The Larkin House is a historic house at 464 Calle Principal in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

. Built in 1835 by Thomas O. Larkin, it is claimed to be the first two-story house in all of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, with a design combining

Spanish Colonial The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. These ...

building methods with

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

architectural features to create the popular Monterey Colonial style of architecture. The Larkin House is both a

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

, and is a featured property of

Monterey State Historic Park Monterey State Historic Park is a historic state park in Monterey, California. It includes part or all of the Monterey Old Town Historic District, a historic district (United States), historic district that includes 17 contributing buildings and ...

Description

The Larkin House is located in the historic center of Monterey, California, at the southwest corner of Calle Principal and Jefferson Street. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with walls of

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

and a low-pitch hip roof. Three of its four sides are covered by a two-story wood-frame flat-roof veranda. The post-and-beam framing is exposed in the interior, where there is also a fireplace and chimney. The building was originally part of a large piece of property at Calle Principal in Monterey. It shares a parcel of land with the Sherman Quarters. In

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

's memoirs, he described the house as "the adobe back of Larkin's. The entrance is located in the gardens of the Larkin House."

History

In 1832 Thomas O. Larkin, a native of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, joined his half-brother John B. R. Cooper in business in California. Larkin became the most influential American in Monterey, then the capital of

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

. He served as the only

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

consul to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in Monterey. Larkin sought to build a house more typical of his native New England, but local sawmills were unable to supply him with sufficient

redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

for the purpose. Larkin compromised by building a typical New England frame, but then finished its walls in whitewashed adobe. The construction using a wooden frame and mud bricks resulted in a leaner, sturdier adobe building than traditional adobe structures made primarily from mud and straw. The greater stability of Monterey buildingscompared to single-story adobesallowed for a large second-story and long covered porch. The covered second story porch also protected the adobe façade and walls of the house from water damage. By adapting an east coast building form to available California materials, adobe and redwood, and to California architectural preferences, Larkin created a style that synthesized elements of two very different cultures, that of the Spanish and Mexican colonists and of the Americans moving into California. The framing made it possible to significantly enlarge the window openings over traditional Spanish Colonial architecture, and the style of this house rapidly spread across California. The house is believed to be the first two-story house in California, and the first to have a chimney. The Larkin House was designated as a California Historical Landmark in 1933. It then became a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is part of the larger

, which is itself designated a

National Historic Landmark District A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...

.James Dillon (September 22, 1976) , National Park Service and

References

External links

*
Archived version of Historic Monterey websiteMonterey State Historic Park AssociationOfficial Monterey State Historic Park website
* {{Monterey County tourist attractions, state=collapsed History of Monterey County, California History of the Monterey Bay Area Houses in Monterey County, California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County, California Historic American Buildings Survey in California National Historic Landmarks in California Spanish Colonial architecture in California Spanish Revival architecture in California Museums in Monterey County, California Historic house museums in California Buildings and structures in Monterey, California Monterey State Historic Park National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County, California Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in California National Historic Landmark District contributing properties

Description

History

See also

References

External links