John at the Quigley's pint and plate with his brown ale. The entry way to Atalaya Castle. It was the winter home for the Huntington's. Anne was a famous sculptor and Archer her husband a scholar. They wanted the house to look like the Moorish architecture of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast. The house has an indoor and outdoor studio for Anna, and since she liked to work from live subjects there was a horse pen, dog pen and bear pen.
Atalaya was built in 1931 and they lived there till 1960. It was leased to the state park service, but the castle was abandoned for 40 years. It was vandalized and started to fall apart. The state stabilised it, cleaned it, locked it up and had someone there all day who watches it and charges $2 to self tour it. Very amazing place.
Part of the decorative grill work Anna designed for the house, a door in one of the courtyards, a poster of Anna and some of her sculptures. Informative sign in the Oyster Room, and John in the bear pen. The castle was built on 4 old rice plantations they bought up. So there is a park around it. Beach and tidal wetlands. These are oyster bars in the tidal area at low tide. The baby oysters adhere to the shells in bars, an inset of baby oysters on a shell. Above are racoon tracks and tiny snails in the tidal flat.
In front of the castle is Brookgreen gardens that Archer built to showcase some of his wife's sculptures. There are now 1,200 sculptures, not all Anna's. A memorial that Anna built for themselves, among the emergency vehicles at the 1000 candles xmas event was this beach ambulance, a camellia bush with fallen petals under it and Caution no swimming or wading Warning alligators and snakes. Some of the sculptures.
More sculptures. A griffin with a bird on it's head, Don Quixote done by Anna. She bought a starving horse from a farmer and used it as the model, it had to beheld up with a sling while she worked. She then brought the horse back to good health and pastured it. I love the folds in the fabric on this marble reclining woman. Woman reaching really conveys motion. Icarus as he is falling from the sky after his wings melted, and a spanish dancer, called vortex. It is lit from underneath very artistically.
Alligator Bender reflected in a big fountain with more sculptures and lights behind it. We got there early and toured the whole garden, then we toured it again at twilight, had dinner (rice and grit, soup and hush puppies) and then walked around it numerous times in the dark. The Muses at twilight and after dark.
In the Sculpture Court the pool has poinsettias and cranberries on the surface of the water. A sculpture of a man fighting a lion in front of light at twilight. Women in waders lighting the candles around Pegasus and a lettuce border on a pool with floating candles in it.
Japanese lanterns in the palmetto garden, volunteers lighting a candle Christmas tree, a tree with big white flowers and blue lights, A massive sundial in front of an enormous 60 feet tall Christmas tree. John behind a red maple tree with blue lights on it at twilight.
Lights. The middle is a miniature animated fairground decorated and lit up for Christmas in the model train exhibit. A lit oak limb over a pond with floating candles.
Lights draped over the limbs of massive oak trees with spanish moss hanging. A sculpture of a woman lit up with red lights, a sculpture of a small boy riding a fish in a fountain with reflected lights. Lights draping the oak grove reflected in a pond with candles in it.
Another oak with lights on it's trunk and limbs reflected in a pond with candles in it and luminaries around it. The oak grove was amazing- a huge sea of lights. It is a popular place to propose I guess. There were three proposals we know of, we witnessed one from the edge of the crowd.
Inside was a glass exhibit. Rondels on a green wall ,a garden lit up lights and glass balls in a row boat. Similar to a Chihuly but not him.
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