The Adamson House from “You”

The second season of You had me feeling like an inadequate Angelino!  (Yes, even though I now live in Palm Springs, I still consider myself an L.A. denizen.)  In episode 6, “Farewell, My Bunny,” Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) and her friends teach Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) about Los Angeles’ “seven totems,” which, once seen, render a person an official Angelino.  Those totems are as follows – 1. A rollerblader in booty shorts, 2. A “ghetto bird”, aka police helicopter, 3. Two starlets wearing the same dress, 4. A pack of coyotes, 5. A dog in a stroller, 6. An off-brand superhero, “but out of context, not in front of Grauman’s, because that’s too easy,” and  7. A palm tree on fire.  In my almost fifteen years of living in the City of Angels, I only encountered three of the seven (#1, 2, and 5, for those wondering).  But I did immediately recognize the spot where the wedding of Lucy (Marielle Scott) and Sunrise (Melanie Field) took place in the series’ Season 2 finale, so I’m thinking that restores at least a bit of my L.A. cred!  The Adamson House in Malibu is a site I am very familiar with and even blogged about back in 2009.  Since my post on the place was written so long ago, though, I figured it was high time for a redo.

Though I covered the history of the Adamson House in my original post, I’ll provide a brief recap here.  The estate was built by Rhoda Agatha Rindge Adamson and her husband, Merritt Adamson, in 1929 on a 13-acre parcel of land given to them by Rindge’s mother, Rhoda May Knight Rindge.  At the time, Rhoda May owned 17,000 acres of bucolic coastal land that today is known as Malibu.  She and her late husband, Frederick Hastings Rindge, had purchased the seaside enclave in 1892 and their family remained its only occupants for the following forty years.

To build their new home, Rhoda Agatha and Merritt commissioned architect Stiles O. Clement, who also designed the Pasadena residence where some of Twilight’s prom scenes were filmed and the El Capitan Theatre.

The Mediterranean-style estate took a year and a half to complete.

Rhoda and Merritt spared no expense on construction of the home which boasted 5,000 square feet of living space, 5 bedrooms (all en suite), 2 servants’ quarters, a 5-car garage, hand-carved doors, a myriad of fireplaces, plaster-molded ceilings, elaborate friezes, arched windows, frescoes, a swimming pool complete with a pool house, a patio with a sprawling lawn and fountain, and furnishings custom-made by interior decorator John Holtzclaw. Oh, and views for days!

Clement even included a luxurious outdoor tub for the bathing of the Adamsons’ many pets.

By now, you’ve likely noticed the property’s elaborate tile work.  It was commissioned by Rhoda May, who owned her own tile company, Malibu Potteries, which sourced clay directly from the Rindges’ land.

The colorful hand-painted pieces are a sight to behold and are, in fact, the reason the Adamson House stands to this day.  In 1966, the State of California declared eminent domain on the property with the plan to raze it to make way for a – wait for it! – parking lot!  Thankfully, the Malibu Historical Society and Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation stepped in, waging a ten-year battle to save the historic home.  They were ultimately victorious and in 1983, after a lengthy restoration, the site was opened as a museum.  It also became available for weddings and special events and, of course, filming.

It is at the Adamson House that Sunrise and Lucy tie the knot in the Season 2 finale of You, titled “Love, Actually.”

The episode made use of the property’s expansive lawn and rear patio, both of which you can see via a docent-led tour.

The Adamson House has long been a favorite of location managers.

Way back in 1976, the pad portrayed the estate of Frank Bartone (Cesare Danova) in the Season 1 episode of Charlie’s Angels titled “The Mexican Connection.”

The Adamson House served as the home of Wally Windham (John Larch) in the Season 8 episode of Dallas titled “Deeds and Misdeeds,” which aired in 1985.

Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent) and Marilyn Kelsy (Wendy Schaal) hid out from assassins at a party taking place at the house in the Season 3 episode of Airwolf titled “Hawke’s Run,” which aired in 1986.

That same year, the property played the home of actress Gigi Dolores (Deborah Walley) in the Season 6 episode of Simon & Simon titled “The Last Big Break.”

As I detailed in my 2009 post, the Adamson House masqueraded as the Baja cantina where Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) took Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) during their secret weekend getaway to Mexico in the Season 2 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Mexican Standoff,” which aired in 1992.

After getting into an epic fight and then making up over a mariachi band’s rendition of “Feelings,” Dylan and Brenda dance the night away on the patio where the outdoor bathtub is located, which can be found on the Adamson House’s north side.

That area, pictured below, is not part of the official Adamson House tour, but can easily be viewed while venturing around the property beforehand or afterward.

The house pops up as a Mexican restaurant on Beverly Hills, 90210 once again in the Season 9 episode titled “Marathon Man,” which aired in 1998.  On that occasion, it portrayed Mariscos San Lucas, the Cabo San Lucas eatery where Dylan took Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) after flying her to Mexico on a private jet as a surprise.

The Adamson House was also utilized as the town square where the two later shopped in the episode and where Dylan, unbeknownst to Kelly, scored some drugs.

And in 2018, the Adamson House masked as a beachside restaurant in the Season 3 episode of Lucifer titled “City of Angels?”

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Adamson House, where Lucy and Sunrise got married in the Season 2 finale of You, is located at 23200 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.  You can visit the home’s official website here.  Tours of the property are given Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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