Uncanny Valley

I wouldn’t describe the late Art Beal as a nitwit (despite not having met him). Maybe for calling his patch of hillside a ridge when it isn’t really. What this place is though is an odd ‘outsider art’ home that seems to counterbalance the nearby Hearst Castle.

In fact, Captain Nitt Witt (one of Beal’s aliases) worked at Hearst Castle and took home pieces for his own home, either with or without permission of the Hearst estate. However, most of the decor is from Beal’s work as a trash collector. He would take home interesting pieces and find a place for them. The place is full of knicknacks and architectural uniqueness, even after some of it being stolen after his death at 96 in 1992.

The other recurring themes involve abalone shells, which used to be more common on the shore,and beer cans. Beal used to take ‘coffee’ breaks when he was tinkering and found a use for everything he could. Many of the cans ended up becoming walls.

Back when Beal was alive, if he was in one of his good moods he would invite people in. It was quite a hippie stopover in the day. Now thanks to Michael and Stacey O’Malley, there are organized tours of what is now California Historical Landmark 939.

Michael O’Malley is a font of knowledge and anecdotes on Beal. On the tour, he would talk fast and excitedly, relaing interesting tidbits on the site’s history and design. Sonething I appeciate, being a geek myself. He is a good steward, and needed since the town of Cambria is still rather divided on the whole thing, even without Beal’s cranky episodes and occaisional nudity. However, seeing how the house was buiilt before many of the locals moved in to the area, they can’t (nor shouldn’t) really complain.

The haters did manage to get Beal put in a home near the end of his life in a divide-and-conquer gambit. Despite torturing the old man, the gambit failed and Beal’s ashes were spread around his favorite redwood on Nitt Witt Ridge.

Vistors may want to stop by the Cambria Library and read Beal’s self-published book of poetry, The Nature of Art. Beal was also featured in All Their Own: People and the Places They Build as well as numerous television programs.

Anote on visiting: I called the day we drove by, and left a voice mail that never got a call back. We stopped by anyway, and it seems many people on the tour were walk-ins. The tours are on the hour it seems, but try calling first anyways.