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Photograph of Adamson House
Photograph by Սէրուժ (Serouj Ourishian), CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Adamson House

Built in 1930 (Mediterranean Revival architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. 13 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1903.

From the record

“The Adamson House and its estate, known as Vaquero Hill in the 19th century, is a historic house built by Rhoda Adamson and gardens in Malibu, California. The residence and estate is on the coast, within Malibu Lagoon State Beach park.”

Wikipedia article Adamson House, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 616 National Register listings published here for Los Angeles County · listed in 1977 · category: Building · built in 1930, Mediterranean Revival architecture, by Stiles O. Clements.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 23200 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, 90265
  • When was it listed? October 1977
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Agoura Hills-Malibu
  • When was it built? 1930
  • Architectural style. Mediterranean Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Moorish Revival architecture
  • Architect. Stiles O. Clements
  • National Register reference number. 77000298 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1903 to 1995

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 92 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Adamson House, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet covering Adamson House, surveyed 1903

Fires near this property

109 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 109 fires within 5 miles of Adamson House between 1992 and 2020, burning about 4,719 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined62
Equipment and vehicle use21
Smoking7
Recreation and ceremony5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Other causes3
Debris and open burning3
Arson/incendiarism2
Fireworks2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaRAMBLA PACIFICA
9 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaCOLD CANYON
7 September 1999Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaMULHOLLAND
5 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaVALLEY LINDO
5 September 2008Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaMALIBU
3 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaTUNA
24 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Adamson House: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Malibu PotteriesClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this property

7 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Malibu, the town this property stands in, in 7 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 2 wildfire, 2 flash flood, 1 rip current, 1 debris flow. The reports record 1 death and 17 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2001Rip CurrentMalibu1 killed, 1 hurtGusty north winds generated dangerous rip currents off the coast of Malibu. The rip currents capsized a kayak. One kayaker died and another was injured.
October 1996WildfireMalibu16 hurt, $1,500,000no account filed
March 2025Thunderstorm WindMalibu-A thunderstorm wind gust of 65 MPH was reported at Saddle Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains.
February 2024Debris FlowMalibu-Heavy rainfall generated a mudslide across Rotunda Mesa Road.
January 2008Flash FloodMalibu-A mud and debris flow developed around the Corral Burn area between Malibu Canyon Road and Corral Canyon Road.
October 2000Flash FloodMalibu-Heavy rain, in excess of 1.5 inches per hour, produced flash flooding in the Malibu area. Flooding was reported in Malibu City Hall. Also, mudslides closed sections of Malibu Canyon Road.
January 2003WildfireMalibu-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Los Angeles County

Maps showing this location

13 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

3 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Malibu Historic District0.2 miles2018
Stevens House0.5 miles2009
Hunt House1.7 miles2019

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 77000298 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Los Angeles CountyAll 616 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.