Perched on a ridge above Topanga Canyon, the historic Mermaid has endured more lives than the proverbial cat. Originally built as a country club in 1930, the statuesque Spanish Colonial-style structure later became a gambling casino and brothel, a private Jewish boy’s school, an American Legion hall, a gay bar and a celebrated concert hall. Joni Mitchell immortalized it in her song “Carey” (“Come on down to the Mermaid and I will buy you a bottle of wine”). During its various incarnations, it was known as the Sylvia Park clubhouse, Rancho Topanga, the Canyon Club and the Mermaid Tavern. The current owner, Bill Buerge, renamed it the Mountain Mermaid, perhaps alluding to the monumental climb he’s faced in restoring the property, which had fallen into a profound state of disrepair by the time he bought it 17 years ago. “It would have been easier to take it down and start over,” says Buerge, a longtime preservationist who has tackled dozens of renovation and restoration projects over the years, including spearheading the restoration of Aldersgate Retreat Center, one of the oldest buildings in Pacific Palisades. “There were holes in the floors such that you could see through to the basement, parts of the building had caught fire, and everything was at a half-tilt,” Buerge recalls. Nonetheless, he fell instantly for her, especially smitten with the 1,500-sq.-ft. Great Room, where a massive fireplace and three expansive arched windows anchor a space defined by a raised, beamed ceiling. The only problem was the Mermaid was already in escrow. Undeterred, Buerge made a backup offer. When the first buyers underwent the inspection of the building and discovered what Buerge describes as “a chamber of horrors,” he became the proud owner in 1989. It must have been true love, as the day Buerge moved in, his welcome mat consisted of piles of dead bees (exterminated along with the termites after escrow closed) and horse manure covering the floors. “Animals pretty much ran the place,” says Buerge, who shared his new digs with bats, rats and pigeons. One of the lowest points came when rain leaked through the attic, causing the ceiling to collapse in Buerge’s living quarters, depositing a mountain of rotten plaster laced with pigeon droppings. In Buerge’s own lively account of bringing the Mermaid back to life, soon to be published in a newly revised book on Topanga history, he makes note of having felt a special kinship with Tom Hanks’ character in the movie “The Money Pit.” In fact, midway through reconstruction, he ran out of money and put the Mermaid on the market. The half-finished property, still seductive in its charms, prompted people like Diane Keaton and Sharon Stone to request showings, but no offers were made. Thus began Buerge’s renewed commitment’with the aid of a significant bank loan’to go the full mile with the Mermaid’s makeover, an effort that culminated with the property being declared a State and Los Angeles County Point of Historic Interest in 1993. The Mermaid’s first life was as the Sylvia Park clubhouse, named for the daughter of one of the original developers. The imposing structure was built to lure homeowners to settle in this remote, newly subdivided land in Topanga. The Depression intervened, and the development never got off the ground. During World War II, mobster Mickey Cohen operated the property, placing slot machines in the basement and women upstairs. Buerge interviewed a Topanga resident from this era who remembers regularly seeing Cohen, always surrounded by bodyguards, coming out to collect his money. In the late ’40s, the Mermaid briefly became a Jewish boy’s school, and in the 1950s, veterans used it as an American Legion hall. In the 1960s, a former vice officer for the Santa Monica Police department purchased the property and transformed it to a gay bar. It was during this time that the Mermaid sustained the most abuse, with it original artifacts being sold or carried to the dumpster, the tile roof dismantled and the exterior clad in metal sheets. In the 1970s, it became the Mermaid Tavern, attracting a bohemian crowd (Joni Mitchell was a frequent patron) to concerts ranging from classical to such popular acts as Little Feat and Frank Zappa. The youngest of four, Buerge was raised in the Palisades by parents who were well-known in the community for their lively household and farm, where giant pumpkins were harvested every fall (the estate was sold last year and the construction of four new houses is underway). Buerge graduated from Palisades High in 1965. He went on to Cal State, Long Beach, where he received a degree in painting and drawing. For many years, he was a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for the Saturday Evening Post, NBC, and Capitol Records, among other clients. Along the way, Buerge’s interest in homes and gardens steadily evolved, and he increasingly lent his artistic vision and construction know-how to various projects until it became his full-time pursuit. Buerge and his longtime girlfriend, Gail McDonald Tune, are always on the hunt for antique furnishings for the Mermaid, whether at swap meets and estate sales, or during chance encounters, such as one Buerge had at a gas station in the Palisades. “I saw a guy who had this wonderful old door in his truck and I asked How much?” says Buerge, pointing to a weathered, Spanish-style door that now blends seamlessly into the Mermaid’s d’cor. None of the Mermaid’s original furnishings remains except one Monterey-style table. The property is awash in cleverly reused materials, from leftover terracotta roof tiles retrieved from the renovation of Mission San Jose, to second-hand ceramic tiles used in the reconstruction of the pool. A collection of vintage iron garden furniture dots the four-acre property, where unusual succulents thrive amid mulberry, fig and eucalyptus trees. Old horse troughs form the base of fanciful fountains that accent the meticulously tended grounds, where winding paths lead to a variety of enchanting outdoor rooms. The splendor and distinctive character of the property make it a magnet for the entertainment industry and fashion world. Buerge frequently rents the space for commercial projects as a way to help underwrite his ongoing work on the property (since purchasing the Mermaid for $650,000 in 1989, Buerge estimates he’s invested nearly $2 million in its renovation). J. Crew and Smith & Hawken have drawn upon its old-world charm for catalog shoots. Hollywood made it the backdrop of such films as “Speechless” with Gina Davis and Michael Keaton and “The Next Best Thing” starring Madonna and Rupert Everett. The civic-minded Buerge, who is an active member of the Topanga Historical Society, also hosts a variety of fundraisers at the Mermaid, including a special performance, “Reminiscences of Mozart by His Sister,” written by and starring Jane Marla Robbins, that will take place twice’at 2 and 5 p.m.’on Saturday, July 16. The event benefits the Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness. Under Buerge’s stewardship, the Mermaid appears to finally have found bliss’and stability’with one man. “I’ll be here for the rest of my life,” says Buerge, who envisions the property one day becoming a landmark and botanical garden preserve open to all.
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