Avila Adobe Museum
Avila Adobe Museum
Is one of the oldest homes in the Los Angeles area. It has a long history.
It was originally constructed by Don Avila, the mayor at the time, who began construction of his adobe home in 1818. A site was selected just a few hundred feet north of the town's plaza, where the citizens gathered on a regular basis. He built his house on the east side of Olvera Street, one of the oldest streets in Los Angeles that was also the social center of town.
The plaza where the Avila Adobe is located today is not the original plaza. The first site was settled by Felipe de Neve and the eleven pobladores (settlers) on September 4, 1781, may have been near the point where the Hollywood Freeway crosses the west bank of the Los Angeles River today.
This original site was washed away by floods, not once but twice.
Residents finally began rebuilding the plaza area in a place that did not flood.
By 1928, the area had fallen into decay. The once prominent and lively plaza fell victim to neglect and in time it became an urban slum, a skid row.
Filled with crime and dilapidated houses.
The Avila Adobe was among those houses that were in a huge state of disrepair until a young woman named Christine Sterling was taking a walk in the area and envisioned the entire plaza revitalized. She also knew the history of the Avila Adobe and felt strongly against the old home being razed. She launched a drive to have the home declared a historic landmark.
The house was restored using the traditional methods to make the restorations as authentic to the original designs as possible. The sturdy walls of the Avila adobe were between two and a half to three feet thick and made from sun baked adobes bricks. The only main change was to the roofing of the Avila Adobe. The original roof was flat, not angled as it appears today. Natural "Brea" or tar was brought from the pools of asphaltum located near the north boundary line of his Rancho La Cienegas. These tar pits may still be seen at Hancock Park on Wilshire Boulevard. The brea was mixed with rocks and horsehair, then applied to the rough wooden beams of the roof. This mixture created a seal protecting the contents of the house from the elements and to this day works very well. The Avila Adobe is open for tours from Tuesday through Friday 10AM-3PM.
The Avila adobe survives as a legacy to the great city's historic and cultural past.
