The Casa de Estudillo, also known as the Estudillo House, is a historic
adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
house in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, United States. It was constructed in 1827 by
José María Estudillo
José María Estudillo (died April 8, 1830) was a Spanish-born Californio military officer and early settler of San Diego. He is the founder of the Estudillo family of California and served as Commandant of the Presidio of San Diego.
Life
Comm ...
and his son
José Antonio Estudillo
José Antonio Estudillo (November 5, 1803 – July 20, 1852) was a Californio ranchero, politician, and soldier, who served as Alcalde of San Diego and as San Diego County Assessor. He was a member of the Estudillo family of California, a pro ...
, early settlers of San Diego and members of the prominent
Estudillo family of California, and was considered one of the finest houses in
Mexican California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
.
[ and ] It is located in
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the City of San Diego and includes many historic buildings ...
, and is designated as both a
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and a
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
in its own right.
Besides being one of the oldest surviving examples of Spanish architecture in California, the house gained much prominence by association with Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson (pen name, H.H.; born Helen Maria Fiske; October 15, 1830 – August 12, 1885) was an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans by t ...
's wildly popular 1884 novel ''Ramona
''Ramona'' is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and ...
''. The Casa de Estudillo is one of three National Historic Landmarks in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
that were closely tied to ''Ramona'', a novel of Californio
Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
life shortly after the American acquisition of California; the other two are Rancho Camulos
Rancho Camulos, now known as Rancho Camulos Museum, is a ranch located in the Santa Clara River Valley east of Piru, California and just north of the Santa Clara River, in Ventura County, California. It was the home of Ygnacio del Valle, a Calif ...
and Rancho Guajome
Rancho Guajome was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Andrés and José Manuel, Indians. The name comes from a Luiseño phrase involving the word "frog", likely ''wakhavumi'' " ...
.
Description
The large building is a U-shaped structure, measuring on the front side, and on each of the wings. It is constructed in the Spanish Colonial style, meaning that the house's 13 rooms are set consecutively in the building and connected only by an external covered ''corredor'' (as opposed to an interior hallway
A hallway or corridor is an interior space in a building that is used to connect other rooms. Hallways are generally long and narrow.
Hallways must be sufficiently wide to ensure buildings can be evacuated during a fire, and to allow people i ...
).
The main portion (the center) contains the entrance, facing west. To its left is the chapel and to its right is the schoolroom. Both rooms originally were smaller, with bedrooms located at the ends of building, but a 1910 restoration eliminated those walls to enlarge the rooms. Two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen (which was added at a later date), and the servants' dining room are in the north wing, while the south wing has three bedrooms and the family dining room. The house is topped by a cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
The word derives, via Italian, from ...
from which bullfights
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
and festivals in the adjacent plaza could be seen.
''Ramona''
Association with the novel
José Antonio Estudillo died in 1852, and his family stayed until 1887, when they moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, leaving the house in the hands of a caretaker. Meanwhile, the 1884 publication of ''Ramona'', a novel set in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
which painted a romanticized portrait of Californio
Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
life, generated a nationwide interest in the region. This, combined with the opening of the Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...
lines (and the ensuing rate war, which drove prices down to as low as $1 from St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
to Los Angeles), meant that hordes of tourists made their way to Southern California to see the locations in the novel. Unfortunately, Jackson died in 1885 without ever having disclosed what the actual locations in the novel were, which caused a great deal of speculation.
In 1887, a front-page article of the ''San Diego Union
''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868.
Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
'' declared the Estudillo home to be "Ramona's Marriage Place", saying, "To sleepy Old Town (the house) is known as the Estudillos, but the outside world knows it as the marriage place of 'Ramona.'" This was despite Jackson never having visited the house, but in the novel, Ramona was married in a "long, low adobe building which had served no mean purpose in the old Presidio
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...
days, but was now fallen in decay; and all its rooms, except those occupied by the Father, had been long uninhabited". Despite the novel being a work of fiction, visitors flocked to the building thinking it was the actual location of Ramona's marriage. To be clear, the ''Union'' did not simply invent this story; a tourist had already scratched the name "Alessandro" (Ramona's husband in the novel) in one of the walls. The caretaker decided to capitalize on the attendant publicity and began selling off pieces of the house as souvenir
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
s. Naturally, the building's condition began to deteriorate rapidly.
