Mt. Woodson | Wedding Photography | Venue Spotlight

May 26, 2015

In 1909, Amy Strong, a famous San Diego dress designer, hired architects to build her dream home on the Ranch. They pitched tents on the site for their own accommodations, drew renderings and blueprints. The home was completed by 1921. The Strong home in Ramona is the vision of this artistic woman, the talents of her architects, and the philosophy of the Craftsman Movement. The Craftsman ideals emphasized harmony between the individual and the environment. Eucalyptus was cut from stands that dotted the property. Rocks were individually hand-picked by Mrs. Strong for their shapes and colors from the slopes of Mt. Woodson. The adobe bricks that form the second story walls were made at the site from the clay soils found along the drainage. It is purported that the roof tiles came from the San Gabriel Mission. The Castle is a multi-level, twenty-seven room 12,000 square foot home with eight foot thick walls, a Great Hall with a sixteen foot ceiling, a swing porch, pantry, four fireplaces, a dutch oven, dumb waiter, complete intercom system and a gasoline-engine-assisted windmill. The windmill pumped water from the springs to redwood storage tanks and the room under the windmill was used to cool meats and vegetables. Other motifs were taken from Persian, Arabic and Oriental rug designs used in the house. Mrs. Strong, her niece and their cook, did much of the painting and design-work themselves. Mrs. Strong left natural, oak, and pine; other woods were painted or polished. Some of the original floors and stairs were flagstone and a few of the floors were oak planks. No chalk lines were used in the construction. There are no perfect corners and neither the roof nor floors are level. The windows, of Belgium triplex glass, are irregularly shaped as well. The effect was warmth, grace, freedom, and unity of both the exterior and interior with the rock and tree studded surroundings. Over the years, the main house has been meticulously restored and updated in an effort to preserve the beauty and charm of the original home while adding modern conveniences so that the property can be appreciated by all.

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