hi everyone my name is ken welcome to this house
today we are counting down the top five oldest residential buildings in the state of california
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suggested that we do this video and we thought it was a great idea so if you guys like it
we'll do more of these in the oldest in your state series now starting off at number five
point pino's lighthouse the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the west coast of the
united states is the point pinos lighthouse which was first lit on the evening of february 1st
1855 and still contains its original lens used to guide ships traversing california's pacific coast
the lighthouse featured a one kilowatt light bulb located 89 feet or 27 meters above sea level the
light from which can be seen from over 15 nautical miles away historically the light was turned on
one hour before sunset and turned off one hour after sunrise the first light source was a whale
oil lantern set inside the lens which had to be filled several times per night by 1880 the light
source was updated to kerosene which was much more affordable around the turn of the century
it was updated to an incandescent vapor lamp and then to an electric light bulb by 1919
in 1975 the main light was turned on permanently and an automated backup light was installed
outside of the tower the point was a part of the 2667 acre rancho punto de pinos mexican land grant
made to jose maria armanta in 1833 and re-granted to jose abrego in 1844. in 1850 after the
mexican-american war and the american acquisition of alta california congress appropriated funds for
the construction of lighthouses on the west coast in 1852 the secretary of the treasury
ordered the building of seven beacons along the california coast one of which was to be
located at point pinos the dangerous southern entrance to the monterey bay the first light
keeper was charles layton appointed to the post at one thousand dollars per year
he was killed in 1855 while serving as a member of the sheriff's posse chasing the notorious outlaw
anastasio garcia he was succeeded by his widow charlotte who remained head light keeper until
1860 when she married her assistant light keeper george harris the most famous light keeper was
mrs emily fish who was known to have hosted grand parties at the lighthouse between 1893 to 1914.
number 4. rancho petaluma adobe rancho petaluma adobe was california's largest
privately built adobe structure and is the largest example of the monterey colonial
style of architecture in the united states it was built by mariano guadalupe vallejo in 1836
and is located in sonoma county vallejo was granted the land by governor jose fuguero in 1834
following vallejo's service as a lieutenant in 1836 vallejo spent an estimated 80 000
on labor and materials for the construction of his home to put this in perspective thousand dollars
in 1836 would have the same buying power as two million three hundred and fifty three thousand
two hundred and sixty four dollars today over two thousand people were hired during the three years
that the house was being constructed to labor on the property by making bricks
hauling lumber and cooking meals at its height rancho petaluma boasted a tannery smithy and a
gristmill that was powered by the adobe creek roaming around the pastures where as many as 12
thousand heads of cattle per year as well as three thousand sheep the leo earned up to twenty four
thousand dollars per year or today's equivalent of seven hundred and five thousand nine hundred
and seventy nine dollars by selling leather wool blankets candles soap and shoes for the military
in 1843 vallejo received an additional land grant for 84 000 acres of adjacent property
which gave him access to the san francisco bay vallejo attempted another land grab in 1862
but he was blocked by the united states supreme court from doing so as the years went by the
ranch fell into disrepair and continued to decline until 1910 when it was purchased
by the native sons of the golden west petaluma parlor number 27. in 1932 it was registered as
a california state historical landmark and was turned over to the state of california in 1951
in 1970 it gained its status as a national historic landmark today you can visit what remains
of the ranch at the petaluma adobe state historic park and explore exhibits and a small museum
number three the avia adobe the avia adobe was built in 1818 by francisco avilla in los
angeles california to this day it is the oldest standing residence in la it currently stands in
los angeles plaza historic district though this is not its original location it was first built in a
spanish settlement along the los angeles river and was one of the first houses to share street
frontage in pueblo de los angeles of spanish colonial alta california the walls of the via
adobe are two and a half to three feet thick and are built from sun-baked adobe bricks the
original ceilings are 15 feet tall and supported by beams of cottonwood which was available along
the banks of the los angeles river though the roof appeared slanted today the original roof was flat
tar was brought up from the la brea tar pits located near the northern boundary of avia's
rancho la sienagos the tar was mixed with rocks and horse hair a common binder in exterior
building material and applied to beams on the roof as a sealant from inclement weather the original
structure was nearly twice as long as it now appears and was l-shaped with a wing that extended
nearly to the center of olvera street the rear of the house had a long porch facing the patio
francisco attended a garden and a vineyard in the rear courtyard after his passing and during the
mexican-american war the house was seized and used as a headquarters by american troops advancing on
the city of los angeles following the event the house began to deteriorate until it was purchased
and converted into a house museum that you can visit to see seven of the original interior rooms
number two peralta adobe the peralta adobe is the oldest building in san jose california it
was built in 1797 by jose manuel gonzalez one of the founders of san jose the house was named after
its most famous resident louise maria peralta in 1808 louise acquired the adobe peralta was
a sergeant in the spanish army commissioner of the pueblo of san jose and owner of rancho san
antonio of the east bay one of the largest ranchos in alta california peralta divided the house into
two rooms built a porch a kitchen and a chimney he died in august 1851 leaving the adobe to his
two daughters purchased by the city of san jose in 1966 the adobe building was restored and the
surrounding park completed in 1976. today the adobe serves as a house museum and can
be toured by appointment the house museum boasts period accurate furniture to depict the house as
it would have appeared 200 years ago number one santa maria diovia the oldest building standing
in the state of california was built in 1181 and yes you heard me correctly i did say 1181.
santa maria de ovia is a former cysterian monastery built in spain beginning in 1181
on the tagus river near trio guadalajara about 90 miles northeast of madrid during prosperous
times over the next four centuries construction projects expanded and improved the small monastery
its fortunes declined significantly in the 18th century and in 1835 it was confiscated by the
spanish government and sold to private owners who used its buildings for sheltering farm animals
american publisher willian randolph hearst bought parts of the monastery in 1931 with the intention
of using its stones in the construction of a grand infancible castle but after some ten
thousand stones were removed and shipped they were abandoned in san francisco for decades
these stones are now in various locations around california the old church portal was erected at
the university of san francisco and the chapter house was reassembled by the trappist monks at the
abbey of new clairvaux in vena california other stones are serving as simple decorative elements
in golden gate park's botanical garden thank you all for watching please make sure to like
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