Casa de las Joyas in La Jolla

It is said that the architectural feature that most readily draws the eye is the dome. The thousands who daily pass by it would agree that the three-domed "House of Jewels," now a familiar landmark off Torrey Pines, is an attention-getter indeed. Visitors are always surprised to learn that the sparkling white edifice is a comfortable private home and not an exotic Moslem temple or an Arabian Nights palace.

Herbert Palmer, an enigmatic British-born architect, designed some of La Jolla's finest Mediterranean-style homes as well as the popular Arcade building, which runs from Girard to Prospect. Inspired by his fervent memory of the Taj Mahal, which he once idolized while in India, Palmer designed and almost single-handedly built his dream house in 1927 on a magnificent La Jolla Shores hillside. He paved its floors with thousands of exquisite pebbles and shells carried up from the beach and chiseled its walls with his favorite philosophies, its circular walls, intricately carved panels, enchanting courtyards and mushrooming domes combine to project the elusive ideal sought by Palmer.

The mysterious "Casa de las Joyas" as it was christened by its master, has inspired many tall tales in its sixty-year history. Some old-timers affirm that a king's ransom is buried within is foundation walls, while others recall days as a bootlegger's hideaway during Prohibition and a celebrated gambling casino. Amusing rumors and speculation about this House of Many Legends still arise, but it is indisputable that the genial Palmer injected a touch of the exotic Far East into a setting more commonly known for its ranch-style and contemporary designs. The majestic retreat on La Jolla's busiest thoroughfare perhaps is a life's monument to its creator, who firmly believed that we must all "do something to show that we have lived."