Rómulo Pico Adobe facts for kids
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Rómulo Pico Adobe
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Rómulo Pico Adobe, 2008
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 Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | 10940 Sepulveda Boulevard, Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California |
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| Built | 1834 |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000211 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | 13 November 1966 |
The Rómulo Pico Adobe is a very old house built in 1834. It is also known as Ranchito Rómulo or Andrés Pico Adobe. This makes it the oldest home in the San Fernando Valley and the second oldest in all of Los Angeles. The house was built and owned by the Pico family of California, a well-known family from early California. It is located in Mission Hills, not far from the San Fernando Mission. In 1966, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's a very important historical site.
Contents
The Adobe's Early History
The first part of the Rómulo Pico Adobe was built in 1834. It was constructed by Tongva-Fernandeño, Tataviam-Fernandeño, and Chumash-Ventuaño Native Americans. These groups lived near the San Fernando Mission. We don't know exactly why the adobe was built. But it was in the middle of the Mission's fruit orchards and vineyards.
Before 1846, the adobe was just one room, which is now the living room. In 1845, Juan Manso and Andrés Pico leased the San Fernando Mission lands. Andrés Pico's brother, Governor Pío Pico, gave them this nine-year lease. In 1846, Governor Pío Pico's government sold the Mission lands to Eulogio de Celis. These lands were called the Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando and included almost the entire San Fernando Valley, along with the Pico Adobe. During de Celis's time, the dining room and library were added to the house.
De Celis left the property in 1853. He sold half of the Rancho to Andrés Pico. This included the southern part of the Valley, the San Fernando Mission, and the adobe. We don't know if anyone used the adobe for the next 20 years. In 1862, Andrés Pico sold his half of the Rancho to his brother Pío Pico because he needed money.
In 1873, Rómulo Pico and his father Andrés Pico found the house in very bad shape. It was on the northern half of the Rancho. Rómulo is known for fixing up the adobe. He added a kitchen and two side rooms. He also put wooden floors over the original tile floors. Around 1873, a second story was added. Rómulo lived there with his wife Catarina Pico and their family.
Pío Pico sold his southern half of the San Fernando Valley to Isaac Lankershim in 1869. In 1874, the family of Eulogio de Celis sold their northern half of the Rancho. It was bought by California State Senator Charles Maclay and his partners, George K. Porter and Benjamin F. Porter. This sale did not include the Mission ruins.
Rómulo and Catarina Pico lived at "Ranchito Rómulo" (which means 'Rómulo's Little Ranch') for many years. Later, they moved to Los Angeles. They kept the adobe until the late 1890s. They used it for overnight stays when they visited the valley. Over the years, they rented or sold the adobe several times. Eventually, it was left empty. The house fell apart and was damaged by vandals in the early 1900s. Thieves even dug up the floors and knocked down walls. They were looking for rumored buried gold and treasure.
Saving and Restoring the Adobe
In 1930, Mark Raymond Harrington bought the abandoned property. He was a curator at the Southwest Museum. He worked to restore the adobe after buying it. He later wrote about his work:
When I took over the Romulo Pico house about 1930 the walls were still standing, but the roof, stairway, doors, windows, and many of the window and door frames were missing; also most of the cross beams and most of the floor. I did not 'rebuild' the walls, but I did replace three or four layers of adobe blocks around the top of the walls, the originals having been damaged by the weather. I put in new timbers, new floors, and a new staircase. I regard the main building as having been built in the Mission period - probably early 1830s, the wings possibly added by the Picos. ... The only changes I made were to build an addition to the north wing of the house; put a fireplace in the living room (only the dining room had one originally), rebuild the patio walls and build a garage.
The Adobe Today: A Living Museum
In 1965, the City of Los Angeles bought the property. The adobe was damaged in 1971 by the Sylmar earthquake. The city removed the chimney, and a part of an office wall had to be fixed. The outside of the house and its grounds are managed by the city's Department of Recreation and Parks.
The San Fernando Valley Historical Society manages the inside of the adobe. They restored the interior and run a "living museum" there. This means visitors can see what life was like in early California. The Historical Society also uses the adobe for meetings, weddings, and other events. They host two special events each year:
- Rancho Days: This event shows what early California life was like. It happens on the third Sunday of September.
- Las Posadas: This is a re-enactment of a traditional Mexican Christmas procession. It takes place on the Saturday before Christmas.
Also in the city park is the Lankershim Reading Room. This small, eight-sided building is the only part left of the old Lankershim Ranch. That ranch used to cover a large part of the southern San Fernando Valley. The reading room was moved to the park in 2001. It was fully restored and opened again in 2009–2010.
Recognized as a Historic Site
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The Pico Adobe is recognized as an important historic building at the city, state, and national levels:
- In 1939, it was registered as California Historical Landmark #362.
- In 1962, the City of Los Angeles made the Pico Adobe one of its first Cultural-Historic Monuments. It is now Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #7.
- In 1966, the adobe was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- In 2010, the Lankershim Reading Room also became a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.
See also
In Spanish: Rómulo Pico Adobe para niños
