis Annenberg, and in partnership with the City of Santa Monica and California State Parks. Additional funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.