A vanished city lives again...

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The oldest building in Los Angeles?

Many have already heard about the emerging realization that the Sanchez Adobe in the Baldwin Hills may be the oldest building in Los Angeles.

Although the structure bears the Sanchez name, it is believed to have actually been built by unknown rancheros fifty years before the land was first deeded to Don Vicente Sanchez in 1843.

This 1840s map depicting the boundaries of "Rancho del Paso de la Tijera" shows the little cottage whose existence has now spanned four centuries.


Hispanic-Heritage Links at the National Archives.


The former Baldwin Ranch, circa 1926. The Sanchez Adobe is the taller white building to the left of center.


Courtesy U.S.C. Digital Library.


Casa de Sanchez, ca. 1924. At this time, the house was already 130 years old.


Courtesy U.S.C. Digital Library.


Another view of the Sanchez house (right) in the 1920s. Does the adobe outbuilding at left still survive? A modern aerial view suggests a possibility that it may.


Courtesy U.S.C. Digital Library.


Only a few years later, the two-storey Sanchez house was incorporated into a much larger modern structure that still stands today at 3725 Don Felipe Drive.


Courtesy U.S.C. Digital Library.

 

4 comments:

AimlessInLA said...

Great post about the Sanchez Adobe. I wonder if this is the same Sanchez family for which Sanchez Alley off the Plaza was named. (Not marked today, but a short block of it still exists between the Plaza and Arcadia Street.)

It's remarkable how L.A., even today, still has historically valuable buildings scattered here and there all over town. Mostly they are unnoticed because the buildings they contain have quietly gone on being used as they have always been used, rather than rebranded as historical attractions or slated for "slum" clearance.

Ren said...

Hi Ren here from Pomona and Historian, I agree geat stuff keep up the good work. As I go around Pomona and check out old buildings, I also see Ranch Houses that use to sit in the middle of a large chunk of land and today nothing but track homes. Some of these houses are older then 100 years old, but today a person would never thought at one time it was a ranch house, we had allot of orange groves and allot of open space. But like so many other cities we start to build and tear down. I have a blog. here called Images of Pomona where I talk about our history and other events.

imagesofpomona.blogspot.com

tovangar2 said...

Wow, going by Google Street view, the old house is really encased, smothered even, in the various extensions, but at least it's still there.

Phyllis said...

Fabulous!! I love it being a native..thank you...

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