Here, beneath the hot, arid surface of the San Joaquin Valley, Baldasare Forestiere (1879-1946) began in the early 1900s to sculpt a fantastic retreat. Excavating the hardpan by hand, he created a unique complex of underground rooms, passages, and gardens which rambled throughout a ten-acre parcel. His work is being preserved as a living monument to a creative and individualistic spirit unbounded by conventionality.

Citation from California Office of Historic Preservation