Leonis Adobe

] So completely was Espiritu taken advantage of that "it is said that she was at one time reduced to a diet of acorns which she picked up off the ground at her home, her property being so tied up in the courts."

When the 65-year-old Espiritu married an 18-year-old man, the "Los Angeles Times" could not restrain itself, noting that her new husband was "barely out of pinafores" and that the "frisky" old woman's "affections appear to have been bubbling at a lively rate, in spite of her well-worn widow's weeds." [cite news|title=Frisky Though Aged: Relict of Leonis Has Taken a Young Spouse|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1895-11-25] Litigation over the estate continued until 1905, and Espiritu continued living at the adobe until her death in 1906.

1910s to 1940s

When Espiritu died, her son (by her first marriage), Juan Menendez, moved into the adobe with his family. Menendez built the barn that stands at the back of the adobe. Menendez was a blacksmith but also made wine and built the tank house at the adobe to store wine. Menendez sold the property in 1922 to the Agoure family, for whom the community of Agoura Hills was named. The Agoures remodeled the house in the 1920, adding bathrooms and expanding the living room. The Agoures lost the property to foreclosure in 1931, and the adobe was reportedly used as a chicken dinner restaurant and later as a retirement home. In 1962, the "Los Angeles Herald-Examiner" reported that the last person to reside in the house was motion picture actor John Carradine, who had reportedly moved out of the refurbished adobe several years earlier. [cite news|author=Ted Thackrey|title=Leonis Adobe - Park or Parking? Calabasas House Center of Private-Public Row|publisher=Los Angeles Herald-Examiner|date=1962-08-05|url=http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/13/522221.pdf]

Plans to build a supermarket ignite campaign to preserve the adobe

Around 1950, the site of the Leonis Adobe (then including 100 acres) was purchased by the Hidden Hills Corp., the principal sponsor of the Hidden Hills country community.cite news|title=Historic Adobe to Be Restored|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1950-11-05] Hidden Hills Corp. subdivided the surrounding convert|100|acre|km2 into sites for ranch style homes ranging from 1-1/2 to 10 acres. At the time, A.E. Hanson, president of Hidden Hills Corp., announced plans to restore the adobe itself.

However, by early 1961, Milton Katz of the Woodland Hills Building and Finance Co. had acquired the adobe and sought to rezone the property to commercial use and to build a shopping center where the adobe then sat.cite news|title=Petitioners Seek to Save Old Calabasas Adobe|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1961-01-05] Opponents submitted petitions to the City Planning Commission and sought to establish protected landmark status for the property.

While plans to demolish the adobe were pending, it was victimized by vandalism. Windows were smashed, walls and fixtures shattered, floors ripped, hand rails on the stairs broken and doors torn off.cite news|author=Jack McCurdy|title=Destruction of Adobe by Vandals Feared|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1962-08-01] The Leonis Adobe Association appealed to the owner to take steps to safeguard the adobe and offered to fence the site at its own expense. Owner Milton Katz declined the offer of fencing and said there was "no need to safeguard the two-story building from vandals because he plans to tear it down as soon as his plans for a supermarket on the site are completed." Though the property had been appraised at $135,000, Katz reportedly wanted $100,000 more than that to sell.

In August 1962, Katz's application to demolish the adobe was denied, and the newly-formed City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board designated the adobe as the city's first Historic-Cultural Monument. [cite news|title=Razing of Adobe Blocked by Board: Action by City Cultural Unit to Save Structure for Six Months|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1962-08-07] The debate over preservation of the Leonis Adobe led to a broader discussion about preserving the San Fernando Valley's history, with some opining that "the San Fernando Valley has no historical buildings or landmarks worth preserving." [cite news|author=George Garrigues|title=Civic Group Seeks to Preserve Landmarks: Committee of Architects Assembles Data on Historic Valley Structures|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1962-10-21]

As efforts proved unsuccessful to find funding to pay the $240,000 demanded by the adobe's owner, Mrs. Walter Beachy announced in March 1963 that she had paid the requested $240,000 to Milton Katz for the property. [cite news|title=Historic Leonis Adboe Bought by Civic Leader|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1963-03-29] Mrs. Beachy agreed to hold the property until the Leonis Adobe Association could buy it from her, and Mayor Sam Yorty presented her with an award for her efforts in saving the adobe. [cite news|title=City Honors Woman for Saving of Adobe: Valley Philanthropist Awarded Scroll for Preservation of Historic Monument|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1964-09-24]

Restoration

The Leonis Adobe Association finally collected the funds to purchase the property in 1965. Extensive research was done to restore the adobe to its condition when Miguel Leonis lived there. After the restoration was completed, the adobe was opened to the public in 1966.

