Rescue Plan Underway for an Important Part of Arcadia’s History

Concerns over the condition of what has been known as the Hugo Reid Adobe, the historic adobe on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, have been expressed for years.  The roof is in a state of collapse.  The walls are weakened.  But, finally, a tiny step toward crisis intervention was taken this week as the Arboretum announced that the County will take a serious look at reversing age-related damage to the Adobe.  Many hope it’s not too late but worry whether Arcadians and others will step forward to offer financial help to save their history, a history that includes a wood-frame wing that the city’s founder, Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin erected.

Richard Schulhof, CEO at the Arboretum announced that action will begin immediately to save one of the first buildings erected on the historic Santa Anita Rancho.  In his announcement, Schulhof named the preservation architecture firm Kelly Sutherlin McLeod Architecture, Inc of Long Beach, to determine steps necessary to stabilize the structure and to prevent further deterioration of the 156 year-old building.

The issue of preservation of the adobe has been on-going for several years, but began to boil when William Ellinger, a trustee of the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation and professional restoration architect, did extensive research on the adobe and discovered that the current structure was not the original Hugo Reid, but rather one built by Joseph Rowe in 1854, about 15 years after Reid would have had his adobe constructed.  Ellinger also uncovered building plans of both the adobe building and the attached wood-frame Baldwin wing.  Sandy Snider, former Curator of Historic Collections at the Arboretum, was also doing research on the Baldwin home that Arcadia’s founder had attached to the Rowe adobe in 1875.

Her exhaustive research convinced her that the Baldwin home, demolished as part of a 1958 restoration, needed to be replaced, and could be done accurately with the newly uncovered information.  Snider found a cache of photographs of what the Baldwin building looked like inside taken by the archeologist firm during the 1950’s restoration project which she says will be particularly helpful should the plan to restore to the Baldwin era comes to fruition.

It is Snider who is spearheading the community campaign to, first of all, get the adobe building under control from complete collapse, then to rebuild the wooden wing and broad veranda Baldwin lived in.

“What we are looking at today is damage extensive enough to require an entirely new roof for the Adobe, plus rising damp issues with the dirt floor ‘created’ in the 1958 restoration,” Snider says.  “Partly because so much work needs to be done just to make the structure secure again, it is an ideal time to try to restore the Adobe to its Elias Jackson Baldwin version.”

Back in October of last year, the Baldwin Adobe Restoration Committee was formed with both Snider and current Curator of Historic Collections at the Arboretum, Mitchell Hearns Bishop, two Foundation trustees, two trustees of the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum, and two Los Voluntarios, the Arboretum’s volunteer group.  The committee held a backyard party and invited a veritable who’s-who of Arcadia to spark interest in the inevitable fund-raising that will be necessary to complete the entire historic replication.

Under Schulhof’s vision, the project will be incremental for restoring the adobe and reopening it for Arboretum visitors.  But McLeod’s firm is only being retained with a reported $23,000 to determine what needs to be done at this time.  Fees for the planning document and stabilization effort are to be provided by the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation with assistance of Los Voluntarios, the Baldwin Adobe Restoration Committee and the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, according to an Arboretum press release.

Following McLeod’s report her firm will determine steps to restore the adobe.  The County of Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department are to provide construction staff and will fund and carry out the actual construction. After that, any alterations to the adobe to prevent future damage, provide visitor access, erect interpretive signage, and reconstruct the Baldwin wing will require significant community financial participation.  That program has not yet been established.

Once funds have been raised Kelly McLeod and her firm will plan reconstruction of the Baldwin wing and restoration of the Victorian gardens that once surrounded the adobe.  But for the phase-two portion to be completed further funding will be needed.  Without community support, a loss of Arcadia’s history looms.

More from Arcadia Weekly