On a quiet stretch of US Highway 101 in Mendocino County, Northern California, a giant redwood tree has been doubling as a house for over a century. The World Famous Tree House in Piercy stands over 250 feet tall, is estimated to be approximately 4,000 years old, and contains a natural hollow at its base measuring roughly 21 by 27 feet across with a ceiling soaring 50 feet above the floor. The hollow was created centuries ago by a lightning-triggered fire that burned out the tree's core, yet left the tree alive, something the coast redwood's exceptional biology makes surprisingly possible. In 1933, Robert Ripley featured it in his syndicated Believe It or Not column as the world's tallest one-room house. It reopened to visitors in August 2025 after a long closure forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
How a lightning strike created the World Famous Tree House without killing the tree
