Chances are, if you’ve lived in La Jolla long enough, or vacationed here a few times, you’ve heard of “Munchkinland”. Locals love to take their friends on a magical journey up Hillside Drive to the place where the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz lived. Well, there used to be four homes in Munchkinland, but now only one remains. The homes were built by famous architect Cliff May and were built to accommodate the hillside. Many people say that the houses are so little you can get out of your car and touch the roofline. Spoiler alert, it’s an optical illusion that the structures appear shorter than usual but the dimensions are actually normal for the time (the late 1930’s).
The myth has epic proportions – some locals say the midgets made their money from the Wizard of Oz and came to La Jolla for form their own colony. According to Matthew Alice of the San Diego Reader there have been stories of Chinese smuggler, Barnum and Bailey circus performers, midnight signal light flashes and dwarf sightings.
True or not, it makes for a great conversation starter- especially after a few margaritas at Alfonsos. To see the “Midget House” built by Cliff May take Hillside Drive to the 7470 Block, on the northwest side of Mount Soledad. Or give me a call 619-980-2738; I’d love to give you a tour.