Finding the Abandoned Mushroom House of La Jolla, California

Bell Pavilion, which is located on an isolated part of La Jolla's Black's Beach (one of the largest nude beaches in California), is commonly called "The Mushroom House." It was built in 1968, and was owned by Sam Bell of Bell Potato Chips. The Mushroom House was built as a guest house for Bell's mansion located on the cliffs above and was accessible by a tram that went 300 feet down the cliff. The house has been long abandoned now, with the track for the tram unsafe to use. The only way to get to the building is to hike down the cliffs and then walk along the beach at low tide.
To reach the Mushroom House we hike down a trail through the Scripps Costal Reserve to Blacks Beach, then walk along the beach.
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[@lgd4247]

I was a nanny late 80's. I lived above Black Bleach. This house was next door! I WOW!!! Thanks for some fond memories!!!

[@lgd4247]

Lol!

[@solsticemeows]

@@billwillson890 lol

[@u4riahsc]

I used to go the Black’s Beach all the time.

[@samanthab1923]

@@u4riahsc I went to it when visiting a friend from home. He was attending U of SD

[@u4riahsc]

@@samanthab1923 Did you climb down and back up? The recent cliff collapse probably ruined the trail.

[@e.l.france5136]

Thanks for a memory recalled. When you mentioned the dread of the hike back up the steep incline I remembered making the same complaint to my friend on the way down many years ago. Within minutes we passed a woman making the climb up the trail and she was in a (non -motorized) wheelchair! Shut my mouth to any complaints on the return hike and mental kudos to that ladies fortitude. Thanks for taking me there again.

[@merryhunt9153]

As a geologist, I would have no faith in the permanence of that cliff. And that's too bad, because it looks like a nifty place. Thanks for sharing.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

The cliff maybe a quarter mile from there just collapsed.

[@allermenchenaufder]

Good ! Let Mother Nature speak. Unsightly industrial metal railings are offensive AF. Ostentatious, along with environmental impact on Beach. Build pretentious ugly architecture elsewhere.​@@SidetrackAdventures. Goo

[@sharpeyes]

The Mushroom House is NOT abandoned. It has been owned by a friend of mine for many years. The elevator supports up to the house were damaged a few years ago by a landslide. The cost to repair the supports is over a million dollars, thus the only access to the house is via the front gate. It is shameful that some beachgoers have no respect for private property, thus the graffiti on the walls. On another note, I used the house to recharge cinematography camera batteries when we were down there making a film for Discovery Channel and BBC.

[@samanthab1923]

Cool. Does he live in the house on top of the cliff?

[@dustinocallaghan7570]

No respect for private property? The beach is considered public property in California. Just goes to show that rich a-holes can try and buy their way around the laws that everyone else has to abide by. No one should be able to live on the beach, it’s for all people to enjoy so stop complaining

[@OldJoeBlows]

@@dustinocallaghan7570people don’t need to graffiti it though.

[@twilightstar5694]

@@dustinocallaghan7570 what's worse is how people treat PUBLIC property. The fact that people think the ground is thier trash can and bathroom. That if it's not bolted down, behind glass, or locked up-it must be free "because it's public property" way of thinking is destroying everything. Public or private people don't know to respect anything. Especially in California...richest state with one of the highest homeless populations - get your ducks in a line already Cali.

[@ZoeJasper9]

@@dustinocallaghan7570 my thoughts exactly. Maybe people find it shameful that some ultra rich guy has his private property in the middle of a public beach. Didn't even think that was legal. And lets start a go fund me for him so he can get to it more easily from his mansion. LOL

[@DK-sc4gn]

Coastal commission would never approve permitting for this house today!!! Looks cool!! To bad it's abandoned!! Great B and B site!!!

[@chillingsworth4384]

How do you just abandon a multi million dollar home!? I wouldn’t even abandon a car

[@JF-wz3oo]

Looks like where they built the house didn’t leave mush room for anything else.

