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Return to the footpath and walk up onto the terrace. The vine clinging to the outside wall of the terrace and the pillars is Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata). You can see the vine in the vintage and modern photos. It thrives today and turns into beautiful autumn color.
Vintage photo shows Boston Ivy on front
2018 photo shows ivy color in Autumn
Note the Big Dipper constellation and the the North Star (Polaris) imbedded in the concrete of the terrace. It was Julia Morgan’s idea to incorporate the North Star in the terrace for the North Star Mine. All but one of the original stars were stolen and had to be replaced. The North Star is the brightest star in the Little Dipper Constellation. What you see in the terrace is the Big Dipper with the lower and upper right-hand stars of the dipper-pot pointing to the North Star (Polaris). Trivia question? Why is the north star used for navigation?
Big Dipper points to North Star
