The Larkin House is a historic house at 464 Calle Principal in

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

. Built in 1835 by

Thomas O. Larkin Thomas Oliver Larkin (September 16, 1802 – October 27, 1858), known in Spanish as Don Tomás Larkin, was an American diplomat and businessman. Larkin served as the only U.S. consul to Alta California during the Mexican era and was covertly in ...

, it is claimed to be the first two-story house in all of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, with a design combining Spanish Colonial building methods with

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

architectural features to create the popular Monterey Colonial style of architecture. The Larkin House is 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 ...

, and is a featured property of

Monterey State Historic Park Monterey State Historic Park is a historic state park in Monterey, California. It includes part or all of the Monterey Old Town Historic District, a historic district that includes 17 contributing buildings and was declared a National Historic Land ...

Description

The Larkin House is located in the historic center of

, at the southwest corner of Calle Principal and Jefferson Street. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with walls of

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 ...

and a low-pitch hip roof. Three of its four sides are covered by a two-story wood-frame flat-roof veranda. The post-and-beam framing is exposed in the interior, where there is also a fireplace and chimney. The building was originally part of a large piece of property at Calle Principal in Monterey. It shares a parcel of land with the

Sherman Quarters Sherman Quarters, also known as Sherman Rose House is a historic adobe stone building located at 510 Calle Principal in Monterey, California. It was built by Thomas O. Larkin in 1834. It was the quarters for Lieutenant William Tecumseh Sherman in ...

. In

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

's memoirs, he described the house as "the adobe back of Larkin's. The entrance is located in the gardens of the Larkin House."

History

In 1832 Thomas O. Larkin, a native of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, joined his half-brother

John B. R. Cooper Juan Bautista Rogers Cooper (born John Rogers Cooper on September 11, 1791, Alderney, Channel Islands, British Channel Islands – June 2, 1872, San Francisco, California) was a 19th-century pioneer of California, who held United Kingdom, British, ...

in business in California. Larkin became the most influential American in Monterey, then the capital of

Alta 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 ...

. He served as the only

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

consul to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in Monterey. Larkin sought to build a house more typical of his native New England, but local sawmills were unable to supply him with sufficient

redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...

for the purpose. Larkin compromised by building a typical New England frame, but then finished its walls in whitewashed adobe. The construction using a wooden frame and mud bricks resulted in a leaner, sturdier adobe building than traditional adobe structures made primarily from mud and straw. The greater stability of Monterey buildingscompared to single-story adobesallowed for a large second-story and long covered porch. The covered second story porch also protected the adobe façade and walls of the house from water damage. By adapting an east coast building form to available California materials, adobe and redwood, and to California architectural preferences, Larkin created a style that synthesized elements of two very different cultures, that of the Spanish and Mexican colonists and of the Americans moving into California. The framing made it possible to significantly enlarge the window openings over traditional Spanish Colonial architecture, and the style of this house rapidly spread across California. The house is believed to be the first two-story house in California, and the first to have a chimney. The Larkin House was designated as a California Historical Landmark in 1933. It then became a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and is part of the larger

, which is itself designated a

National Historic Landmark District 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 ...

.James Dillon (September 22, 1976) , National Park Service and

References

External links

*
Archived version of Historic Monterey websiteMonterey State Historic Park AssociationOfficial Monterey State Historic Park website
* {{Monterey County tourist attractions, state=collapsed History of Monterey County, California History of the Monterey Bay Area Houses in Monterey County, California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County, California Historic American Buildings Survey in California National Historic Landmarks in California Spanish Colonial architecture in California Spanish Revival architecture in California Museums in Monterey County, California Historic house museums in California Buildings and structures in Monterey, California Monterey State Historic Park National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County, California Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in California National Historic Landmark District contributing properties

Description

History

See also

References

External links