Los Cerritos Ranch House
{{short description|Historic house in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Los Cerritos Ranch House
| nrhp_type = nhl
| designated_other2 = Long Beach Historic Landmark
| designated_other2_date =
| designated_other2_number =
| designated_other3 = California
| designated_other3_date = Aug. 23, 1988
| designated_other3_number = 978
| image = Casa de los Cerritos, 4600 American Avenue, Long Beach (Los Angeles County, California).jpg
| caption = Los Cerritos Ranch House
| location = 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach, California
| locmapin = USA Los Angeles Metropolitan Area#California#USA
| coordinates = {{coord|33|50|11|N|118|11|40|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| area =
| built = 1844
| architect =
| architecture =
| added = April 15, 1970{{NRISref|2007a}}
| refnum = 70000135
| website = {{URL|https://www.rancholoscerritos.org/}}
}}
Los Cerritos Ranch House, also known as Rancho Los Cerritos or Casa de los Cerritos, in Long Beach, California, was "the largest and most impressive adobe residence erected in southern California during the Mexican period". Los Cerritos means "the little hills" in English. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.{{Cite journal|title=National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings: Los Cerritos Ranchhouse|url={{NHLS url|id=70000135}} |format=pdf|date=February 6, 1967 |author=Charles W. Snell |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=70000135|title=Accompanying 7 photos, exterior, from 1968.|photos=y}} {{small|(952 KB)}} It is currently a museum.
History
The structure, a Monterey Colonial adobe, was built in 1844 for merchant Jonathan Temple, a Yankee pioneer who became a Mexican citizen.{{cite news|author=Norma H. Goodhue|title=1st Century Families Meet, Recall State's Colorful Past|newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1957-10-11 |id={{ProQuest|167124189}}}} The house was once the headquarters for a {{convert|27000|acre|km2|adj=on}} ranch; the major activity on the ranch was cattle and sheep.{{cite news|title=Long Beach Rancho Los Cerritos Project|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1986-08-21|id={{ProQuest|292401071}}}}{{cite news|author=Jennie Douglas|title=10 Adobe Haciendas|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1988-09-22|id={{ProQuest|280531527}}}}
The land was part of the {{convert|167000|acre|km2|adj=on}} Rancho Los Nietos land grant to Manuel Nieto that was eventually divided into six parcels, one of which was Rancho los Cerritos.{{cite news|author=David Haldane|title=A Problem Preserved Rancho Proposal Would Trade Old Plaster for Older Adobe|newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1989-07-23|id={{ProQuest|280931348}}}} In 1843, Temple purchased the rancho and built the adobe house in 1844 as headquarters for his cattle operations. In 1866, Temple sold the rancho to Flint, Bixby & Company which converted the ranch from cattle to sheep. Jotham Bixby, the brother of one of the company's founders, managed and resided at the ranch from 1866 to 1881. Jotham Bixby, known as the "father of Long Beach", eventually purchased the property for himself and raised seven children at the adobe. One of Jotham's children who was raised at the ranch house was Fanny Bixby Spencer, who later became known as a philanthropist, poet, and pacifist.{{cite news|author=Cecilia Rasmussen|title=L.A. Then and Now; From Roots of a Socialite, a Social Activist Grew |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=2003-01-19|id={{ProQuest|421782781}} }}
Beginning in the late 1870s, Bixby began leasing or selling portions of the ranch, which became the cities of Downey, Paramount and Lakewood. Between the 1880s and 1920, the adobe fell into disrepair. In 1929, Llewellyn Bixby (Jotham's nephew) purchased the property,{{cite news|title=Hacienda Status Changes; Old Home of Don Juan Temple at Rancho Los Cerritos Bought by Llewellyn Bixby for Residence |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1930-06-30 |id={{ProQuest|162395795}}}} and made extensive renovations to the house, including plaster cement coating, a new red-tiled roof, electricity, plumbing, fireplaces, a sun porch, new floors and much of the landscaping. Llewellyn Bixby died in 1942,{{cite news|title=Land Company President Dies; Llewellyn Bixby, Lawyer and Capitalist, Was Member of Pioneer Family |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1942-01-27 |id={{ProQuest|165286723}} }} and the family sold the house to the City of Long Beach in 1955. The City turned the house into a museum dedicated to educating the public about California's rancho period.