[@billl1127]

That's what I was thinking. Can't even build the simplest retaining wall today. Notice this structure hasn't affected marine life at all.

[@timothybaer6596]

I worked on that house about 15 years ago doing some remodeling. We took the tram up and down the cliff. It was very interesting to work there. When I was a kid my father would take me surf fishing, that was right there but that house was not there. I did not know that it was called the mushroom house.

[@johnbeckwith1361]

So 15 years ago it was habitable? I wonder what dumb laws the City/State imposed which forced the owner to abandon it.

[@timothybaer6596]

It was probably closer to 18 years ago that I worked on it. I am not convinced that it is not habitable. The top of the tram is in the back yard of this very nice home, I would not call it a mansion, because we built the most expensive homes in San Diego County, from Solana Beach to Coronado. Tim

[@milo6373]

@@johnbeckwith1361 taxes nine ways to Sunday like everything else...🤔✌️🙏💪😸

[@milo6373]

Reminds me something like MIB when the bug was Epcot pavilion , also the old Landmark Hotel in Vegas across from the convention center and Hilton,, towers are one of a kind design like stratosphere...🤔🎯☝️🙏✌️😸☯️💪

[@WildWestGal]

@@johnbeckwith1361 The City didn't do anything. The tram was rendered unusable due to damage from a landslide. The only access is from the beach, so not very convenient for the owners, hence it's not currently used.

[@AbandonedMines11]

Never knew this house was there. Cool find! I like how you and I explore and document vastly different things. You’re always coming up with fascinating things!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you. I'm not quite brave enough to go in the abandoned mines! lol

[@chelsealester]

I'd surfed near there for years and mentioned it to my wife one day. She asked what the heck I was talking about, so we grabbed the kids and ran down. I've looked for years online to see if there are old photos of the inside when it was in use, but haven't ever been able to find any. If anyone runs across some please post a link. It would be amazing to see it in its' glory days.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I wasn't able to find any interior photos either.

[@llueras]

There’s one picture of the inside I found on google. That’s it!

[@DomesticRevival]

I found pictures very easily of the interior by searching “mushroom house San Diego interior” even a magazine feature spread. It looks amazing and must feel surreal to have that viewpoint.

[@SKF358]

@@DomesticRevival Doing that search yielded only exterior views. Where did you get interior views?

[@linedanzer4302]

Perhaps searching Bell Beach Pavilion - Dale Naegle, 1968?

[@gunningopher]

I used to surf and ride Jet Skis there all the time and wondered what that place was all about. I always assumed that it was related to the University and/or Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Amazing what you could get permitted back in the day. That is one of the premier surf spots in California.

[@WildWestGal]

Re: "permitted" -- it's not so amazing when you think about Bell's fortune and how loud money talks. And nothing has changed!

[@SharingtheRoad]

Such a cool structure! Looks straight out of a science fiction movie. Would love to have seen it in all it's glory!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I imagine it would be pretty crazy in there during a storm.

[@rampage44km]

I've been in San Diego for 40 years and had no idea that was there.

[@tmann8725]

I have only been in SD for 2 weeks and have been here.

[@billofrightsamend4]

I know this sounds crazy, but as a child I dreamed I lived in a house like this. It was so real.

[@RMStinson]

I patrolled this area in a SDPD Chevy Suburban in the 1970's. The tram worked then. The nude beach was several hundred yards north of the house.

[@DM-lc2cf]

Love the Ocean...wish I was there. Such an interesting interesting story. The house and the way they got down there, yikes. Thanks for sharing another quirky place, so fun.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you for watching.

[@jimdunlap7255]

Thanks for the tour, in the mid-80s a girl I knew and her sister lived in LaJolla, above the beach, in a home their Persian father had purchased for them while they studied at UCSD (story in itself) anyway Najla and I spent lots of time on that beach by the Bell mushroom house....I think it was still in use at the time?

