Rómulo Pico Adobe, Adobe house museum in Mission Hills, California, US.
Rómulo Pico Adobe is a two-story adobe house in Mission Hills with thick walls, wooden ceiling beams, and a covered veranda built in Spanish-Mexican style. The rooms are furnished with period items and household goods that show how a wealthy family lived and worked in the 19th century.
The original adobe, now the living room, was built in 1834 by Tongva, Tataviam and Chumash workers from Mission San Fernando. In 1846 Governor Pío Pico sold the secularized mission lands, including the adobe, to Eulogio de Celis, who added the dining room and library. Rómulo Pico restored the abandoned house around 1873, adding a kitchen, two wings and a second story. The city bought it in 1965; the 1971 Sylmar earthquake damaged the chimney and an office wall.
The adobe is also known as Ranchito Rómulo, "Rómulo's Little Ranch", after Rómulo Pico, who restored it and lived there with his wife Catarina. The San Fernando Valley Historical Society holds its monthly meetings here and stages Rancho Days on the third Sunday of September and Las Posadas, a Mexican Christmas procession, on the Saturday before Christmas.
The house is open to visitors and is maintained by the San Fernando Valley Historical Society. It is helpful to check ahead about visiting options and how long to plan for, as the building does not have daily hours.
In 2001 the Lankershim Reading Room, a small octagonal building and the only surviving structure of the Lankershim Ranch, was moved into the park beside the adobe; it was restored to working condition in 2009–2010.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,989 contributors worldwide.