Big Sur Inn: The Deetjen Legacy travels back in time to reveal the history, legends, and storied past of a California coastline institution. California's Big Sur has it all: majestic redwoods, waterfalls, and a rich literary and cultural tradition. As Sunset magazine notes: "If ever a place represented the freedom and beauty of California, this is it." Nestled on this magical stretch of Highway 1 is Deetjen's Big Sur Inn. Its distinctive vernacular architecture, which visitors and locals alike recognize as the most authentically preserved along the coast, serves a waiting list of guests year round. In 1990, the Department of Interior recognized Big Sur Inn by adding it to the National Register of Historic Places. Author Anita Alan traces the Inn's history from the poetic inspiration that compelled Helmuth Deetjen to journey from his native Norway, to the fulfillment of a lifelong dream-to make his home in the California redwoods.