[@kamaramcandrews3960]

I was in that house several times in high school and there are epic stories about me from some of those times I was there. The twin boys were in the same grade as I was at La Jolla high school. It was even more incredible than anyone could imagine. I also lived above the nudist blacks beach and surfed there and shores all summer.

[@KelseyDunlevy]

What was the interior like? Very cool that you got to be in that house.

[@kamaramcandrews3960]

@@KelseyDunlevy It was a full house set up with a kitchen, and living room facing the ocean and in the round, if I remember correctly, bedrooms were in the back near the cliffs and it had at least one bathroom near the bedrooms. I was only there when there were parties and special occasions so my memory is extra hazy;)

[@KelseyDunlevy]

@@kamaramcandrews3960 haha! Thanks for the reply! What was the interior design like? To me, I think mid-century modern would've been the look in that place!

[@louismcglasson7913]

You were a rich kid, one of the privileged class.

[@Jbennyho]

Interesting. When it was occupied, what was the source of water and power? How was sewage disposed of?

[@garicrewsen1128]

Why would this beautiful architecture become abandoned? It looks like it could withstand the test of time, which it has. How is it that no one wants this place? It's friggin' AWESOME!

[@joshuamoody2941]

Because its owned by an old man and the tram rail is buckled. Even when it was being built, the people contracted to building the tram abandoned the project (leaving it up to Negel to finish) so to even just get that in order is a feat in itself.

[@RegularFootisChris]

agree..!

[@DiogenesOfCa]

It shouldn't be there in the first place, the coast belongs to everyone; not just rich people.

[@joshuamoody2941]

@@DiogenesOfCa Well its hard to imagine but back then, la jolla wasnt this super wealthy area that everyone wanted to be. To the point that UCSD had to give away homes to potential professors just to get them to work there because the area was so out of the way. It was the boonies. The area where they were building these homes happens to be the area where the main Bell home is. So I think back then it was possible because no one cared nor did they see it as a class threat.

[@kevindahlberg7753]

​@@DiogenesOfCa sounds like comununism...

[@richardweaver9682]

Bell was a popular name for people well remembered today. Sam Bell for potato chips, Claude Bell for the Cabazon dinosaurs and Knotts Berry Farm and Glen Bell for Taco Tia, Del Taco and Taco Bell. Wonder if they were related??

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I haven't seen anything to say they were related but its always possible.

[@lindadechiazza2924]

Enjoyable, Interesting, a little history👍

[@cynthiaahern9081]

@@billwillson890 😂😂😂

[@biknjak]

@@billwillson890 I believe he also invented the Liberty Bell.

[@-oiiio-3993]

@@biknjak Bell bottoms.

[@kirkmcgehee4220]

Wow , grew up in imperial beach, scuba dove in LA JOLLA, blacks beach, the hangliders and all , had no idea that was there , spectacular view from it I bet . . . .

[@johnleinen7167]

I remember BELL BRAND potato chips,every bag had at least one bell shaped chip in it and it was a little game we played to see who got it!

[@dennisammann9104]

Dear Mr. Sidetrack, Another great video! So fascinating the places we drive by and you point them out right under our noses. 🤔😀👍

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@gahogan8453]

1968 build date is WRONG ! Construction of the Mushroom House began in 1964 and was finished in the spring of 1965 and the paved road was already there. My buddy and I bodysurfed and board surfed at Black's starting in 1963 before the Mushroom House existed. Until Surfer Magazine ran a Black's cover story in the July 1965 issue virtually nobody was riding waves there with the exception of the the legendary Ricky Grigg who knew its potential. Surfer mag ruined things for us. Their "Discovery" of Black's on a Small Day gave no inkling of the World Class Wave that was sometimes to be had there without a crowd. Even after Surfer's story the Windansea crowd rarely showed up there. The first summer after the Mushroom House was finished I was fortunate to meet the beautiful maiden of the house Virgie Bell who was about 15. Black's was never the same after '65 but Big Days could still be had with few to nobody else in the lineup. After a year or two you could still usually count the number of surfers on your fingers on a really Big Day but by the end of the 60's that was history.

