Nitt Witt Ridge

While William Randolph Hearst built one of the most expensive homes [1] ever seen in California, local eccentric Arthur Harold Beal (a.k.a. Captain Nit Wit or Der Tinkerpaw) got busy building the cheapest “castle” he could.

Nitt Witt Ridge (881 Hillcrest Dr., 805/927-2690, tours free by appointment only) is the result of five decades of scavenging trash and using it as building supplies to create a multi-story home like no other on the coast.

Today, you can make an appointment with owners Michael and Stacey O’Malley to take a tour of the property. (Please don’t just drop in.) It’s weird, it’s funky, and it’s fun—an oddly iconic experience of the Central Coast [2].