Built 1825 Architectural style Other Designated NHL April 15, 1970 Area 6,070 m² | Architect Rafael Gonzalez NRHP Reference # 70000149 Opened 1825 Added to NRHP 15 April 1970 | |
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Similar Los Alamos Ranch H, Frank Norris Cabin, Jose Castro House, Anza House, Hill–Carrillo Adobe | ||
The Rafael Gonzalez House is an historic house located at 835 Laguna Street in the historic center of the city of Santa Barbara, California. The Rafael Gonzales House was designated a National Historic Landmark on April 15, 1970, and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
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The building is currently home to a bookstore, Randall House Rare Books. A plaque there says: "Built in 1825 by Rafael Gonzales, later alcalde of Santa Barbara. Owned by his daughter Salome de Ramirez from 1866 to 1923."
History
The building was constructed in 1825 by Rafael Gonzalez, a landowner who in 1829 became an alcalde of Santa Barbara. At this time, Santa Barbara was a part of Mexican California. After his death, in 1866, the house was inherited by one of his daughters, Francisca Ventura Gonzalez de Ramires. She lived in the house until 1923, when it was sold out of the family.
Architecture
The National Historic Landmark (NHL) Statement of Significance, written in 1970, reads:
"Built about 1825 by Don Rafael Gonzales, this one-story house with two one-room wings, covered verandas, and a tile roof is typical of Mexican-era adobe town houses of moderate size. Its main section is about 90 feet (27 m) by 18 feet (5.5 m), the adobe walls at least 2 feet (0.61 m) thick. Covered verandas extend along both long sides of the house."
The adobe house has seven rooms. It is built in the U-shape (with the longest part being parallel to Laguna Street) and stands on a hill, separated from both Laguna and Cañon Perdido Streets by garden walls.