[@TheStuport]

KZbin "suggested" this channel to me and since Cali was involved I came for a look/see....Very glad I did! I grew up in Southern Cal as Dad was Military USAF and we lived in Riverside but grandparents and cousins lived down in Corona Del Mar and Newport Beach! This reminds me of Little Corona and the cliffs that exist there too....although no mushroom house but we did have some gnarly tide pools back then that are now protected. I appreciate my seat ib here and LQQK forward to what is down the path! Cheers From COW-lumbus, Ohio

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

[@corinnelaking569]

Some more great places to add to the list of must visits. Thank you!🙂

[@joycejames8461]

I hope that somewhere nearby there's a Mushroom Pavilion which is shaped like a bell.

[@omnium_gatherum]

Very interesting! Would've been cool to look through the windows with the drone! I can't believe there was an actual tram going down that thing!

[@rayworx]

I remember going down to Blacks Beach (the nude beach you referred to) when I was in high school... must have been about 68 or 1969). But don't ever remember seeing this 'house' but back then the pathway to Blacks Beach was a jagged and dangerous 12" wide sandy trail... only went the once because it wasn't worth the effort. LOL

[@SidetrackAdventures]

That path is still there near the glider port.

[@Goatsandducks]

Goat trail

[@davidzamora4423]

I just started watching your videos. Thank you for sharing them with us.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Glad you like them!

[@PursueTheUnknown]

Was at that beach a few years ago and saw the owner coming down the tram and went to walk his dog on the beach. Tram was working like 5 years ago, and looked as unstable as it does in your video, lol.

[@ME-qr2kq]

I remember my first day of school in 1971, I had my Snoopy lunch box a PBJ & small bag of Bell's Cheese puffs. California had a lot of regional Chip companies in So Cal. Granny Goose, Laura Scudders and others that were bought out or went out of business. We had seen that trail and as toy said it looked really steep and my old butt didn't want to have a sore back and legs for a week. LoL

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I read Bell went out of business in the 90s but I don't remember it at all. By the time I was in elementary school in the 80s everything was the big national brands that are around now.

[@ME-qr2kq]

@@SidetrackAdventures Yeah they had every flavor Frito Lay had to offer at that time. Their BBQ chips were really good.

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

We used to ride our mini bikes by Granny Goose in Pico Rivera I think PR or Montebello CA ✌️ Eric Underwood Class of 81 Downey High school CA ✌️

[@CactusAtlas]

I could definitely live in a place like that in better shape. Love weirdly shaped houses like that!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I can imagine it being pretty scary in a storm.

[@Rhaspun]

The concrete looks like it's in decent shape. I wonder how the interior is.

[@jerroldkazynski5480]

A good example of "the time value of money." A buddy took me along Newport Beach peninsula in '73 and said the houses were $60,000! Which was a lot for the time. Neat video and subject.

[@elizabethblane201]

I lived in Costa Mesa in 1973 and we had to move when my landlord was selling the house for the outrageous sum of $75,000. We moved to a rural area in San Diego and got our first house for $38,000, which as way more affordable!

[@kimhildebrandt2725]

Thank you for another fun video! How do you find all these cool little places to visit? Also... I forgot all about Bell potato chips.. you dusted off some cobwebs today!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

For San Diego I have a list of weird or interesting places, when travelling I kind of just look to see what's around where we are going.

[@billionpod]

Nice. I really wish you had flown the drone right up to the windows. I'd love to see what's in there now.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I thought about it but didnt want to take the chance of crashing into the windows.

[@billionpod]

@@SidetrackAdventures The windows are probably heavy duty, but I get it. Better safe than sorry.

[@hebneh]

I'm puzzled at how this could ever have been built in the first place, particularly as late as 1968. Could this parcel actually have been private property, right on the beach at the base of the cliff?

