San Luis Obispo Octagon Barn

The Pereira Octagon Barn of San Luis Obispo is a historically and culturally important structure on the Central Coast of California. It was built in 1906 by Henri LaFranchi (a young Italian-Swiss immigrant and the owner of a small meat market), John Damaso (an Azorean immigrant and a carpenter by trade), and a third, unknown man (identified only as a “milk farmer”). Since there were no other octagonal barns in the area, the builders may have worked from patterns of octagonal construction in farm journals or catalogs.

The first user of the barn was Italian-Swiss immigrant Antonio Stornetta, who leased the barn for his Santa Fe Dairy operation until 1917. Joaquin and Josephine Pereira, with Josephine’s sister Eleanor and Eleanor’s husband Manuel Garcia, purchased the property in 1920 and made it part of an adjoining dairy operation in the Los Osos Valley. They were typical of many first- and second-generation Portuguese Americans, who followed in the footsteps of the Italian-Swiss in the dairy business. The Pereira-Garcia operation was called the Home Dairy. It had a pasteurization and bottling plant at 719 Higuera Street and made daily milk deliveries throughout the city of San Luis Obispo. Dairy operations continued into the 1950s, when small-scale dairy operations were no longer economically viable. The barn then supported a small-scale cattle operation and some row-crop farming. The property was purchased in 1994 by John and Howard Hayashi, who three years later entered into a lease agreement with the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County. The Land Conservancy has restored the barn, which will be used as a community gathering place

The Octagon Barn (5000 sq. ft.) is made with redwood timbers and has a new, custom shingled replacement redwood roof. There is a cupola on top reaching over 40 feet above the floor. The barn is accompanied by a 2,000-square-foot Milking Parlor (1938) and a Calf Barn.

The Barn is important for four reasons:

• History and Culture. Agriculture is central to the San Luis Obispo County economy today. 107 years ago, when the barn was built, dairy farming, exemplified by the Barn, was an important element in that economy, particularly in the Edna, Chorro Creek, and Los Osos Valley areas.

• Architecture. The Octagon shape of the barn enhanced its function in dairy agriculture. The polygonal shape approached that of a circle, which reduced the amount of building material. The Barn is recognized as part of the “gateway” into San Luis Obispo from the south. It is clearly visible from US 101.

• Recreation and Education. The Octagon Barn is the official start of the Bob Jones City-to-Sea (Class 1) Bicycle Trail between the City of San Luis Obispo and Avila Beach. Lessons in history, agriculture, renewable energy, and conservation can be delivered at the Barn Center.

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Wikipedia