Carmelite Monastery – Bond Ranch
Point of Historical Interest No. 2
Judge Hiram Graham Bond owned the ranch 1895-1909.
Purchased by U.S. Senator James d. Phelan in 1913.
The monastery chapel and residence buildings were
constructed in 1917 as a permanent monastery for the community of Cloistered Discalced Carmelite nuns. In memory of Mrs. Francis J. Sullivan, Phelan’s sister. Monastery buildings designed by Maginnis & Walsh, who designed the national Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C. Plans for the chapel won first place at the 1925 Paris International Exposition. It is considered the most perfect example of Spanish Renaissance Ecclesiastical architecture in the New World. The residence of the nuns is known as the Monastery of the Infant Jesus. The converted carriage house and redwood water tower were built prior to 1860.
Jack London, a frequent visitor, used the ranch as the starting locale for his famous novel “Call of the Wild” and Marshall Bond’s dog for the hero of the book.
Marker is on Lincoln Street south of Benton Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