[@bloodgirl4]

Grew up in Ocean Beach but never knew about this place!

[@christinak2443]

I’ve worked in La Jolla for 10 years and never knew this!

[@ForeverChanged7]

I always knew about Blacks Beach but didn't know about the MUSHROOM HOUSE. I think it's a magical place. Thanks so much.🌴👣🏖️☺️

[@davesnothere8859]

From what I know about blacks beach I would have guess a mushroom house to be an entirely different thing.

[@dbspecials1200]

It's not too practical to reside down there full-time but it's a great accessory to the dwelling above. perhaps the houses there have rights to an extent of the shoreline and this owner found a way to use that property-right. very unique place to spend some nice summer nights.. heck a place to bring your date home to. 😉

[@joeblow1942]

That place was built before the California Coastal Commission existed so you could do a lot more then.

[@swankles3877]

Pretty neat find, thanks for posting 😊

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thanks for watching!

[@davesnothereman7250]

Neat to see. Glad the windows are not broken out and all trashed. Is the house at the top of the cliff it attaches to occupied?

[@SidetrackAdventures]

The house at the top is occupied.

[@ThatBoomerDude56]

I had a friend at work who attended a party in the house at the top of the track when she was younger many years ago. Apparently the house up there was nice but not spectacular -- like a lot of the old original 1950s houses in La Jolla. (Looks like it's had a major re-build since then -- also like a lot of La Jolla properties.) Also: I'm probably going down to La Jolla Shores beach later today now that its summer in San Diego and the weather is in the 80s again. I should bike around the cul-de-sac where the house at the top is next time I take my bike up or down the hill at UCSD.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

The weather is definitely beach weather. I wanted to jump in the ocean on this hike but didn't have my suit.

[@deezee6732]

Yeah, the house was totally rebuilt in the late 80's-early 90's or so. I was hoping the owners would repair the track down to it, but they didn't bother. )

[@ThatBoomerDude56]

@@deezee6732 That track has serious issues. Would need to be completely rebuilt. And I'm thinking the entire thing probably would have code compliance issues these days, too. The rails would need to be anchored a lot better to the cliff wall -- but doing anything to that cliff wall would be problematic. (Look up the video of the major cliff slide that happened up at Torrey Pines 3 or 4 days ago.)

[@OMEGA521]

Your videos are always great!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I appreciate that!

[@pizzafrenzyman]

Such a sad state of decay. I enjoyed many walks past this iconic house in my earlier days.

[@charleswood2182]

Thanks! Of course it's Black owned La Jolla Farms property and developed it. Part of the inducement for home buyers there was a key to that paved road down to the beach. My friend's parents bought there, paid about $200K about 1960. Then Mr. Black sold his residence to UCSD and so much for private access to Black's beach, the university didn't recognize any homeowner rights to exclusively access that road. About 10 years later, it became a nude beach and that ruined it. The mushroom house I remember being built and my friends didn't know by whom. So that clears that up!

[@gaelle4328]

Really interesting in Sweden all beaches are public property as far as being able to walk and use them so this issue doesn’t really arise but can def understand how it can be annoying if you’ve specifically payed for something which is then not included. We’ve had that issue with private roads which has then lead to a system with servitutes which means you might have access to roads, drinking water etc as part of a buy and that is then entered in local records and unless it has a timelimit will stay that way for all time.

