Adobe homes. Photo by Ryan Lely
Adobe is nearly synonymous with Sonoma in many people’s minds, but in reality, only a few examples of early buildings remain – most prominently, the Barracks and the Mission.
Adobe is strong but not durable without constant care. Made of the simplest material – mud – it is easy prey for dampness and vermin to destroy. To help prevent this, builders employed the “Boots and a Hat” technique. A foundation to prevent erosion was created by digging a trench and filling it with river rocks – the boots. Then came an overhang of wide eaves, which encircled the house, shading it from the sun – the hat. An overcoat of mud was plastered over the bricks, inside and out, and a final coat of whitewash of lime made from shells protected the walls. (The word adobe derives from “atob,” which is what the Spanish Moors called mud brick.)
The adobe proved to be perfect for the Northern California climate with its thick walls, low, pitched eaves and deep-set windows, and Native Americans were conscripted to build the structures. When General Vallejo was appointed Indian Agent in 1854, he moved all of the Native Americans to Lake County where they would escape the brutal treatment and diseases of the white man. As a consequence, the adobe building tradition came to a halt.
However, a handful of privately owned adobes surviving to this day have been lovingly restored to be as close as possible to their original design. And love is the only explanation for the willingness of individuals to spend an inordinate amount of time, labor and money to salvage the nearly ruined structures from complete destruction and return them to the initial builders’ intent.
Though not designated an historic adobe, the house at Fifth Street West and Spain Street certainly shares a kinship with its elder brethren. It was constructed by Frank Pensar, a schoolteacher who turned his hand to adobe in 1938 when he designed and built his home. Emulating the historic adobes of the region, the house was made from the clay-rich earth on the property, the bricks formed and sun-dried. Current owner Bob Thorup purchased the home in August of 2005. “I knew nothing about adobes,” said Thorup, “but I’ve been a contractor for 35 years, building other people’s dreams, and I wanted to use my own ideas and creativity in redoing this house.”
One thing the house had in common with Sonoma’s historic adobes was its state of disrepair when Thorup took possession. He set about researching adobe construction while making massive plumbing repairs, replacing floors and stripping the roof off the house. “The floor was sinking from water leaks and the entire roof leaked like a sieve,” he said, “and I wanted to put on a traditional red tile roof.” Thorup now has a full library of books on adobe and early California building methods. He’s used them to ensure that the remodel is true to the adobe style. New windows, shutters, doors, beams and trim were made of materials that reflect the historic design and layers of paint applied over half a century were stripped from wooden lintels and trim. And that was just the beginning of the process.
Another adobe aficionado, Sonoma contractor Dave Whiteley, has an appreciation for the intensely hands-on task – he undertook the construction of his own home in adobe. As a new structure, it had to meet the county standards, so Whiteley designed an earthquake-resistant adobe. “We’ve always loved the adobe style and it works beautifully with our climate in Sonoma,” said Whiteley, who went to New Mexico to study adobe building methods. Whiteley also had lived in the Blue Wing Inn (on East Spain Street) before it was closed by the state. “The Blue Wing is what I use for inspiration. It’s a true adobe. The design, with its deep windows, wooden lintels and undulating, irregular walls shows the touch of its builders,” he said.
A certain spirit and passion seems to run through the veins of those who love adobes. Harriet Wagner-Jones, along with her husband, Gregory, restored one of the oldest adobes in Sonoma, La Casita, in 1946, and called it “… one of the greatest adventures of our lives.”
Undaunted by decades of neglect, the Joneses took a personal role in the restoration. “Greg, who had never done any ‘hand-work’ in his life, made a study and laid out the back brick patio … and the brick flooring along the entire front of the house,” Wagner-Jones wrote in a personal memoir.
La Casita’s present owners have continued to add to the details, painting the interior in a traditional color known as “ox blood” (after the substance from which the original paint was made) and thoughtfully tending their historic treasure.
Sonoma is richer for the efforts of these individuals who let their hearts make the decision to preserve the history and character of the Valley. And you can watch the process still if you go by Fifth Street West and Spain Street, as Bob Thorup continues the tradition with a loving restoration of his “adobe hacienda.”
The historic adobes of Sonoma
Blue Wing Inn
133 E.. Spain St.
Leese-Fitch Adobe
(Steiner’s Bar)
478 First St. W.
Salvador Vallejo Adobe
(Sunflower Caffé)
415 First St. W.
Ben Mitchell/Bianchini Adobe
(Center for the Healing Arts)
19343 Hwy. 12
Swiss Hotel
18 W. Spain St.
Private residences:
Ray-Adler Adobe
205 E. Spain St.
Nash-Patton Adobe
579 First St. E.
La Casita, Gregory Jones Adobe
143 W. Spain St.
Andronico Vallejo Adobe
700 Curtin Lane
