Entry No. 3 — the Monterey file — filed under: literary landmark
Tor House & Hawk Tower
Poet Robinson Jeffers spent four years (1920–1924) single-handedly hauling granite boulders up from the beach below to build Hawk Tower stone by stone, then mortared in souvenirs from his travels — stones from Hawaii, the Temple of Peking, and the Great Wall of China are embedded right in the walls alongside the local Carmel Bay granite.
The story
When poet Robinson Jeffers first encountered the Carmel coast in 1914, he didn't settle for merely writing about the shoreline—he started dragging it uphill. Between 1920 and 1924, Jeffers single-handedly hauled heavy granite boulders straight out of the Carmel Bay surf below, mortaring them stone by stone to erect Hawk Tower. He was a poet rather than a mason, yet four years of manual labor yielded a medieval-style stone tower standing directly on the ocean's edge.
The real eccentricity sits mortared into the walls themselves. Whenever Jeffers and his family traveled, they brought back geological souvenirs and set them directly into the masonry alongside the local granite. Tucked into the garden and tower walls are fragments brought back from Hawaii, the Temple of Peking, and even a chunk of the Great Wall of China. It stands as an architectural scrapbook of one man's travels and poetic obsession.
What it's like
You cannot simply stroll onto the grounds unannounced. Access is tightly regulated through docent tours running exclusively on Fridays and Saturdays between 10am and 1pm ($25 general, $10 for students). You'll meet at the office next to the garage before walking the lawn where Jeffers wrote his verse, then heading into the tower itself. The real reward is taking your time inside the tower to scan the rough-hewn stone walls and pinpoint the imported travel relics embedded among the local rock. Be sure to confirm tour schedules before you go.
The move: Book the Friday/Saturday docent tour (departs on the hour, 10am–1pm, from the office next to the garage; $25/$10 student) and hunt the garden and tower walls together for the Great Wall of China stone, then read a Jeffers poem aloud on the ocean-view lawn where he wrote them.
- 📍 Carmel-by-the-Sea
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 26304 Ocean View Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93923
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- La Playa Carmel — Pair Jeffers' hand-hauled granite tower with another early-1900s stone landmark nearby, originally built as a private mansion by painter Christian Jorgensen.
- Robert Louis Stevenson House — Follow up Jeffers' hand-built poetic refuge with the 1830s Monterey boarding house where Robert Louis Stevenson stayed and recovered from illness.
- Whalers Cabin Museum — Trade Jeffers' hand-built stone tower for another raw piece of coastal heritage—an 1850s cabin built by shipwrecked Chinese fishermen at Point Lobos.
Good to know
When can I visit Tor House and Hawk Tower?
Guided tours depart on the hour from 10am to 1pm on Fridays and Saturdays only. Reservations are required.
How much does it cost to tour the property?
Tickets are $25 for general admission and $10 for students. Tours meet at the office next to the garage.
What artifacts are built into the walls of Hawk Tower?
Alongside local Carmel Bay granite, Jeffers mortared in stones gathered from Hawaii, the Temple of Peking, and the Great Wall of China.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Atlas Obscura · Wikipedia · oldhamgroupluxury.com
last checked: 2026-07-20