Casa de Estudillo
Estudillo House | |
San Diego Historic Landmark No. 14A | |
Spanish Colonial | |
NRHP reference No. | 70000143 |
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CHISL No. | 53 |
SDHL No. | 14A |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 15, 1970[3] |
Designated NHL | April 15, 1970[4] |
Designated CHISL | 1932[1] |
Designated SDHL | November 6, 1970[2] |
The Casa de Estudillo, also known as the Estudillo House, is a historic
Besides being one of the oldest surviving examples of Spanish architecture in California, the house gained much prominence by association with
Description
The large building is a U-shaped structure, measuring 113 feet (34.4 m) on the front side, and 98 feet (29.9 m) on each of the wings.
The main portion (the center) contains the entrance, facing west. To its left is the chapel and to its right is the schoolroom. Both rooms originally were smaller, with bedrooms located at the ends of building, but a 1910 restoration eliminated those walls to enlarge the rooms. Two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen (which was added at a later date), and the servants' dining room are in the north wing, while the south wing has three bedrooms and the family dining room. The house is topped by a cupola from which bullfights and festivals in the adjacent plaza could be seen.[5]
Ramona
Association with the novel
José Antonio Estudillo died in 1852, and his family stayed until 1887, when they moved to
In 1887, a front-page article of the
1910 restoration
In 1906, the dilapidated building was purchased by the San Diego Electric Railway Company, owned by prominent San Diego citizen John D. Spreckels (who also owned the Union). In his vision, the house would anchor a number of tourist attractions connected via his railway which would realize his twin goals of developing San Diego into a popular locale and generate revenue for his company.[14] To this end, he hired architect Hazel Wood Waterman to renovate the house to a condition more closely matching descriptions in the novel. The original cupola and balcony was removed because there was none mentioned in the novel, and several doors and windows were moved. Waterman was exacting in her specifications: She wanted the building to look aged as well as have the "charm of the work of half-skilled Indian hands",[15] although modern conveniences such as electricity and indoor plumbing were included. Upon its completion in 1910, it was marketed as a Ramona-related tourist attraction, and remained popular as such for years to come, drawing 1,632 visitors on one day in 1940.[11]
Spreckels hired Tommy Getz, a theater showman, to manage the property, and it was under Getz's guidance that the property truly gained its Ramona association. He began strongly marketing the property: Tchotchkes of all sorts were labeled with "Ramona's Marriage Place", and more postcards were printed for the adobe than any other Ramona attraction. Due to its association with Ramona's marriage, the house was used to host weddings as well.[16] Getz eventually purchased the adobe from Spreckels in 1924.
The association with the novel was so keen that the application for National Historic Landmark status was entitled, "Casa Estudillo/Ramona's Marriage Place."[11] The Journal of San Diego History goes so far as to say that without the novel's influence and the popularity of the house, the historic buildings that make up Old Town San Diego would have been razed.[17] In fact, for a time, the Estudillos' relationship to the house was nearly forgotten.[18]
After Getz's death in 1934, his daughter Margeurite Weiss continued to operate the business for another thirty years, finally selling it in 1964 to the Title Insurance and Trust Company, which then sold it to local businessman Legler Benbough, who donated it to the State of California in 1968.
1968 restoration
The state
Ramona no longer has the same hold on the country's imagination as it once did. It is estimated that only 1% of visitors to the Casa de Estudillo now are aware of the house's ties to the novel.[10]
Photo gallery
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Inner courtyard
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The main bedroom had some of the nicest furnishings. The canopy on the bed helped to retain the heat as well as to keep pests off that may have fallen from above.
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At the time, many families in Alta California intermarried, and it was quite common for newlyweds to live with one of their in-laws. La Casa de Estudillo has many rooms such as this.
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Dining room
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One of the rooms was turned into a temporary chapel for religious services.
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Spinning wheel
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Kitchen—this was not included in the original design, which likely would have had an exterior cocina
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Outdoor oven
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The bell tower
Further reading
- DeLyser, Dydia (2005). "Ramona's Marriage Place". Ramona Memories: Tourism and the Shaping of Southern California. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 98–116. ISBN 0-8166-4572-8.
References
- ^ a b "Casa de Estudillo". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
- ^ "Historical Landmarks Designated by the San Diego Historical Resources Board" (PDF). City of San Diego. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Estudillo House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- ^ a b Patricia Heintzelman (September 1975). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Estudillo House. National Park Service. and Accompanying 7 photos, exterior and interior, from 1975, 1958, 1960, and 1968. (2.27 MB)
- ISBN 0-8047-4483-1. Archivedfrom the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ Walsh, Victor (December 3, 2007). "Adobe, a link to the land". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
- ISBN 0-89997-398-1. Archivedfrom the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "Home of Ramona: Cover". Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
- ^ San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the originalon May 17, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Triem, Judith P.; Stone, Mitch. "Rancho Camulos: National Register of Historic Places Nomination" (significance). San Buenaventura Research Associates. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
- ISBN 0-665-84078-0.
- ^ DeLyser, p. 101
- ^ DeLyser, pp. 102–03
- ^ DeLyser, p. 105
- ^ DeLyser, p. 110
- ^ "Book Review: Helen Hunt Jackson by Evelyn I. Banning". The Journal of San Diego History. 20 (4). Fall 1974. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ DeLyser, p. 115
- ^ DeLyser, p. 114
External links
- Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, California Department of Parks and Recreation
- Estudillo House, National Park Service
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. CA-45, "Jose Antonio Estudillo House, Mason Street & San Diego Avenue, Old Town, San Diego, San Diego County, CA", 7 photos, 7 measured drawings, 3 data pages, supplemental material