Current Events | Print Version

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      CONTACT: Eliza Bone                                                                        
STOP DATE: Continuous                               (562) 570-1755

 PRESS RELEASE
Rancho Los Cerritos California History Research Library 

Originally built by John Temple in 1844, Rancho Los Cerritos is one of the few remaining two-story adobes in Southern California.  The adobe house is a combination of Mexican and American building elements frequently called “Monterrey Colonial.”  Now a National, State, and Local Historic landmark, the Rancho offers a research library, educational programs and tours of the historic ranch house and gardens.

          In 1930, Rancho Los Cerritos was remodeled and a family library was created.  Currently serving as a California history research library, it features over 3,500 books focusing on western history, with an emphasis on California.  This specialized collection of early California history is cataloged through the Long Beach Public Library and is available for public use during open hours. 

          Many of the books chronicle Long Beach’s rich history from a sprawling rancho to an urban society.  Most books are unique to our library and some have been out of print for over 100 years, while others are hard to find.  The library also features literature on the various cultures that have contributed to the Rancho’s history including the Chinese, Mexican, Basque and Native Americans.  All books are obtained through library transfers, local resident donations and purchases.
          
          One of the highlights of the library is the inclusion of portraits of two of the most prominent men in early Long Beach history.  A portrait of Jotham Bixby, often referred to as the “Father of Long Beach” for his role in the development of the City, hangs at the end of the room.  A portrait of his father-in-law, the Reverend George W. Hathaway, hangs over the fireplace.
         
          The library is updated on a regular basis to incorporate historical and current publications.  Comprised in this collection is a periodical set called the “Overland Monthly.”  Published in the 1870s, this periodical is comparable to contemporary monthly news magazines.  Another set of periodicals is published by Charles Fletcher Loomis known as “Land of Sunshine,” published in the 1890s to early 1900s.

          Rancho Los Cerritos is located at 4600 Virginia Road in Long Beach, northwest of the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and San Antonio Drive.  The Rancho is open for public tours Wednesday-Sunday from 1-5 p.m.  Visitors may access the research library during these hours or request an appointment at other times by calling (562) 570-1755.  
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Current Events | Print Version

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                   CONTACT: Eliza Boné
                                                                                
STOP DATE: Continuous                                      (562) 570-1755                                                                 

PRESS RELEASE
 Ranch Los Cerritos Adobe Architecture

           The Rancho Los Cerritos adobe, built in 1844, is one of the few remaining two-story adobes still standing in southern California.  It is also a National, State and Long Beach Historic Landmark.   The adobe is a combination of Mexican and American building elements frequently called “Monterey Colonial.”  Thomas Larkin in Monterey, California pioneered the style in the 1830s.  Larkin, like the builder of the Cerritos adobe, John Temple, was an American faced with the need to adapt East Coast housing styles to available labor and materials.

          The primary building material in Mexican California was adobe.  Rancho Los Cerritos was built with two and three foot thick walls, mud-plastered and then whitewashed with a lime mixture.  The sun-dried bricks, made by local Indian laborers, weighed as much as 55 pounds each, and were constructed from sand, water and the local soil, which contained clay.  The bricks were formed in wooden molds, then left flat to cure for several days before being turned on their sides for a thorough drying in the sun.  The whole process took at least a month.

          Temple’s layout was typical of more affluent Mexican ranch homes, with three wings in a U-shape enclosed on the fourth side with a high wall to create an inner courtyard.  The two-story central wing and the double high verandas were American influences.   So, too, was Temple’s installation of an indoor staircase in the central hallway, double-hung windows with glass panes in the main portion of the house, and redwood floors in the main living space.  The lumber was shipped from Monterey.

           A major remodel of Rancho Los Cerritos occurred in 1930/31 as Llewellyn Bixby, Sr. chose to modernize the building and live there with his family.  When Bixby began his renovation, he selected C.T. McGrew & Sons as his contractor, who in turn hired a young architect named Kenneth Wing, Sr. (1901-1986) to design the project.

          The current red tile roof, sun porch, courtyard, fireplaces, electricity, plumbing and heating date to 1930/31.  These changes were the result of an architectural style popular in the 1920s and 30s:  “Mission Revival.”  The style was inspired by a renewed interest in California’s Spanish/Mexican heritage and borrowed heavily from Mission architecture.  Ralph D. Cornell redesigned the landscaping in 1931.

          Two important 1930 technologies still affect the adobe.  First, innovative “concrete bond beams” were added to give the adobe walls seismic strength.  As a result, the 1933 Long Beach earthquake did little damage to the house.  Second, walls were covered with wire mesh and coated with 1½-2 inch thick cement stucco and plaster.  Concrete slabs were poured beneath the floors and directly adjacent to the building.  These steps were meant to eliminate the need for periodic maintenance of the adobe walls.  The long-term result, however, was that water absorbed by the walls could not evaporate.  Especially near the base of the walls, which have no foundation, the wire mesh has rusted and become detached, and some of the saturated adobe blocks are in danger of melting.

          Rancho Los Cerritos’ comprehensive master plan will serve as a guide for site development and interpretation, and will address building and landscape restoration, maintenance, educational programming, visitor amenities and staff/collections needs.  The plan will also establish priorities for phased physical development.  Phase I, completed in 2002, retrofitted the adobe structure to meet current seismic codes. Construction also included sensitive modifications to accommodate the disabled.

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