"The neo-Mediterranean home where the Sinclairs settled became the author's "retreat," says Lauren Coodley, a scholar and author of the biography "Upton Sinclair: California Socialist, Celebrity Intellectual." The Pulitzer Prize winner once described the home as bestowing him "perfect peace to write in ... a garden path to walk up and down on while I planned the next paragraph, and a good public library from which I could get what history books I needed," according to the Monrovia Historical Society."
"Mesquite bushes overran the property, and termites, rats, black widows and other critters constantly flitted through his various papers and books. Seeking a respite "farther from the industry, traffic and smoke," as his wife Mary once put it, the couple moved to a patch of land in Monrovia, one of the earliest communities in the San Gabriel Valley."
"These days, the 1920s house, situated in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a permanent record of the outsized role the home had in Sinclair's life."
In the fall of 1942 Upton Sinclair moved from his Pasadena home to a patch of land in Monrovia to escape mesquite overgrowth, termites, rats, black widows and other pests. The neo-Mediterranean house became a writing retreat offering "perfect peace" and a garden path for pacing; the property included about two dozen fruit trees. The 1920s house sits in the San Gabriel foothills and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Sinclair planned the home to become a learning center after his death, yet it has remained privately owned since 1968. The property is listed for sale at $1,999,000.
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