Eugene O'Neill won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936 and used the prize money to build a house in the hills above Danville. He and his wife, actress Carlotta Monterey, lived there from 1937 to 1944.
"Final home and harbor"
By then O'Neill had lived in more than 35 places. He called Tao House his "final home and harbor." There he wrote The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Hughie and A Moon for the Misbegotten, before a degenerative hand condition kept him from finishing another play after 1943.
The house
The couple designed the two-story, three-bedroom house themselves and filled it with Asian art. The dark blue ceilings mimic the sky and the dark wood floors represent the earth. Carlotta laid out a zigzag garden path, which Chinese tradition says keeps evil spirits away.
Saved by a local foundation
In the early 1970s, a group of women formed the Eugene O'Neill Foundation to save the house from demolition. One of their fundraisers was a benefit run of Hughie starring Jason Robards. Tao House became a National Historic Landmark in 1971 and a National Historic Site in 1976. The National Park Service took over management in 1980.
Visiting
The NPS requires reservations for a tour. Visitors take a shuttle from a stop in Danville. The foundation also holds an annual Eugene O'Neill Festival on the grounds.