[@charleswood2182]

​@@gaelle4328 I didn't know that about Sweden, interesting. And here it is true that California beaches are public beaches and beachfront property owners are precluded by law from blocking public access to the beach in front of their houses. Anyone could walk down that paved road to Black's beach. But a simple gate was locked at the top to prevent vehicle access for the key-less. Was a locked gate legal in the first place? I don't know. La Jolla as it exists today is a reified memory of nice place that it isn't any longer. Because too much money moved in. My mom's grandparents were from a part of Norway which I'm told used to be part of Sweden. When conspicuous consumption first started to appear in La Jolla, my mother was absolutely shocked at that bad behaviour. Flaunting wealth she considered extremely rude and socially destructive. I don't know, but perhaps that was her Norse ancestors in her talking. We weren't upper middle class, but the area became so. Not that anyone would be interested. But. Of note for Sweden: Svante Arrhenius' grandson was a scientist a Scripps, his son my age. I was told Tom's mother walked around nude in the house at times without giving it a thought. This was highly unusual to hear a mom doing. Or if she was in the bathtub and a playmate needed a bandage she would just have you walk in to get it without a thought! Well I never saw her like that. She was then very warm personally while other parents seemed a bit off. Oh, and, get this. Another friend descended from Siri von Essen who I see now wasn't Swedish, was a Finn. Well, Eric von Essen in his 40's moved to Uppsala, I believe to teach music. But he died there of a heart attack about the time I survived mine! Isn't that all so interesting? I find it so.

[@gaelle4328]

@@charleswood2182 Indeed, the fabric of history and personal relationships to time and space can be absolutly fascinating.

[@mwright_boomer]

I remember stumbling across this place one time and wondered what the heck it was. Nice to get some background on it

[@waynehearst317]

Been surfing Blacks beach for 20+ years. Yea, the nude beach only happens about once a month in the summer months now. a better way to access the Mushroom house is from the biodiversity dirt trail but they locked the gates around COVID time, not sure if it's open but those trails dump you right near the house.

[@JonVlogs123]

Cool video! 🙂👍

[@SWSimpson]

Not a tram, it is a Funicular Rail Car. A lot of that area you walked down to the beach is now gone from recent collapse of the cliffs.

[@JM-vp8zc]

Similar one in Dubuque, Iowa if I’m not mistaken.

[@poolmonkey]

I went to school 1986 through 1990 at UCSD (located at the top of those cliffs). We used to hike down the actual cliffs because it was quicker than going to the road. It's hard to believe that the mushroom house was only 18 years old when I first saw it my freshman year. Even then it didn't appear to be maintained or lived in.

[@gerrybaldwin6633]

Yes...I lived &worked in SD in the 70's and glad I found a better way in 1973 to get down to the beach after climbing down those cliffs!

[@djm5k]

The mushroom house looks like a cool piece of mid-century modern architecture. I am sure if someone wanted to renovate it, the Coastal Commission would get involved during the permit process, and most likely would block it from being approved for renovations, and maybe even demand it be demolished. I’m surprised it is still standing, even if someone currently owns the property and might even inhabit the building. It would make a very unique beachfront cafe or even a bar if they could install another means of getting to it from above.

[@ronblack7870]

yah the unelected enviro terrorists in the coastal commission. they oppose everything .

[@mtbkmaniac1]

Lived here all my life and never knew about this! Thank you!

[@2coryman]

I went by it when I was in the Navy, I’m glad it’s still there, hasn’t changed, just the ride up and down has to be fixed , but now there are more people by the beach than when it was first built , no wonder the owners don’t use ut

[@tangie777uk]

I so love your videos, always so interesting.Thank you Steve

[@JasmineApple]

Super cool! You echoed my feelings exactly about rich people spending money on crazy things. Kinda wish I was that rich, though! Haha! Great drone shots!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Yes, I wish we had mushroom house money too!

[@benzlick]

So cool!

[@fesquemonkey9784]

Sad it's abandoned, love to live there over Blacks surf break, some of best waves in San Diego 🏄

[@erichughes284]

I would live there. LaJolla is beautiful!

[@mr_peach7704]

I was reminded of the Scripps Coastal Trail just now located directly above that part of the beach. I think it may have reopened. Be worth a video. Short, easy hike with incredible views.

