Lookout Cottage

In 1888, Peter Gano, a civil engineer and accomplished craftsman from Pasadena, started building an elegant Queen Anne-style cottage on Avalon’s southern hillside with views across Avalon Bay. The residence was first named Lookout Cottage and is also recognized as the Holly Hill House.

While working to help create the island’s first fresh water system, Mr. Gano became enamored with the island. The home, originally called “Lookout Cottage,” was constructed nearly entirely by Gano himself. A clue to the helper who supported him can be found on the weather vane above the home’s red cupola, which takes the form of a running horse.

That horse weather vane commemorates Mr. Gano’s assistant, Mercury, a large white horse that had been retired from the circus because of poor eyesight. Mercury carried lumber up the steep slope with the help of a strong wagon and a pulley-and-slide system. The difficult project took two years and was finished in 1890, making the Holly Hill House one of Avalon’s oldest residences.

Mr. Gano continued to enjoy Lookout Cottage into the 1920s. As his health worsened, he sold the property in 1921 and went back to Pasadena, hopefully accompanied by Mercury.

Later owners gave the house the name Holly Hill House in reference to the many holly plants growing on the hillside, although “Lookout Cot” still appears above the entry. In 1964, an electrical problem destroyed the cupola by fire, while the remainder of the home was spared. The house was restored by a later owner in 1971, and on October 8, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Karen and Mark Engman bought the home in 2011 and became the property’s fifth owners. The Engmans completed a full restoration, preserving every element of historical significance. The Holly Hill House was featured on Open House TV in 2021, with Karen Engman leading a full tour of the residence.