Helping California's oldest heritage homes get even older

Sunset, May, 1996 by Lora J. Finnegan

Enjoying adobes we've saved, reinforcing others still at risk

California's few remaining historic adobe homes are a tangible link to a colorful part of the state's Hispanic past - the romanticized rancho era that flowered from the 1820s through the 1850s. One architectural history text describes the aura of an adobe this way: "The massive walls seem to radiate a welcome; and to enter the venerable houses is to know again the sincere hospitality that once prevailed in California."

Such hospitality was displayed whether the adobe homes were simple boxlike structures or elaborate multilevel haciendas. Their thick walls, made of large sun-dried bricks usually composed of clay, sand, and straw and covered with whitewash, appeared not only welcoming but deceptively sturdy then. Today we know that such unreinforced brick walls, if not retrofitted, can topple in a tremor; earthen bricks are also susceptible to wear and weathering unless their whitewash covering (a white-lime plaster) is meticulously maintained.

The 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California served as a forceful reminder of the vulnerability of these delicate dowagers, damaging many historic earthen structures. It also renewed our appreciation for these fragile buildings, not only those in need of restoration, but also the well-preserved adobes that contribute to our local color and heritage.

A TASTE OF ADOBE DAYS AT THREE PARKS

Adobe homes once dominated the built landscape of California, but time, development, and earthquakes have taken a heavy toll. Some survivors rank among our favorite landmarks: the Avila Adobe on Los Angeles's Olvera Street, Santa Barbara's Casa de la Guerra, San Jose's Peralta Adobe. Many such structures are open for tours, but for a real taste of life in adobe days, experts we contacted recommended outstanding programs illuminating the period at three of the state's largest adobe parks.

Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park, 3325 Adobe Road, Petaluma; (707) 7624871. This grand two-story edifice, begun in 1836 by General Mariano Vallejo, was one of the largest haciendas of its day. You can tour the Vallejos' bedroom, a parlor with lavish red-upholstered divans that hint at the family fortune, and workrooms furnished with looms and old saddlery. A newly refurbished museum telling the adobe's story should be open by May 1, and on May 18, the house will be vitalized for Living History Day by 50 costumed volunteers portraying vaqueros, weavers, and other period characters.

Monterey State Historic Park, 20 Custom House Plaza, Monterey; (408) 649-7118. The park boasts 11 handsomely restored structures that show off Monterey colonial architecture, the style incorporating wooden balconies that became a popular element in adobe construction. You can tour the 1829 Cooper-Molera Adobe, with its extensive grounds, or watch a weekend melodrama in the 1848 First Theatre (for showtimes, call 408/375-4916). At the Stanton Center, across from the Custom House, pick up a free self-guided-tour pamphlet, watch a free film on Monterey history, or join guided walking tours at 10:15, 12:30, and 2:30 daily. On May 18 from 9 to 2, you can join tours of the 2-acre garden at the Cooper-Molera Adobe (at Polk and Munras streets) that focus on period plantings. July 7 is Living History Day, which will include a reenactment of the landing here 150 years ago of U.S. Marines under Commodore Sloat.

Fort Tejon State Historic Park, 76 miles northwest of Los Angeles, off Interstate 5; (805) 248-6692. Here is an outstanding complex of reconstructed adobe officers' quarters and restored adobe military barracks. On June 2 and August 31, the 140-year-old earthen fort recalls its military past with living-history demonstrations of brickmaking, blacksmithing, and soldiers drilling on the parade ground or firing musketoons. Inside the barracks, docents in period attire are assigned some of the duties common to the dragoons (an early form of cavalry). The adobe officers' quarters are decorated with 1850s furnishings. The buildings are open 10 to 4:30 daily.

COMING OFF THE INJURED LIST

A number of Southern California's most historic adobes were badly shaken by the 6.6 Northridge temblor that struck in January 1994. "Quakes tend to wake people up to the value of these buildings," notes architectural conservator Edna Kimbro. "But how many adobes do we have to lose before we start preventing damage?"

Her frustration is understandable: as a member of the Getty Conservation Institute's Seismic Adobe Project, Kimbro helped document the destruction at adobes throughout Southern California. She's part of a team of earthen-architecture experts assembled by the institute, a research arm of the private, nonprofit J. Paul Getty Trust. Many of the buildings she surveyed remain badly damaged by the quake, but there are now signs of revival at three historically important adobes.

At Los Encinos State Historic Park in Encino, the quake damaged the 1850 De la Ossa Adobe, bringing down a wall and two chimneys, cracking bricks, and shaking plaster loose. Rangers cataloging the damage got a surprise: the quake had exposed secrets of the building's construction - walls had been added, doorways blocked, windows moved by later owners - and uncovered a painted decorative stripe around the bottom of the wall. Researchers have now gathered enough information to paint a clear picture of the building's history, construction, and decoration, so that the rebuilding can be accurate. (Some of the added walls may be retained if needed for support.) Park officials have applied for FEMA funds to repair the adobe and other park structures, and they hope to begin work this summer.