Rómulo Pico Adobe, also known as Ranchito Rómulo and Andrés Pico Adobe, was built in 1834 and is the oldest residence in the San Fernando Valley,. making it the second oldest residence in Los Angeles. Built and owned by the Pico family of California, a prominent

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californians, Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish language, Spanish-s ...

family, the adobe is located in the Mission Hills section of the city and is a short distance from the San Fernando Mission (Mission San Fernando Rey de España). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

Early history

Located on

Sepulveda Boulevard Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the City of Los Angeles and several other cities in western Los Angeles County, California. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda Bou ...

in Mission Hills, the original part of the Romulo Pico Adobe was built in 1834 by Tongva-Fernandeño, Tataviam-Fernandeño, and Chumash-Ventuaño Native Americans (Indians) from the San Fernando Mission. The original purpose of the structure is unknown, though the adobe was located in the center of the Mission's orchards and surrounding vineyards. Before 1846, the original adobe consisted of what is now the living room. In 1845, Juan Manso and

Andrés Pico Andrés Pico (November 18, 1810 – February 14, 1876) was a Californio who became a successful rancher, fought in the contested Battle of San Pascual during the Mexican–American War, and negotiated promises of post-war protections for Cali ...

had been granted a nine-year lease by the latter's brother Governor

Pío Pico Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of California) under Mexican rule. A member of t ...

for the

Mission San Fernando Rey de España Mission San Fernando Rey de España is a Spanish mission in the Mission Hills community of Los Angeles, California. The mission was founded on 8 September 1797 at the site of Achooykomenga, and was the seventeenth of the twenty-one Spanish mi ...

lands. In 1846 the Pío Pico government sold Eulogio de Celis the

secularize In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses th ...

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

lands, nearly the entire San Fernando Valley, as the

Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California, granted in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Eulogio F. de Celis. The grant derives its name from the secularized Mission San Fernando Rey de España ...

, which included the Pico Adobe. The dining room and library were added during the time of de Celis' ownership. De Celis vacated the property in 1853 and sold Andrés Pico an undivided half interest in the Rancho, which included the southern half of the Valley, the San Fernando Mission compound, and the adobe. It is unknown if the adobe was used for any purpose for the next 20 years. In debt, Andrés Pico sold his southern half-interest in the Rancho ex-Mission San Fernando to his brother Pío Pico in 1862. In 1873, Rómulo Pico and his father Andres Pico found the house, on the northern half of the divided Rancho, to be in a dilapidated state as a result of abandonment. Rómulo is credited for restoring the

adobe Adobe ( ; ) 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 used to refer to any kind of ...

and adding a kitchen and two side wings. He also placed wooden flooring over the original tile floor. A second story was added in approximately 1873. Rómulo lived there with his wife Catarina Pico and family. Pio Pico sold his southern half of the San Fernando Valley to

Isaac Lankershim Isaac Lankershim (April 8, 1818/19/20 – April 10, 1882) was a German-born American landowner and pioneer in California. He was the owner of 60,000 acres in Los Angeles County, California. Early life Sources from during his life vary on Lankersh ...

in 1869. In 1874, the heirs of Eulogio de Celis sold their northern half of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando lands to northern Californians:

California State Senator The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

Charles Maclay Charles Maclay (November 9, 1822 – July 19, 1890) was a California state senator and is known for his act of purchasing a 56,000 acre land grant in 1874, what was known as San Fernando Rancho. Maclay displaced and, the tribe argues, ...

and his partners George K. Porter, a San Francisco shoe manufacturer, and his brother Benjamin F. Porter. The sale did not include the Mission ruins and immediate surroundings. Rómulo and Catarina Pico continued to live at "Ranchito Rómulo" ('Rómulo's Little Ranch') for many years before moving to Los Angeles. They kept the adobe until the late 1890s, using it for overnight stays during return visits to the valley. In the following years they rented or sold the adobe several times, and it was eventually abandoned. The vacant structure deteriorated and was subjected to vandalism during the first two decades of the 20th century. Thieves and scavengers picked apart the adobe. Some invaders dug up the floors and knocked down walls in search of fabled buried gold and 'treasure.'

Deterioration and restoration

In 1930, Mark Raymond Harrington, curator of the Southwest Museum, purchased the abandoned property from the heirs of the Lopez family. He restored the adobe after acquiring it. He later wrote:

Current use as a living museum

In 1965, the City of Los Angeles purchased the property. The adobe was damaged in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. The city removed the chimney, and a section of the office wall which separated had to be repaired. The exterior and grounds are administered by the city Department of Recreation and Parks. The adobe itself is managed by the San Fernando Valley Historical Society. It restored the interior and operates a "living museum" at the adobe. The adobe is also used for the Historical Society's monthly meetings, weddings, receptions, breakfasts, dinners, and picnics. Two special affairs are "Rancho Days", depicting early California living, held on the third Sunday of September; and ''Las Posadas,'' the enactment of the Mexican Christmas procession on the Saturday before Christmas. Also in the city park is the Lankershim Reading Room, a small octagonal building that is the only remaining structure of the Lankershim Ranch. The ranch territory once took in a large part of the southern San Fernando Valley. The reading room was moved to the park in 2001, and was restored to a working condition in 2009–2010.

Designation as historic site

The Pico Adobe has been listed as a historic building at the city, state, and national level as follows: * In 1939, the adobe was registered as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

#362. * In 1962, the City of Los Angeles included the Pico Adobe and the

Leonis Adobe The Leonis Adobe, built in 1844, is one of the oldest surviving private residences in Los Angeles County and one of the oldest surviving buildings in the San Fernando Valley. Located in what is now Calabasas, California, the adobe was occupied ...

in its first group of Cultural-Historic Monuments. As of 2007, there were over 850 such monuments, and the Pico Adobe is designated as

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cult ...

#7. * In 1966, the adobe was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. * In 2010, the Lankershim Reading Room was also designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

References

External links