Leonis Adobe
The Leonis Adobe in Calabasas, one of the oldest surviving residences in the San Fernando Valley, was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1 by the newly formed Cultural Heritage Board in 1962. Built some time in the 1840s, it was acquired in the mid-1800s by Miguel Leonis and was where he and his common-law wife, Espiritu, made their home in the early 1870s. Leonis refashioned the old adobe into a customary two-story dwelling with a wrap-around veranda and Victorian elements in typical California Monterey Style. Called the King of Calabasas, Leonis made the adobe his headquarters for a real estate and ranching operation that covered 18,000 acres. After Leonis died in 1889, ownership of the house and property was contested for 16 years before it was granted to Espiritu in 1906. The adobe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Calabasas, Los Angeles County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt