José Castro House
{{short description|Historic house in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = José Castro House
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = San Juan Bautista, CA USA -General Jose Castro House, built in 1839-1841 - panoramio (cropped).jpg
| caption = The Plaza de San Juan façade of the house
| location = S side of the Plaza, San Juan Bautista, California
| coordinates = {{coord|36|50|40.78|N|121|32|4.86|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = California#USA
| built = {{start date|1838}}
| architect = José Antonio Castro
| architecture = Monterey Colonial
| designated_other1 = California
| designated_other1_number = 179
| designated_other1_date = March 6, 1935{{cite ohp|179|Castro House|2012-10-11}}
| area = {{convert|1|acre|ha}}
| refnum = 70000141{{NRISref|version=2010a}}
| nrhp_type2 = nhldcp
| designated_nrhp_type2 = April 15, 1970
| partof = San Juan Bautista Plaza Historic District
| partof_refnum = 69000038
}}
The José Castro House ({{langx|es|Casa José Castro}}), sometimes known as the Castro-Breen Adobe, is a historic adobe home in San Juan Bautista, California, facing the Plaza de San Juan. The Monterey Colonial style house was built 1838-41 by General José Antonio Castro, a former Governor of Alta California. It was later sold to the Breen family, who lived there until 1933, when the house became a museum as part of San Juan Bautista State Historic Park.
History
File:Jose Castro (cropped).jpg.]]
José Antonio Castro's father José Tiburcio Castro was a soldier, member of the Diputación (the legislature of Alta California),{{cite web|url=https://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/66october/political.htm|title=Journal of San Diego History|last=Killea|author2=Lucy Lytle|date=October 1966|work=San Diego Historical Society|publisher=sandiegohistory.org|accessdate=16 June 2010}} administrator of Mission San Juan Bautista after it was secularized, and grantee of Rancho Sausal.
The elder Castro used his position to obtain land grants for relatives and friends. His son was granted land facing the Plaza de San Juan, where he built an adobe house in 1841. José Antonio Castro used the house as an administrative base for his military operations (soldiers' barracks were next door) and let his secretary use it as a residence.
In 1848, José Antonio Castro sold the home to Patrick Breen, a survivor of the Donner Party. His family occupied the home until 1933, when it was declared a California Historical Landmark and purchased by California State Parks, which incorporated it into the San Juan Bautista State Historic Park.
Currently, the park uses the José Castro House as a fully furnished house museum, displaying a snapshot of how domestic life was in mid-19th century California. The house was made a National Historic Landmark in 1970.{{Cite journal|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination |url={{NHLS url|id=70000141}} |format=pdf|date=April 5, 1976 |author=James Dillon |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=70000141|title=Accompanying 2 photos, exterior, from 1968.|photos=y}} {{small|(465 KB)}}
Architecture
José Castro House is a two-story adobe home, completed in a Monterey Colonial style. The home is clad in stucco and includes a second-story full-length covered porches on both long sides, characteristic of Monterey Colonial architecture.
The pane glass windows beside the front door of the José Castro House are not typical of Monterey architecture and reflect the influence of Greek Revival architecture, which was also popular in the mid-19th century.
Nowadays, the José Castro House property includes a half-acre orchard and garden, open to the public as part of the state historic park.{{cite web|title=José Castro House - San Juan Bautista, California|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/American_latino_heritage/Jose_Castro_House.html|publisher=U.S. National Park Service|accessdate=26 August 2016}}
See also
References
This article incorporates content in the public domain from the U.S. [http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/American_latino_heritage/Jose_Castro_House.html National Park Service].
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External links
{{commons category}}
- {{HABS |survey=CA-1120 |id=ca0556 |title=General José Castro House, Mission Plaza, San Juan Bautista, San Benito County, CA |photos=31 |color=2 |cap=4}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in California}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, José, House}}
Category:History of San Benito County, California
Category:Adobe buildings and structures in California
Category:San Juan Bautista, California
Category:National Historic Landmarks in California
Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California
Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in California
Category:Houses in San Benito County, California
Category:Historic house museums in California
Category:Houses completed in 1840
Category:Museums in San Benito County, California
Category:National Register of Historic Places in San Benito County, California