I still have pictures I will probably post from NZ. But I’m home and I’m back to exploring SoCal. I finally had the chance to go on a tour to the Homestead House. For some reason I thought it was closer to downtown. Turns out City of Industry is 20 miles away in the San Gabriel Valley. It is one of those cities that really is all about business and small industry, with only 440 residents. Which means the city has money…
This is what happens when an old adobe home gets upgraded. Since I am always learning more about LA history I am familiar with the names Workman and Temple. Like Lankershim and Van Nuys, we are talking about a patriarch and his son in law. William Workman arrived in SoCal in 1841, along with business partner John Rowland. We have a town of Rowland Heights and Temple City, but no town named for Workman.
A smaller structure on the property. Workman did well in CA, he and his partner ended up with quite a large Rancho from the Mexican government. He raised cattle and other agricultural products, like wheat and wine. He was one of the city fathers of LA in the mid 19th century. I’m guessing he had a house in town. Out on the ranch he built an adobe house. Which later was expanded to a two story home.
All the details I’m sharing are from the expansion, the whole exterior was changed. The original home is traditional adobe, three rooms, each leading out tho the veranda with their own doors. The walls are very thick, typical of adobe. Remember back in those days there was no wood, that all would have been imported, houses, especially out in the country were built of adobe.
The wealthier the family got, the more impressive the house details. This final work was completed by 1870.Workman and Temple also opened a bank in LA, the Workman Temple bank. A silent partner there was Isaias Hellman. (read all about him and his contributions to CA in the book Towers of Gold). Although at that time Hellman was still a scrappy German Jew who was working every angle possible to make his fortune. It turns out that he was the one with the business head. He went off on his own and created Farmers and Merchants bank. In 1875 the speculation at the Comstock Lode in Nevada caused collapse all over the west. In order to save the bank, Workman/Temple took a loan from Lucky Baldwin, another colorful SoCal Figure. They lost the bank and all their property to Baldwin. When the bank failed, 76 year old Workman committed suicide at this home.
He shouldn’t have given up so quickly, his grandson turned the vineyard into a very successful wine business. The vines are still growing there today. From here on out, it’s the Temple family. They have a tradition of feast or famine. Leasing the home back from Baldwin, then with success of the wine business buying it back. Later another downturn, losing the house, and once again, when one of the descendants discovers oil, buying it back.
That is until 1932 when they lose it for good. Here is where the City of Industry comes in. Remember? Huge tax base from industry, not a lot of expenses. So in the early 70s’ the city buys the property, which had been used as a boys school. The bi-centennial fever is on the rise. The property is turned into a museum and is very well maintained. Yay for the city of Industry! I always tell people, I don’t care where you are from, look around, there will be something interesting to see.
As was common in those days, the family had a private cemetery, El Campo Santo. The Mausoleum was built on the site of an old Chapel. Many members of the Workman Temple family are buried here. Also Pio Pico and his wife Ygnacia, the last Mexican governor of Alta California. Today it is a CA historic landmark and I must say, is beautifully maintained.
Because this tour was organized by Atlas Obscura and not the museum itself, we got to go down into the basement of the original adobe. Btw, the docent, Gennifer, is the head of the education at the museum, and she gave a great tour. Mostly sharing letters from or too the family, weaving that into the story. So here I am, down in the basement looking at that original adobe, that hasn’t been plastered over, since it’s underground. You’ll note the foundation is stone, then adobe, then a very strong beam that held up the porch.
I love arrested decay, here the interior wall was continued down into the basement, with the lathe and plaster.
Work is always going on here, the basement is simply a good place to store bricks and other materials.
A shout out to City of Industry. This is what most of it looks like, very modern well maintained industrial complexes. Which makes sense, since 92% is zoned for industry and 8% for commercial. I think what ever homes are there were grandfathered in.
Leah