Aimee Semple McPherson - Aimee's Castle

Aimee's Castle is a mansion built by McPherson. She had a house near Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, but McPherson built this mansion in Lake Elsinore, California as a retreat. McPherson convalesced there after an injury in 1932.

In 1929, Clevelin Realty Corp. purchased land in Lake Elsinore's Country Club Heights District and was marketing the area as a resort destination for the rich and famous. To encourage celebrities to purchase there, the developers offered to give McPherson a parcel of land featuring panoramic views of the lake. She accepted the land and in 1929 commissioned the architect Edwin Bickman to design a 4,400-square-foot (410 m2) Moorish Revival mansion, with art deco details, on the hills above the lake's northeastern shore. The structure's white plaster wall and arches reflect an Irving Gill influence. Its large cerulean blue-tiled dome over a prayer tower and a second silver-painted dome and faux-minaret give it mosque-like appearance from the exterior; the interior features art-deco wall treatments in several of the rooms. The domed ceiling of the formal dining room rises at least 15 feet (4.6 m). A narrow breakfast nook reflects an American Indian motif.