Asilomar Conference Grounds is a conference center built for the
Young Women's Christian Association
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
(YWCA). It is located east of what was known as Moss Beach on the western tip of the Monterey Peninsula in
Pacific Grove, California
Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey.
Pacific Grove has numerous Victorian-era houses, s ...
. Between 1913 and 1929 architect
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect and engineer. She designed more than 700 buildings in California during a long and prolific career.Erica Reder"Julia Morgan was a local in ''The New Fillmore'', 1 Febr ...
designed and built 16 of the buildings on the property, of which 11 are still standing. In 1956 it became part of the State Division of Beaches and Parks of California's Department of Natural Resources, and Moss Beach was renamed
Asilomar State Beach
Asilomar State Beach, officially Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds State Park, is a state park unit of California, United States. It provides public access to rocky coast and dune habitat on the Monterey Peninsula. The property include ...
. ''Asilomar'' is a derivation of the Spanish phrase ''asilo al mar'', meaning asylum or refuge by the sea. It is the native homeland of the Rumsen Ohlone people.
History
The annual conference of the YWCA of the Pacific Coast had been held at the Capitola, California hotel through 1911. Probably because they had outgrown the space, and because the YWCA had a goal of purchasing grounds,
Phoebe Apperson Hearst
Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson Hearst (December 3, 1842 – April 13, 1919) was an American philanthropist, feminist and suffragist. Hearst was the founder of the University of California Museum of Anthropology, now called the Phoebe A. Hearst M ...
hosted the 1912 conference at her Hacienda in Pleasanton, California, with all proceeds of that year's conference going toward the purchase of a permanent home. A resulting YWCA committee persuaded the
Pacific Improvement Company
The Pacific Improvement Company (PIC) was a large holding company in California and an affiliate of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was formed in 1878, by the Big Four, who were influential businessmen, philanthropists and railroad tycoons who ...
of Pacific Grove, California to deed to the YWCA in 1912. In early 1913 the YWCA announced that Julia Morgan, already at work on the Oakland YWCA building, would design the campgrounds. Construction began in the spring of 1913 and in August 1913 the Social Hall and the lodging Longhouses opened with nearly 300 girls in attendance. Merrill Hall, the last of Morgan's designs for Asilomar, was dedicated in 1928.
Several other prominent California women including
Ellen Browning Scripps
Ellen Browning Scripps (October 18, 1836 – August 3, 1932) was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E. W. Scripps created the E. W. ...
, Mrs.
Warren Olney Jr.
Warren Olney Jr. (October 15, 1870 – March 25, 1939) was an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from March 1, 1919, to July 1921.
Early life and education
Olney was the second of six children b ...
and Mary Sroufe Merrill were involved in the creation of the retreat.
The winning entry in the naming contest was by Helen Salisbury, a Stanford student. Her entry created a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsAsilo and
Mar
Mar, mar or MAR may refer to:
Culture
* Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac
* Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland
* MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese
* Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code
* March, as an abbreviation for the third mon ...
.
The State of California acquired Asilomar in 1956.
John Carl Warnecke
John Carl Warnecke (February 24, 1919 – April 17, 2010)Brown, "John Carl Warnecke Dies at 91, Designed Kennedy Gravesite," ''Washington Post,'' April 23, 2010.Grimes, "John Carl Warnecke, Architect to Kennedy, Dies at 91," ''New York Times,'' Ap ...
designed 7 new buildings to expand the grounds.
Asilomar was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1987 for its role in women's recreation, the development of the YWCA, and the resort nature of nearby Monterey, California.
Today
The property is officially named "Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds", and is owned by California State Parks. It is currently used primarily as a conference center for hire but is also open to individual lodging guests and is frequently used for family reunions and other social events. The grounds are open to the public. From 1956 until 1994 several non-profit corporations managed the conference grounds in cooperation with California State Parks.
Delaware North Companies
Delaware North is a global food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 55,000 people worl ...
Parks and Resorts operated the park from 1997 to 2007 under a concessionaire agreement.
Aramark
Aramark Corporation, known commonly as Aramark, is an American food service, facilities, and uniform services provider to clients in areas including education, healthcare, business, prisons, and leisure. It operates in North America (United S ...
won a new 20-year operating contract in January 2009 and began operations there in September of that year.
To preserve the rustic atmosphere of the resort, there are no telephones or televisions in any of the rooms. However, Wi-Fi has recently been installed throughout the property.
In October, 2012 construction began to improve Asilomar's accessibility under Americans with Disabilities Guidelines. This includes replacement of several old, worn, and rugged asphalt pathways and the construction of new paths made of brick pavers. Construction work continued into 2014 and included modifications to improve interior access to several rooms as well as the exterior improvements.
File:Lobby at the Asilomar Conference Grounds.jpg
File:Cypress-building-guest-room-at-Asilomar-grounds-CA.jpg
Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA
The Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA was an influential conference organized by Paul Berg, Maxine Singer, and colleagues to discuss the potential biohazards and regulation of biotechnology, held in February 1975 at a conference center at As ...
West Coast Number Theory
West Coast Number Theory (WCNT), a meeting that has also been known variously as the Western Number Theory Conference and the Asilomar Number Theory meeting, is an annual gathering of number theorists first organized by D. H. and Emma Lehmer at t ...
* 2014:
International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences
The International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences (INHIGEO) promotes ongoing research into the history of the earth sciences, particularly the history of geology. It has 20 Honorary Senior Members and 301 members (2018) worldwide. ...
Wayne Dyer
Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. Dyer completed a Ed.D. in guidance and counseling at Wayne State University in 1970. Early in his career, he worked as a high sch ...
's movie, ''The Shift'' (2009) was shot at
Asilomar State Beach
Asilomar State Beach, officially Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds State Park, is a state park unit of California, United States. It provides public access to rocky coast and dune habitat on the Monterey Peninsula. The property include ...
and at the Asilomar Conference Grounds.The Movie
The 1975 Asilomar Conference has been featured in the PBS documentary '' The Gene: An Intimate History''.