Serra Retreat Story

    The Serra Retreat Story begins in 1802, the year Joseph Tapia, a Spanish subject, was granted permission by the commander in Santa Barbara to graze cattle on Rancho Malibu. The Rancho Malibu land grand compomised over 100,000 acres, extending north and south from the Pacific Ocean to the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains and east and west from Topanga Canyon to Hueneme.
    The vast rancho passed successively from the Tapia family in 1848 to the Frenchman, Victor Prudhomme, to Irishman, Matthew Keller, and finally to Fredrick Rindge in 1892. As was the case with many of the Spanish and Mexican land grants, the title to Rancho Malibu could not be confirmed when challanged by the U.S. Land Commission in 1854. Prudhomme was denied title and sold Rancho Malibu to Keller on a quitclaim deed. Keller reopened the title case before a court of appeals and in 1854 was granted title to three-square leagues (13,316 acres) within the larger boundaries of the Ventura County line, averaging a little over one mile in width.
    Fredrick Rindge was born of a wealthy family in Cambridge, MA. He graduated from Harvard in the class of 1879. At the age of 28, Rindge inherited two million dollars. In 1887, he came west with his bride, May Knight, whom he had met and married in Michigan. They settled in Southern California, building homes in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Rindge purchased Rancho Malibu in 1892, the year after the family moved to Santa Monica.
    The Rindge family built a Victorian ranch house in Malibu Canyon, at the foot of Serra Hill, which Fredrick Rindge called Laudamus Hill. From the ranch house, Rindge managed his far-flung ranch. In time, he annexed four thousand acres and increased the family's wealth by investments in insurance, oil and utilities.
    Tragedy struck in 1903 when fire devistated the Malibu house. The Rindge family moved to Los Angeles. From there, they conducted business and continued to graze their livestock on the ranch.
    Fredrick Rindge died in 1905, leaving his widow and their three children. He left a coastal empire that stretched approximately 25 miles along the Pacific Coast, along with other properties in the San Fernando Valley, Stockton and Mexico.
    Mr. Rindge had prevented public ingress and egress at the estate. May Rindge was determined to preserve that privacy. Southern Pacific Railroad, the California Highway Commission, and individul ranchers in search of grazing land sought to access this "broken link of California coastline. May Rindge, however, defiantly stood her ground and even built a private railroad from 1906-1908.
    Law suits followed counter-suits. In time, May Rindge exhausted the family fortune in unending litigations and on June 11, 1923, she was dealt a lethal blow when the court decided in favor of the highway's right of "eminent domain." In 1929, the California State Pacific Coast Highway was completed through the closed Malibu Ranch. To survive near-bankruptcy, May Rindge began selling prime beachfront properties, which now rank as sone of the most expensive estates in the nation. She also drilled for oil but found none.
    In 1929, May Rindge laid the foundation for a family mansion that would be unrivaled in magnificence. It was to be the jewel of the West Coast. Its site was the hill that towered over the previous fire-destroyed home, Laudamus Hill, the present Serra Hill. A special factory (Malibu Potteries) for producing tile, creating exquisite designs and intricate patterns for the floors and walls of the enormous fifty room mansion, was built in 1926; it was built on the beach near the present day Malibu Pier. The most elaborte wrought iron doors, gates and balcony railings were imported. Doors, paneling and frames were of solid carved mahogany.
    Once again, another disaster struck. The tile factory was destroyed by fire in 1931. Nine thousand boxes of exquisite tile were salvaged and stored in the mansion's nine-car garage, with custom designs and planned patterns carefully codified and specified for later installation.
    Finally, funds for the mansion ran out. Never inhabited, the mansion was boarded up in 1932. Four years later, in a bankruptcy proceeding, the Marblehead Land Company took over the property and placed it on the block for sale. May Rindge died in 1941 at the age of 75, never having enjoyed the spendor of her dream mansion.
    In 1942, the Franciscan Friars of the Santa Barbara Province of California were searching for new property to establish a seminary. They were invited to inspect the abandoned mansion and hilltop site. The price was right and in May 1942, the friars purchased the entire property - 26 acres- for $50,000. 
    A year later, the friars reconsidered using the lavish Rindge Estate for a seminary. They decided on a totally new venture for apostolic work - to conduct spiritual retreats for laymen. Thereafter, the friars established seven other similar retreat houses throughout the west and southwest. The first one in Malibu was placed under the spiritual aegis of Padre Junipero Serra, the Apostle of California, and founder of nine of the famed California Missions.
    Between 1942 and 1970, the new retreat center hosted thousands of men from every walk of life, some of whom made annual retreats for twenty-five years or more. Serra Retreat grew more and more beautiful by placement of the tiles by Michael Braun, who joined the staff in 1942 and lovingly worked to complete the architectural plan until his death in 1966. But in 1970, a violent fire, whipped into a firestorm by the Santa Ana winds, leaped through Malibu Canyon to the sea. It climbed up Serra Hill and from the highway witnesses could see only a dense cloud of smoke. When the fired ended, there was only a heap of charred debris and twisted steel where the mansion once stood.
    Slowly, the Franciscans and faithful followers began to rebuild. An administration building was built over the manion's original basement, laundry and garage. It now houses offices, conference rooms and twenty seven guest rooms. For nearly twelve years, the elaborately tiled laundry room and nine car-garage served as kitchen and dining room for the community. The Holy Family building, which was added in 1962 and includes thirty-seven guest rooms, had been saved from the fire by axing down the connecting structures. 
    In 1982, a new dining room and kitchen were constructed atop the foundation of the demolished west wing of the mansion. The view, through the arched windows of the dining room, offers a panorama of the winding creek from Malibu Canyon joining the Pacific Ocean. This juncture forming a natural lagoon is a state bird sanctuary and park. The locations of the retreat offers outstanding views of the mountains and water, and the buildings are surrounded by gardens, secluded resting places and walking paths.
   In the 1970's, Serra Retreat began to offer women's retreats as well as men's. Examples of pride and belonging are everywhere: the various shrines, Stations of the Cross, the fountains, the individual rooms and the priceless beauty. As a place of refuge from the busyness of city life nearby, it offers a place of peace and rest to those who come to its doors. The Franciscans combine their ministry of hospitality and inspiration with the natural wonder of sky, gardens and beautiful weather. If you visit for a day or a week you are sure to leave renewed and refreshed.