Atalaya Castle is an abandoned former home of two couples Archer and Anna Huntington which was built in the 1930s. Located in Georgetown County of South Carolina, United States, the homestead served many purposes over the years from being a homestead to a military surveillance base to now a state park. Atalaya Castle was abandoned in the 1950s by the Archer’s wife to date.

Tuberculosis menace

Between 1931 and 1933, Archer and Anna Huntington erected Atalaya Castle. After his wife was stricken with tuberculosis, Archer, a philanthropist from New York City, designed the house as a winter dwelling for him and his wife. He drew the drawings himself, combining elements of Spanish and Moorish architecture with his own creativity. Anna, a sculptor, and artist, also contributed by designing the wrought iron guards that protect the windows from hurricanes.

The castle is divided into thirty rooms that surround a courtyard on three sides. The house was named after a forty-foot tall water tower that stands in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by native plants. In Spanish, the word "Atalaya" means "Watchtower." Indoor and outdoor studios for Anna to work on her art, as well as animal enclosures with bears, horses, monkeys, and a leopard, were among the other amenities.

Move to Connecticut

In the 1940s when the world war began, the owner, Archer, and Anna moved out of the house for their safety but donated it to the American defense forces to carry out surveillance. The house served as a military base during an active war, it was never affected by the effects whatsoever. It was again reoccupied after the war and continued to serve as the homestead it was meant to be.

This continued until 1955 when Anna changed states after the death of his husband Archer. All the valuables from the house like the sculptors made by Anna were all removed and sent to her current residential home in Connecticut. Just like that, the building was deserted and has never been occupied since then. Anna visited the building twice between 1956 and 1958 never to be seen ever again.

Atalaya Castle Historic Landmark

The state of South Carolina was given free use of a portion of the former estate, including the house and sculpture garden. Huntington Beach State Park was established, and it now maintains the house and grounds, as well as offers guided tours during certain times of the year. Every September for the past 37 years, an art festival has been held on the grounds. The National Register of Historic Places listed Atalaya Castle in 1984 in order to preserve the history of Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband Archer Huntington. It is still a unique and important piece of South Carolina history.