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Tao House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. National Historic Site
Tao House in spring
Location:	Kuss Road, Danville, California
Coordinates:	37°49′28″N 122°1′47″W / 37.82444°N 122.02972°W / 37.82444; -122.02972Coordinates: 37°49′28″N 122°1′47″W / 37.82444°N 122.02972°W / 37.82444; -122.02972
Area:	13 acres (5.3 ha)
Built/Founded:	1937
Architect:	Frederick Confer[2]
Visitation:	3,652 (2005)
Governing body:	National Park Service
Added to NRHP:	May 6, 1971
Designated NHL:	July 17, 1971[3]
Designated NHS:	October 12, 1976
NRHP Reference#:	71000137[1]

The Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site, located in Danville, California, preserves Tao House, the hillside home of America's only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill.

History

O'Neill and his wife lived in the home from 1937 to 1944.^[4] At this home, O'Neill wrote his final and most memorable plays: The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten.

The house was saved from demolition in the early 1970s by the Eugene O’Neill Foundation through several fundraising efforts, including benefit performances of Eugene O’Neill’s play Hughie featuring Jason Robards. Through their efforts, Tao House was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971^[3], a National Historic Site in 1976, and passed into the management of the National Park Service in 1980.

Archive

The Foundation maintains an archive of Eugene O'Neill-related material at Tao House (including photographs, playbills, manuscripts, posters, and O'Neill's original phonograph record collection) and sponsors events such as productions of O'Neill plays, staged in the adjacent barn.

Visiting the house

The Site occupies 13 acres (5.3 ha) accessible via car only by private road, so advance reservations are required to visit: private vehicles are not allowed, and transportation to the park is provided by a twice-daily free shuttle from Danville, Wednesdays to Sundays. Reservations are required.^[5]

The National Park Service does not publish the address of the property however Tao House is located on Kuss Road in Danvile, CA and there is a locked gate that prevents vehicle traffic to the site. Trails from Las Trampas Regional Wilderness also lead to the site and reservations are recommended to those arriving for a tour via horseback or on foot. Please add to Archives: The actual desk and chair where Mr. O'Neill wrothe "Long Days Journey into Night."

References

The actual desk and chair where Mr. O'Neill wrote "Long Day's Journey into Night."

External links

• Official Park Service site
• Eugene O'Neill Foundation

U.S. National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register · History of the National Register of Historic Places · Property types · Historic district · Contributing property List of entries National Park Service · National Historic Landmarks · National Battlefields · National Historic Sites · National Historical Parks · National Memorials · National Monuments

Coordinates: 37°49′33.46″N 122°1′39.18″W / 37.8259611°N 122.02755°W / 37.8259611; -122.02755