Ghost stories and reports of paranormal events

Though Miguel Leonis died in 1889, there have been numerous reports over the years that his ghost lives on at the adobe. The reports have been so numerous and over such a long period of time that the adobe has been called "one of the most haunted sites in Los Angeles County."cite web|author=Richard Senate|title=Ghost Stalker’s Guide to Haunted California|publisher=Invisible Ink|date=1998|url=http://www.invink.com/x595.html] The first accounts of Leonis' ghost appearing at the adobe came in the 1920s when the first people outside the Leonis family moved into the adobe and began to remodel. According to Leonis biographer, Lora B. Gaye, the new residents heard footsteps on the stairs followed by two loud thuds from the upstairs bedroom resembling the sound of boots dropping to the floor. When the new residents went upstairs to investigate, the room was filled with a strong soap aroma, a smell associated with Leonis who always appeared impeccably clean and smelled of soap. The noises continued, and the new owners learned to live with what they concluded was the prior owner's ghost. A sampling of other reports include the following:
* A young visitor to the adobe ran from the upstairs bedroom, screaming that she had seen a man with a black beard covered with bloody bandages, moaning while lying on the bed. It was in that room where the injured Miguel Leonis was brought, bandaged and bloodied, after the wagon accident that killed him.
* In the 1930s, a family named Gregg owned the adobe. One evening, a woman who lived there was leaning against the railing on the upstairs veranda. The old rail cracked and was about to give away when a pair of strong hands pulled the woman back, saving her from serious injury. When she turned to look at who saved her, she was amazed to find nobody there.cite book|author=John R. Kielbasa|title=Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County|url=http://www.laokay.com/halac/LeonisAdobe.htm]
* A guest at the adobe reported seeing an image in the upstairs hallway that spoke in a female voice, "Chichita, Chichita." Espirtu's granddaughter, Maria Orsua, reported that was the name by which her grandmother called her.
* A young Calabasas resident reported seeing the ghost of Leonis dressed in an old-fashioned coat walking his sheep dog down the street near the adobe.
* Dozens of people have reported hearing digging sounds coming from the adobe; Leonis reportedly had a dug-out dirt chamber under the adobe where he kept his fortune.cite news|author=Martha Willman|title=Valley's Old Landmarks Haunted by Tales of Residents That Never Quite Fade Away|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1971-10-31] [cite news|author=Martha Willman|title=Spirit of Don Miguel Lingers on in Adobe|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1978-10-29]
* Others have reported driving past the adobe late at night, and seeing the image of a lady in a long black dress standing on the balcony. Espiritu regularly dressed in black dresses, and a picture of her in such a dress is on display at the adobe.

In 2002, the San Diego Paranormal Research Project published a book on the unusual events at Leonis Adobe titled, "Spirits of the Leonis Adobe." [cite web|title=San Diego Paranormal Research Project|url=http://www.sdparanormal.com/catalog/item/200390/3007057.htm]

In 2005, the British paranormal television series "Most Haunted" devoted an entire episode to Leonis Adobe. A team of paranormal investigators spent the night at the adobe and reported connections with the spirits of both Espiritu and Miguel. During a vigil in the living room, female members of the team claimed to be touched by unseen hands, and lights were reported to be seen both in Espiritu's bedroom and in the barn outside the building. [cite web|title=Episode Number 91: Leonis Adobe, California|publisher=Most Haunted|url=http://www.livingtv.co.uk/mosthaunted/250.php]

Designation as historic site

Leonis Adobe is one of only four surviving adobe residences remaining in the San Fernando Valley. It has been listed as a historic building at the city and national level as follows:
* When the Los Angeles Cultural Historical Board was formed in 1962, Leonis Adobe was the first site designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument. By 2007, there were nearly 900 separately numbered sites that had received the designation, but Leonis Adobe has the prestige of having been designated as Historic-Cultural Monument #1.
* In 1975, the adobe was listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

Leonis Adobe Museum

Living museum

The Leonis Adobe in recent years has operated as a living museum to the California ranch style of life. The museum is a popular location for school field trips in which students step back in time to the 1880s by touring the barn and blacksmith shop. Students are also able to pet, feed and observe ranch animals under supervision of museum docents. [cite web|title=Teacher Study Guide|publisher=Leonis Adobe Museum|url=http://www.leonisadobemuseum.org/teacher-study.asp]

Plummer House

In 1983, the Plummer House was moved to the grounds of the Leonis Adobe Museum. The Plummer House was built in 1874 in Plummer Park, West Hollywood. It was known as the "Oldest House in Hollywood" and was designated as a California Historic Landmark #160 in 1935. The house fell into disrepair and was the victim of vandalism and fires. The Leonis Adobe Association in conjunction with the Los Angeles Conservancy arranged with the County to move the front part of the Plummer House to its current location on the Leonis Adobe grounds. The Plummer House has been restored and is currently used as the visitor center and gift shop for the Leonis Adobe Museum.cite web|title=History of the Plummer House|publisher=Leonis Adobe Museum|url=http://www.leonisadobemuseum.org/history-plummer.asp]

References

External links

* [http://www.leonisadobemuseum.org/share-the-legend.asp Share the Legend - The Story of the Leonis Adobe (video narrator by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa]
* [http://calabasas.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=10&clip_id=1485 Video: Calabasas, A Living History - Leonis Adobe, Ruth Abel]
* [http://www.leonisadobemuseum.org/ Leonis Adobe Museum]
* [http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2007/03/no-1-leonis-adobe.html Big Orange Landmarks]