Is the Lorax tree in La Jolla real? Dr. Seuss in San Diego, explained
It was real, but it's gone: the Monterey cypress in La Jolla's Ellen Browning Scripps Park, long nicknamed the Lorax tree, fell in June 2019, and its Seuss link was always folklore. The best Seuss stop now is UC San Diego's Geisel Library.
- Tree fell
- June 2019
- Official link
- None
- Seuss collection
- 20,000+ items
- Library renamed
- 1995
Ellen Browning Scripps Park
Folklore, never a plaque
Geisel Library, UCSD
Statues outside are free to visit
The short version
- A Monterey cypress in Ellen Browning Scripps Park, estimated at 80 to 100 years old, fell in June 2019.
- Locals linked it to The Lorax because Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) lived in La Jolla, but there was never an official connection or plaque.
- Audrey Geisel, his widow, said the Lorax's trees were inspired by a trip to Africa, not by La Jolla.
- UC San Diego's library was renamed Geisel Library in 1995; it holds a Seuss collection of more than 20,000 items, with bronze statues outside.
- The 2026 Seuss exhibit at UCSD ran July 14 to September 20 and has closed; exhibits usually return around his March birthday and in summer.
For years, a lopsided cypress on the cliffs above La Jolla Cove was a must-photo for Seuss fans who called it the Lorax tree. If you go looking for it now, you won't find it. Here's what happened, why the story was shaky to begin with, and where to find the real Dr. Seuss in San Diego.
Seuss and San Diego
Smithsonian (2016), Times of San Diego (2019), CNN (2019) and UC San Diego, checked October 20, 2026.
What happened to the tree
The Monterey cypress, estimated at 80 to 100 years old, toppled in June 2019. It appeared healthy, though it had termites, and the cause wasn't clear. The City removed most of it and said it would keep sections of the trunk and plant another cypress on the same spot, according to the Times of San Diego.
Where to find the real Dr. Seuss
UC San Diego renamed its striking brutalist central library for Theodor and Audrey Geisel in 1995. It holds a Dr. Seuss collection of more than 20,000 items, and bronze statues of Seuss and the Cat in the Hat stand outside, free to visit. The 2026 exhibit closed on September 20; the Smithsonian notes UCSD tends to schedule Seuss exhibits around his March 2 birthday and in summer. Geisel's former home on Mount Soledad is private.
La Jolla
UC San Diego
Scripps Park pin from OpenStreetMap; Geisel Library pin approximate.
See these on the full San Diego mapIn La Jolla anyway? See seals and sea lions the right way and where to park for La Jolla Cove.
Is this still right?
We last checked this tip against its sources on October 20, 2026, and we re-research every tip on a schedule. Things in San Diego change, sometimes overnight.
This is general information, not legal, financial, tax, medical or safety advice.
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
Smithsonian Magazine · 2016
No official link; statues; library; exhibit timing
Times of San Diego · June 17, 2019
Fall, removal, replanting plan
CNN via Yahoo News · June 2019
Age estimate, termites, Audrey Geisel's comment
UC San Diego · Checked October 20, 2026
2026 exhibit dates; collection size