[@joelonzello4189]

Great place to see ! Use to be a Nude Beach all the way there but a couple of head cases ruined it for everyone. A really outstanding beach house 😉

[@MegaVince09]

Have to admire the genius of the design indeed to survive the ocean ❤

[@reubenmarchant2229]

When my wife, daughter and I saw this the first time I was amazed. I had seen many years before in some magazine.

[@sergiojacquez2277]

Great video of the beautiful beach. Thanks 👍

[@karenfox1421]

Very nice area. Cool video. Thanks.

[@leewilliams2094]

No one ever lived in that ( house )it was a just a party pavilion for the Bell Mansion above I'm from La Jolla I remember when they built it.

[@alexsystems2001]

It’s amazing to think that the guy who owns the home is considered a “philanthropist” but he is hoarding the house and letting it deteriorate. I’m assuming there are utilities and such down there, I’m sure someone would have loved to open a cafe, or even a walk to B&B but no, just leave it to be vandalized and fall apart!

[@gregoryfranks7347]

hello my friend!! i have to thank you i was actually focused not so much on the mushroom house but the house t the above right side.. it it was designed by a very famous architect that if you live near la jollayour probably familiar with his Razor house(iron man looking house) this house is rather new within the last 1-2 years. its a Wallace Cunningham piece of residential art. there is only one photo set on the internet about it so seeing today in your video was a treat so im much obliged for that sir. again thank you and cheers

[@crashthevacuum]

Does anyone know how long it's been since the tram was last used?

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I heard 1990s but I'm not 100% on that.

[@debbrueggemann3762]

I worked for Dale in the late ‘80’s. He never mentioned this house.

[@bryanshoemaker6120]

That design is originally from Taiwan, 60-70's. There was a resort being built, it's this exact same design. Some refer to it as the Pod Resort or UFO Resort. It was demolished unfortunately. It never actually opened because lot of the workers died during the construction and the folks of Taiwan are very superstitious. One of my favorite musicians from Taiwan 'deserts chang' made a music video with the resorts in it and it's actually the best view of the resort.

[@BC-hr2of]

Only ‘mushroom house’ at the bottom of La Jolla that I heard of had three legs 😬

[@lokijuytmongolito2966]

cool house, maybe someone can post a vid with a bit more backstory

[@connecticutaggie]

Very interesting. What are California's rules on how close you can build to the beach and what part is public and what can be private? Texas has an Open Beaches Act the preserves public access to the beach and requires property contracts within 1000ft of the beach to include a clause that informs them that if the beach moves then they may have to remove their house.

[@u4riahsc]

When I used to go the Black’s Beach there was no paved road. You had to climb down the cliff. Climbing back up at the end of the day was a beeeotch.

[@28th_St_Air]

I couldn’t live there. Imagine getting to the top and realizing you left your keys in the house 😩

[@emaij]

Maybe it’s recently a Bandan, but I saw someone in there within the last 10 years. And I don’t go there very often.

[@hawaiianpunch6534]

Aaaah... Black's Beach.

[@oneeyedjack8525]

And to think those potato chips sold for $0.10 a bag

[@louismcglasson7913]

Billions of bags sold, my friend.

[@oneeyedjack8525]

@@louismcglasson7913 and still scraped up enough money to buy a nice home.

[@andrewthacker114]

Thanks for sharing

[@wirelessone2986]

Is the main house above the Tram inhabited?It would be cool to get an interview of the owner and ask questions.Such as have you considered reactivating the Tram and can we look inside?

[@Opochtli]

Subbed! wish i visited while i was at la jolla

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thanks, appreciate it. If you ever get back anytime soon, you pretty much have to get there the way we did now as a landslide cut the beach in half a little north of here.

[@zygmuntziokowski7877]

That is so funny. I remember Black's Beach.

[@michaelwhiting668]

Amazing channel

[@browningchannel]

So wait a minute, is that on public or private property? Is the beach public land or do the cliff side houses own the property all the way to the water? If it's owned, is it still owned by the home owner up top at the top of the tram? What about the Bell company, if the owner could make that much money, any other interesting sights associated with the old company?

