Pioneers & Settlers

#278: Friend Lacey House (Pasadena)

#278: Friend Lacey House (Pasadena)

February 28, 2026

The modest Friend Lacey House is representative of the middle-class housing that sprouted up in Pasadena in the 1890s, a period of huge growth for the newly-incorporated city. It was built in 1893 by Robert Lacey (the namesake of De Lacey Avenue) for his son Friend, and occupied by various factions of this pioneering family for decades.

#277: Workman Adobe (City of Industry)

#277: Workman Adobe (City of Industry)

February 21, 2026

Pioneers & Settlers

The Workman Adobe was built in the early 1840s for William Workman and his family, some of the earliest non-Hispanics to immigrate to Southern California under Mexican rule. This family made huge contributions to LA’s development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And as their fortunes waxed and waned over the decades, the adobe changed dramatically too. Its history is a reflection of both the people who lived there, and the broader story of Los Angeles.

#270: El Campo Santo Cemetery (City of Industry)

#270: El Campo Santo Cemetery (City of Industry)

October 30, 2025

Pioneers & Settlers

El Campo Santo was the private family cemetery for the Workman and Temple families, two dynasties who made massive contributions to the growth of Los Angeles in the 19th and early 20th century. Generations of family members, employees and influential friends are buried within its walls. But the most fascinating part is how the cemetery's evolution over 175 years parallels the tumultuous history of the people who are buried there.

#268: Palomares Adobe (Pomona)

#268: Palomares Adobe (Pomona)

October 8, 2025

Pioneers & Settlers

The Palomares Adobe was home to the first non-indigenous family to settle in the Pomona Valley. In the 1850s the Adobe was the seat of a successful cattle-ranching business run by Don Ygnacio Palomares. It served as a general store, a place of rest for weary travelers, and an occasional Roman Catholic chapel. Today you can visit the fully-restored Adobe for a window into the long-gone rancho era.

#257: San Dimas Hotel / Walker House (San Dimas)

#257: San Dimas Hotel / Walker House (San Dimas)

May 20, 2025

In its original incarnation as a hotel, this exuberant 30-room Queen Anne mansion never had a paying guest. But it would house six generations of the Walker family, pioneers of the San Dimas citrus industry. Its upper floor is now occupied by the San Dimas Historical Society, which helps to preserve all the history that happened here.

#246-247: Blair House & Brossart House (Monrovia)

#246-247: Blair House & Brossart House (Monrovia)

January 26, 2025

These two homes were built in 1887, part of a huge building boom during Monrovia's explosive first year. Their stories are reminders that historic preservation stretches across generations – and sometimes, it even requires a change of scenery or two.

National Register Landmarks We Lost (and Didn’t Lose) in the LA Fires

National Register Landmarks We Lost (and Didn’t Lose) in the LA Fires

January 12, 2025

It's been a tough week, LA. Here are the landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places that we lost in the Eaton Fire & Palisades Fires – and those that are still with us.

#223: Rancho Los Alamitos (Long Beach)

#223: Rancho Los Alamitos (Long Beach)

August 6, 2024

Native Americans

Rancho Los Alamitos compresses 150+ years of Los Angeles history into a single site. It went from Tongva village and sacred site, to Spanish land grant, to Yankee cattle and sheep ranch, to the center of a massive agricultural operation, and now a beautifully-preserved educational site, open to the public for free.

#221: Michael White Adobe (San Marino)

#221: Michael White Adobe (San Marino)

July 11, 2024

Pioneers & Settlers

Constructed ~1845, the Michael White Adobe is one of just 39 historic adobes left in LA County, and the second oldest building in San Marino. Its first owner was a sailor, shipbuilder and rancher who unwittingly took part in some of the most significant events in 19th century Los Angeles history.

#192: Doctors House (Glendale)

#192: Doctors House (Glendale)

March 9, 2024

The Doctors House is a rare Victorian home in Glendale once occupied by four doctors, a silent movie star and two families of Croatian immigrants. After facing demolition, it was saved by the Glendale Historical Society and moved to Brand Park. It now operates as a house museum.

#188: Campo de Cahuenga (Studio City)

#188: Campo de Cahuenga (Studio City)

January 14, 2024

In the shadow of Universal Studios is a crucially significant site for California history: Campo de Cahuenga, where in 1847 Andrés Pico & John C. Frémont signed a treaty ending California hostilities in the Mexican-American War. While the original adobe where they met was demolished ~1900 the site has yielded important archaeological evidence about the many eras of people who lived and worked there.

#183: House at 1360 Lida Street (Pasadena)

#183: House at 1360 Lida Street (Pasadena)

December 6, 2023

The well-preserved Victorian house at 1360 Lida Street is one of the few 19th century remnants in Linda Vista, Pasadena's wealthiest neighborhood. It was built in 1888 at a critical juncture for the neighborhood, as it was transforming from sleepy rural farmland to an exclusive bedroom community of entrepreneurs and working professionals.

#182: The Homestead Acre / Minnie Hill Palmer House (Chatsworth)

#182: The Homestead Acre / Minnie Hill Palmer House (Chatsworth)

November 30, 2023

Pioneers & Settlers

This humble 1911 cottage was once home to the Hill family, some of Chatsworth's earliest settlers. Now called the Homestead Acre, it's one of the few physical connections we still have to the west Valley’s pioneer days.

#178: Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Hollywood)

#178: Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Hollywood)

October 31, 2023

Pioneers & Settlers

Hollywood Forever cemetery is the final resting place of countless entertainers, and many of LA's all-time most important citizens. But its significance extends way beyond who was buried there.

#174: Lasky-Demille Barn (Hollywood)

#174: Lasky-Demille Barn (Hollywood)

October 5, 2023

The Lasky-DeMille Barn is the earliest surviving structure from the beginnings of the Hollywood movie biz, and the place where the first feature-length Hollywood film (The Squaw Man) was shot. And its significance extends both before and after that. The barn was connected to some of the pioneering citizens of Hollywood, and in its current reuse as the Hollywood Heritage Museum, it serves as a cultural citadel, safeguarding Hollywood's history.