Leonis Adobe
|
Leonis Adobe
|
|
.JPG)
Leonis Adobe, 2008
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | 23537 Calabasas Rd., Calabasas, California |
|---|---|
| Built | 1844 |
| Architect | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Monterey Colonial, Adobe, Queen Anne, Other |
| NRHP Reference # | 75000433 |
| LAHCM # | 1 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 29, 1975 |
| Designated LAHCM | August 6, 1962 |
| Plummer House | |
|---|---|
.JPG)
Plummer House, 2008
|
|
| Built | 1874 |
| Designated | 1935 |
| Reference no. | 160 |
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 by the wealthy rancher Miguel Leonis (October 20, 1824 - September 20, 1889) until his death. Following Leonis' death, the property was the subject of a legal dispute between his common law wife Espiritu Chijulla (1836 - May 10, 1906), heirs, and a daughter born out of wedlock; the dispute lasted more than 15 years in the courts. In 1961, the adobe had fallen victim to vandalism, and its owner applied for a permit to raze the structure and erect a supermarket in its place. Preservationists succeeded in having the adobe declared a Historic-Cultural Landmark (the first structure in Los Angeles receiving the designation) in 1962.
Leonis Adobe is known as one of the most haunted sites in Los Angeles County, and it was profiled in the British paranormal television series Most Haunted in 2005. The adobe was restored and is operated as a living museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The original portion of the adobe dates to 1844, but little is known about its use before it was acquired by Miguel Leonis. Some reports indicate that the adobe served as a stagecoach stop on the Camino Real between Mission San Buenaventura and Mission San Fernando Rey de España.
The adobe was acquired by Miguel Leonis (1824–1889) in the 1850s or 1860s. Leonis was a bearded, 6-foot-4-inch (1.93 m) native of the Basque region in the French Pyrenees. He controlled much of the west end of the San Fernando Valley and part of Ventura County.
The Adobe was built in stages and, by the 1870s, Leonis had extensively enlarged and remodeled the adobe into the Monterey Colonial-style mansion that remains today. He walled in the upper and lower porches to add more rooms. He added a Queen Anne-style veranda on the front of the house and paneled the walls of the living room.
...
Wikipedia