Lomaland

Lomaland was a Theosophical commune located in Point Loma in San Diego, California from 1900 to 1942. Theosophical Society leader Katherine Tingley founded it in 1900 as a school, cultural center, and residential facility for her followers. The American headquarters of the Theosophical Society Pasadena was also situated there. The facility was important to the growing city of San Diego for its cultural offerings, and it left a lasting legacy in its campus (now Point Loma Nazarene University) which still retains many of the unique architectural features of the original Lomaland. The residents of Lomaland also transformed their Point Loma neighborhood by planting so many trees, orchards and shrubs that the neighborhood is now known as the "Wooded Area".

Gottfried de Purucker visited Point Loma in 1894, and in 1896 he met Katherine Tingley in Geneva where he spoke about the place. In 1897 Tingley bought a piece of land at Point Loma, and in February 1897 she laid the first stone for a School for the Revival of the Lost Mysteries of Antiquity (SRLMA). In 1899 Tingley moved to Lomaland, and in 1900 Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society (UBTS) also established their headquarters there. Agricultural experimentation was essential to the Lomaland community's desire to be self-sufficient in all respects, and the group imported and tried many different types of plants and trees. Katherine Tingley's goal was to serve fresh fruits and vegetables at Lomaland every day of the year. Agricultural products introduced to California by the Theosophists included the avocado.

In summer 1900, the educational arm of Lomaland, a Raja Yoga school, was opened up. In 1901 followed an open air Greek Theatre, a temple, in 1914 a college and in 1919 a theosophical university. Many other buildings were established including a hotel, a theatre, a textile factory, a joinery, a bakehouse, a publishing house and more. Vegetable and fruit gardens were planted. Around 60 percent of the community was female, and notable for this time, the same percentage was also represented in executive positions.

"Raja Yoga" meant divine union, and the educational goals of the school involved not only intellectual formation but also moral and spiritual development. The Raja Yoga Academy was a boarding school; over 300 students students lived together in group homes that were known as "Lotus Houses." Children from poor families could go to school without paying any charges. The students also played classical dramas, as well as those of Shakespeare. Each student had to learn to play at least one instrument, so that after 1905 the first school orchestra of the United States could hold weekly concerts and go on tour.

A theosophical university was established in 1919. It offered courses in the Humanities and in Science and was accredited by the state of California. In 1942 the university was relocated to Covina.

The publishing house changed its name several times, it was called The Theosophical publishing company, Aryan theosophical press or Theosophical university press.

The gardens produced avocados and oranges, and it was thanks to Lomaland that avocados became domestic in California.

In 1942 the area of Lomaland was sold, and the Theosophical Society moved to Covina, California, near Los Angeles.