1910 restoration
In 1906, the dilapidated building was purchased by the San Diego Electric Railway Company, owned by prominent San Diego citizen John D. Spreckels
John Diedrich Spreckels (August 16, 1853 – June 7, 1926), the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The entrepr ...
(who also owned the ''Union''). In his vision, the house would anchor a number of tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
s connected via his railway which would realize his twin goals of developing San Diego into a popular locale and generate revenue for his company. To this end, he hired architect Hazel Wood Waterman
Hazel Wood Waterman (1865–1948) was an early 20th century American architect working in an Arts and Crafts—inspired style in southern California. She undertook the first major renovation of Estudillo House, which is one of the oldest survivi ...
to renovate the house to a condition more closely matching descriptions in the novel. The original cupola and balcony was removed because there was none mentioned in the novel, and several doors and windows were moved. Waterman was exacting in her specifications: She wanted the building to look aged as well as have the "charm of the work of half-skilled Indian hands", although modern conveniences such as electricity and indoor plumbing were included. Upon its completion in 1910, it was marketed as a ''Ramona''-related tourist attraction, and remained popular as such for years to come, drawing 1,632 visitors on one day in 1940.
Spreckels hired Tommy Getz, a theater showman, to manage the property, and it was under Getz's guidance that the property truly gained its ''Ramona'' association. He began strongly marketing the property: Tchotchke
A tchotchke ( , ) is a small bric-à-brac or miscellaneous item. The word has long been used by Jewish-Americans and in the New York City English, regional speech of New York City and elsewhere. It is borrowed from Yiddish and is ultimately Slavic ...
s of all sorts were labeled with "Ramona's Marriage Place", and more postcard
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
s were printed for the adobe than any other ''Ramona'' attraction. Due to its association with Ramona's marriage, the house was used to host weddings as well. Getz eventually purchased the adobe from Spreckels in 1924.
The association with the novel was so keen that the application for National Historic Landmark status was entitled, "Casa Estudillo/Ramona's Marriage Place." ''The Journal of San Diego History'' goes so far as to say that without the novel's influence and the popularity of the house, the historic buildings that make up Old Town San Diego would have been razed. In fact, for a time, the Estudillos' relationship to the house was nearly forgotten.
After Getz's death in 1934, his daughter Margeurite Weiss continued to operate the business for another thirty years, finally selling it in 1964 to the Title Insurance and Trust Company, which then sold it to local businessman Legler Benbough, who donated it to the State of California in 1968.
1968 restoration
The state Park Service then set about restoring it to its pre-''Ramona'' state, including the missing cupola. The house now stands as a museum and is furnished as it would likely have been during Estudillo's ownership, but with an added kitchen. The state seemed embarrassed at the property's association with the novel: The long-standing "Ramona's Marriage Place" sign was removed, and brochures printed in the 1970s make no mention of the novel at all. By the 1990s, the state began to acknowledge the long-standing relationship to the book.[DeLyser, p. 114]
''Ramona'' no longer has the same hold on the country's imagination as it once did. It is estimated that only 1% of visitors to the Casa de Estudillo now are aware of the house's ties to the novel.
Photo gallery
Casa de Estudillo - inner courtyard (2).jpg, Inner courtyard
Casa de Estudillo - master bedroom.jpg, The main bedroom had some of the nicest furnishings. The canopy on the bed helped to retain the heat as well as to keep pests off that may have fallen from above.
Casa de Estudillo - bedroom.jpg, At the time, many families in Alta California intermarried, and it was quite common for newlyweds to live with one of their in-laws. La Casa de Estudillo has many rooms such as this.
Casa de Estudillo dining room.jpg, Dining room
Casa de Estudillo - chapel.jpg, One of the rooms was turned into a temporary chapel for religious services.
Casa de Estudillo - spinning wheel.jpg, Spinning wheel
Casa de Estudillo - kitchen.jpg, Kitchen—this was not included in the original design, which likely would have had an exterior ''cocina''
Casa de Estudillo - oven.jpg, Outdoor oven
Bell tower of Casa de Estudillo.jpg, The bell tower
Further reading
*
References
External links
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
California Department of Parks and Recreation
National Park Service
*
{{National Register of Historic Places in California
National Historic Landmarks in California
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California
National Register of Historic Places in San Diego
Historic American Buildings Survey in California
California Historical Landmarks
Houses in San Diego
History of San Diego
Museums in San Diego
Houses completed in 1827
Adobe buildings and structures in California
Historic house museums in California
National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
1827 establishments in Mexico