Atalaya - The Amazing Winter Retreat of Sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington

Anna Hyatt (1876-1973) began sculpting as a young woman, first using domestic animals as models, later using zoo animals for models. Anna trained at the Arts Students League in New York City, and also studied with American sculptor John Gutzon Borglum, creator of the presidents heads at Mount Rushmore.

Archer and Anna's Late Blooming Love

Anny Hyatt was already an established and well-known American sculptor when she met and married Archer M. Huntington (1870-1955), a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist. Many of her life-size animal sculptures were already being shown in museums, parks and public places around the world and by 1912, she was earning $50,000 a year from her sculpting, a substantial sum at that time. Anna and Archer met rather late in life when they worked together on a charitable project in NYC. She was forty seven and he was fifty one when they married in 1923.

Shortly after their marriage, however, Anna contracted tuberculosis, and the Huntington's decided that a winter home in a milder climate would be good for Anna's health. They purchased three large plantations totaling 6,600 acres on the Atlantic coast near Murrells Inlet, South Carolina for $225,000. Here they built their winter retreat, Atalaya, and started their plans for Brookgreen Gardens to showcase Anna's sculptures in a natural outdoor setting.

Atalaya was conceived and designed by Archer Huntington who was not only a businessman, but a scholar and noted authority on Spanish culture at the time. The house was designed in the Moorish Revival style, similar to architecture found on the Mediterranean Coast. The thirty room house faces the Atlantic ocean and is built in the form of a large square. Each of three sides is 200 feet long, with a shady open courtyard in the center. It is landscaped with palm trees. The house was built without plans as Archer had the design in his head. In the midst of the Great Depression, Archer hired all local labor, a huge boon to the depressed area.

Atalaya had no air conditioning and no central heating. Each room has a fireplace; ramps instead of stairs into the house allowed wood to be brought in by wheel barrow. The windows open wide to catch the fresh ocean breezes, and, in traditional Southern manner, windows all have decorative grates on them to keep out intruders.

Because Anna was quite ill with tuberculosis the first years at Atalaya, she was unable to work on large sculpting projects. However, she amused herself by designing decorative wrought iron window grates, stair railings, planters and furniture for Atalaya. She also designed the decorative doors. Most of the doors in the home are dutch doors, designed so that the top half could be opened while the bottom half stayed closed to keep the dogs indoors.

It is said that there are over a million bricks in Atalaya. Archer commissioned the bricks to be made locally and the construction to be built by local workmen. Local people were trained to lay the bricks to his specifications in the extruded style, with the mortar squeezed out from between the bricks. There's a story about one crew that worked for days building up a wall and carefully smoothing out the mortar between each brick. When Archer saw it, he had the wall torn down and rebuilt!

The water tower is at the center of Atalaya. Designed by Archer Huntington to be a work of art as well as utilitarian, the water tower stands 40 feet tall in the center of the courtyard in the middle of the covered walkway which goes under it. The water tower houses a 3,000 gallon cypress water tank that was filled with water from a nearby artesian well.

Alligators are a common sight near Atalaya as there are fresh water and brackish water ponds nearby. They are even seen on the beach sometimes. This one meandered across the driveway just a few feet away from Atalaya's main entry.

Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens were named National Historic Landmarks because of Anna Hyatt Huntington's important artistic contributions. Today, Atalaya lies within the bounds of Huntington Beach State Park. Visitors must enter the park in order to take a guided or self guided tour of Atalaya.

Although the building has been maintained and repaired, there are no furnishings inside the home. It is still well worth seeing. There is a small museum with many historic photographs and anecdotes about the Huntingtons. The rustic courtyard is often used for wedding receptions that are scheduled through Huntington Beach State Park.

On a personal note, I became interested in Atalaya after visiting Brookgreen Gardens and seeing Anna Huntington's work. It is amazing in its detail as well as its expressive realism.

One other fascinating fact - as I learned about the Huntingtons, I discovered that they were among America's first RVers! They traveled cross country in a special trailer built to accomodate their needs and the needs of the animals (dogs, monkeys and birds!) that traveled with them.

A few years ago, my husband and I were fortunate to spend two months at Huntington Beach State Park where we served as volunteer hosts at Atalaya. During that time, we had the opportunity to examine many of the historic photographs and writings of the Huntingtons at the museum and enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at this historic landmark.

My next article will be on Brookgreen Gardens, Archer and Anna Huntington's vision of beautiful gardens and a setting for Anna's sculptures. It is also on the National Historic Landmark register, and houses an amazing collection of American sculptures as well as beautifully designed gardens. If you enjoy beautiful flowers and would like to see more of Anna and Archer's vision, do drop in to take a look!

Look for the hub with the amazing Fighting Stallions sculpture as the lead photo! Click here.