Miscellaneous Adobes

The following three homes are either obscure or barely recognizable as adobes due to radical alterations or modernization. Since they are adobe-made structures and hold historic value, they are included within this book.

The Gage Home

Henry T. Gage was Governor of California from 1899 to 1903. Originally from New York, Henry Gage came to Los Angeles in 1877 and started a law practice when he was twenty-four. In 1880, he married Francisca Rains, a daughter of John and Mercedes Rains, owners of Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County. Gage, the young promising lawyer married Francisca, a descendant of the old and highly respected Lugo family.

The Lugos owned Rancho San Antonio, which was a 29,513-acre Spanish grant east of the pueblo lands of Los Angeles. Rancho San Antonio, named in honor of Saint Anthony, was granted to Antonio Maria Lugo in 1810. Lugo was a soldier who served in the Spanish Royal Army. Like several other retiring soldiers of the day, he was given a substantial tract of land by the Spanish Crown as a token of appreciation for many years of dedicated service. Once a large territory of vacant pasture land, today the area once known as Rancho San Antonio can be recognized in the form of the following modern cities: Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Compton, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Montebello, Monterey Park, South Gate and the unincorporated communities of East Los Angeles and Walnut Park. The Lugo family held the rancho intact until the 1870s, when it was sold piece by piece.

Gage and his new bride received a parcel of San Antonio as a wedding gift. The land included an adobe house, which was built in 1840 by the Lugos. Not far from the Lugo family homestead and headquarters of rancho, the Gages made this adobe their home. Gage died on August 28, 1924. Today, the house hardly resembles an eighteenth century adobe with its white painted wood siding. The house is still used as a private residence/office and is not open to the public. Not visible from the street, the Gage Home is located in a trailer park at 7000 East Gage Avenue (named for Governor Gage) in the City of Bell Gardens. More photos

The Gage Home
7000 Gage Ave, Bell Gardens, CA 90201 Map
562 927-1235
(Private residence & office)

Shadow Ranch

Although hardly noticeable as an adobe structure, the Workman house at Shadow Ranch Park is, in fact, an adobe; at least on the inside. This large ranch house in the center of the park beneath the giant eucalyptus trees was constructed by Albert (Al) Workman between 1869 and 1872. Workman took an old adobe building, in which he was residing while working as a ranch manager, and built the present two-story, wood framed, "U" shaped structure around it. Workman used redwood and red kiln fired brick for the house. The origin of the three-room adobe is unknown, but perhaps it was constructed by an Indian agent years earlier.

Albert Workman was an Englishman who made his way to California from Australia. He went to work as a mule skinner transporting lumber for Isaac Newton Van Nuys, who was co-owner of the of the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association. The Association owned 60,000 acres ranch in the southwest section of San Fernando Valley. In time, Van Nuys promoted Workman to ranch superintendent. Workman eventually acquired 13,000 acres of this valley property, including the house, and called it Workman Ranch.

The Workman ranch house was large enough to accommodate his family and his ranch hands. The lower level, which included the original adobe, had two spacious parlors and two large dining rooms. The employee's dining room was large enough to seat seventy hands. There was a roomy cellar beneath the home. Upstairs there were numerous small bedrooms including rooms for the cook and the ranch foreman. The house had many windows, fireplaces within each room with three separate chimneys, and a wide porch that wrapped around two sides of the home.

Workman imported eucalyptus seedlings from Australia and planted them around his ranch. They were the first of their kind in San Fernando Valley. Many of the trees still remain within park. He built over sixty barns on his ranch and employed over one hundred workers. After a long ranching career, Workman and his family moved to Los Angeles. Afterward, the property saw a succession of owners and in the meantime, the grand Workman house was neglected and deteriorated.

In 1932, Colin and Florence Clements, who were screenwriters, purchased the property, including the Workman home. They restored the old ranch house and changed the name to Shadow Ranch. The name was appropriate because of the towering trees, which created ample shade and cast big shadows upon the ranch. In the 1950s, the house was used as a private school for girls named Robinnaire. In 1957, the City of Los Angeles acquired the nine-acre park and converted the old ranch house into a community recreation center. Today it is owned and maintained by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. It is still used as the park's community center.

Shadow Ranch
22633 Vanowen Street, Canoga Park, CA 91304 Map
818 883-3637
Open: Everyday except Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Hermitage Adobe

The Hermitage Adobe was built in 1869 for James Craig. It is the oldest adobe house in Pasadena. It is a private residence and not open to the public.

The Hermitage Adobe
2121 Monte Vista Street, Pasadena, CA 91107 Map
(Private residence)

The Hart Adobe

This adobe structure was constructed circa 1885 by John Jacob Hart (1843 - 1932), a native of Ohio and a Union Army veteran of the Civil War. The Adobe was built on a forty-acre parcel owned by Hart. Later, the Montenvina Winery was located there. In 1918 Hart donated a portion of the property to the city of Sierra Madre to be used as a park. Today it is known as Memorial Park and serves as the grounds of the Sierra Madre city hall. The adobe has been restored in recent years [and is now a senior center Ed.].

The Hart Adobe
222 W Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CA 91204 Map

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