[@SidetrackAdventures]

The beach is public property and there is no chance this house gets built today. I believe the house is owned by UCSD now, but I am not 100% sure on that, I couldn't find a concrete answer.

[@deandupont5503]

It's still technically on the cliff, so it is private property. Unlike the east coast, there is no such thing as "private beach" in California: in theory you could walk from Imperial Beach to Oregon without trespassing... But you'd better get used to soggy boots.

[@deandupont5503]

@@SidetrackAdventures I made a comment about traversing "public beach" a moment ago... Then I remembered Camp Pendleton and Vandenberg. I'm not sure if you can walk the beaches there, and I'm not going to try! 😏

[@richardweaver9682]

@@deandupont5503 Technicaly the military is a public owned although secure entity. So you were still correct in declarin it publicaly owned.

[@doctorpancake5848]

@@deandupont5503 Not sure where the exact line is determined where the beach becomes 100% public (probably related to a max. high tide line), but CA has rules that mandate allowing *access* to public beaches even across 100% private property so even where something might be permitted and private you can still have to allow people to come through...you can fence that pathway to keep it separated from the public and you see that a lot in exclusive North County beach properties. That's all California Coastal Commission enforced and they didn't exist until 1972, its a given that they would never allow anything like this project to happen again in a million years using all manner of rules. The access issue is interesting though since most all of those cliff areas are posted to keep away due to instability and fenced off when the danger becomes critical.

[@stevef.8041]

Can't wait to get rich! Great vid, Steve.

[@markmarsh27]

It must have been AMAZING to watch the sunset from that circular pod. DAMN shame that it's abandoned, I can't see any reason why it should be, it's as solid as a rock.

[@Britishdave09]

The bluffs behind it are not.

[@johnbeckwith1361]

@@Britishdave09 Yet it has stood for ages.

[@veronicaroach3667]

@@Britishdave09 That's what I was wondering - they look like high cliffs of sandy loam - could collapse at any time. The path down to the beach looks like it traverses lesser 'cliffs' where they have long since fallen down into lesser mounds.

[@Junk65]

A house made out of potato chips would have been even more impressive. That doesn’t look like a house, it reminds me of a concrete prison.

[@leewilliams2094]

Blacks one of the best surfing beaches in Southern California but difficult to access.

[@emboudik]

Actually its closed now, yep sorry guys no more surfing there. Tell all your friends.

[@joeyC27]

@@emboudik haha, nice try.

[@kirkmcgehee4220]

Walking down to blacks beach with a cooler was very difficult , ha ha ha . . .

[@blaster-zy7xx]

I would have liked to see the drone go up and look into the Windows since no one is living there anymore.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I thought about it but didn't want to risk crashing into the windows and wanted to respect the no trespassing signs.

[@valerief1231]

It boggles my mind that it’s abandoned, so cool. I guess potato chip money, at least for Bell Chips, was grand enough for the build, but not for the upkeep. Such a shame.

[@Bethelaine1]

I worked at the Fisheries Building where we could see the Mushroom House from the top of the cliff.

[@joshuamoody2941]

You should cover the cult compound down in Baja California owned by the Tvind Group that was designed by that famous Danish architect whose father designed the Sydney Opera House. That thing is a bigger WTF than this place. Its this town sized compound on the water in the middle of nowhere that even includes an observatory that pretty much gets used to hide a group of fugitives.

[@giovpiet5907]

It is NOT ABANDONED. I have been employed by the owner since the early 90s. I was just there today (05.11.23) at the NOT abandoned mushroom house working ...

[@dlbstl]

Looking in the windows, it looks like they might have had banquets there, which would have been really cool with the view.

[@yakopro49]

That’s where I swim, when I used to swim. Beautiful place, heaven on earth.

[@scottkessler9881]

Very cool! I'd love to see the inside.

[@Malouco]

Looks like a Easter egg 🥚 in GTA!