Court of the Mysteries
A few weeks ago a friend and I drove past the Court of Mysteries on Fair Avenue and she had to stop and look around. She hadn't ever seen it before. I went back today and took a few photos. The library hosts an article by Eric Ross Gibson about it which is the most complete I've read.
MORE...
This is the view of it from the street, which is usually one's first glimpse of it.
The center "court" is bordered by a curved brick border.
I didn't trespass, so all these photos are just want can be seen from the street.
Another feature of their construction is inlaid mosaics of abalone shells -- whole or in shards. This unusual mother-of-pearl feature was from the local abalone processing plant, whose waste product was piles of abalone shells. Other architects, sculptors and ornamental cement workers used this abalone in their work as a feature of Santa Cruz architecture. Yet none achieved the level of sophistication found in the Kitchen brothers' mosaics.
Kenneth, a student of Eastern philosophy, originally lived in a house at the south end of his property, and in 1935 built a molded concrete, brickwork and abalone fence around the site for his yoga temple. The gate arch has four square-tapered minarets, with windows in each shaft once bearing opaque, onyx- grained glass, which were picturesque when lit.
Because of the mile-deep Monterey Bay Canyon, this bay was the most likely point of entry for deep-water subs on the coast. So Kenneth buried a spoked wheel of railroad ties in the center of his field and erected two tall obelisks on either side. Those were described as radio sending and receiving towers for a "submarine stopping device," with its mysterious mechanism submerged in his well house. Author John Chase, quoting an interview, said: "Apparently the Navy actually did begin to have some trouble with its submarines and finally shipped Mr. Kitchen off to Pensacola, Fla."
But Kenneth was soon back and building his yoga temple at the center of the submerged iron spokes. The entry arch became the Gate of Prophecy with the addition of a triangular plaque with a celestial chart in abalone mosaics. It portends a celestial alignment between the plaque and temple's chimney, signaling an apocalypse before the "Age of Peace." The temple itself is reinforced with railroad ties to survive to that time, yet it stands unfinished, as a second story and dome were intended to complete the alignment.