Operation as a museum
Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site was converted into, and remains, a public museum operated by the Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation in partnership with the City of Long Beach.{{cite news|title=Historic Ranch House to Be Opened to Public; Long Beach Ceremony Planned at Famed Los Cerritos Adobe, Now Under Lease to City |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1955-04-03 |id={{ProQuest|166765382}} }} It is open for tours, programs and events on Wednesdays through Sundays. The house is furnished in a Victorian fashion as it would have been when Jotham Bixby raised his family there in the 1870s. There is a visitor center with exhibits about the site's history from Native American times to the present. A formal Italian garden includes olive, pomegranate and cypress trees planted by Temple.{{cite news|title=L.B. Clings to Past With Tranquil La Casa del Rancho Los Cerritos |newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=1958-11-30 |id={{ProQuest|167324925}}}} The site also features a 3,000-volume California history research library and a museum shop.
The museum was closed for 17 months from 2001–2002 to allow for seismic retrofitting, removal of lead paint and asbestos insulation, brickwork repairs and modifications to improve accessibility for the disabled.{{cite news|title=Los Angeles; History Spiffed Up |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=2002-08-03|id={{ProQuest|421936069}} }}{{cite news|author=Theo Douglas|title=Rancho Los Cerritos: Wait Till Next year Historic Bixby Knolls Site Being Remodeled to Make it Earthquake-Proof| publisher=Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) |date=2001-07-07 |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=NewsBank&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%200ED35D10D8825DF9%20)&p_docid=0ED35D10D8825DF9&p_theme=aggregated5&p_queryname=0ED35D10D8825DF9&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=B6DL65GYMTIyOTgyNTIwNy4yMjYwMDY6MToxMDoxMjguMTIuMC4w&&p_multi=LBPB}}{{cite news|author=Theo Douglas|title=Rancho Los Cerritos' Rustic Charm Is Back - Historic Long Beach Landmark | publisher=Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) |date=2002-08-17 |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=NewsBank&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%200F5980FA324FDA9A%20)&p_docid=0F5980FA324FDA9A&p_theme=aggregated5&p_queryname=0F5980FA324FDA9A&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=R58F50YDMTIyOTgyNTM3MC44NzcyOTU6MToxMDoxMjguMTIuMC4w&&p_multi=LBPB}}
Gallery
File:Patio of the Rancho Los Cerritos ranch house, ca.1890-1910 (CHS-1873).jpg|Patio before restoration, ca.1890-1910
File:East front side of the Rancho Los Cerritos ranch house (later Bixby Ranch), ca.1900 (CHS-90).jpg|East front side, before restoration, ca.1900
File:Historic American Buildings Survey, Photographed by Daniel Cathcart, March 8th, 1934. PATIO FRONT FROM WEST WALL - Casa de los Cerritos, 4600 American Avenue, Long Beach, Los HABS CAL,19-LONGBN,1-10.tif|Patio after restoration. Photo by Daniel Cathcart, March 8, 1934.
File:Historic American Buildings Survey, Photographed by Daniel Cathcart, March 8th, 1934. VIEW FROM THE SOUTHEAST - Casa de los Cerritos, 4600 American Avenue, Long Beach, Los HABS CAL,19-LONGBN,1-2.tif|After restoration. Photo by Daniel Cathcart, March 8, 1934.
File:Historic American Buildings Survey, Photographed by Daniel Cathcart, March 8th, 1934. NORTH SIDE OF SOUTH WING - Casa de los Cerritos, 4600 American Avenue, Long Beach, Los HABS CAL,19-LONGBN,1-11.tif|Patio
See also
References
External links
{{Commons category|Los Cerritos Ranch House}}
- {{Official website |http://www.rancholoscerritos.org/}}
- {{HABS |survey=CA-37-12 |id=ca0208 |title=Casa de los Cerritos, 4600 American Road, Long Beach, CA |photos=12 |dwgs=6 |data=2 |supp=yes}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in California}}
Category:Adobe buildings and structures in California
Category:Historic house museums in California
Category:Museums in Long Beach, 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 completed in 1844
Category:Landmarks in Long Beach, California