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Written by John Trausch
Built by Don Francisco Avila in 1818, the Avila Adobe is regarded as the oldest existing house in Los Angeles.
Avila was the mayor of the small town of Los Angeles and a wealthy ranchero, and his house briefly was taken over by U.S. Navy Commodeore Robert Stockton during the Mexican-American War in 1847.
Today, it is a museum preserved to look as it did in the 1840s. Many of the walls are originals, nearly two centuries old. Only one piece of original furniture still exists; a black lacquered table. It is thought to have been a wedding gift in 1822 to Francisco, then a widower at the age of 50, and his new 15-year-old bride, Encarncion Sepulveda, who used it as a sewing table.
 The Avilas had three children, and Don Francisco died in 1832, and was buried at the cemetery next to the new Plaza Church. Following the military occupation, Dona Encarncion moved back in. Daughter Francisca would soon inherit the house where she lived with her husband and 15 children. In 1868, the family moved to Anaheim.
The succeeding decades saw the Avila Adobe used as a boarding house, an Italian restaurant and a hotel. But the house was not maintained, and eventually began to rapidly deteriorate.
In 1926, the City of Los Angeles said enough was enough and condemned the house, ticketing it for demolition to make way for a gas station that service all those horseless carriages that suddenly were populating Los Angeles’ roads. In stepped socialite Christine Sterling, who saved it from the wrecker’s ball by initiating a massive publicity campaign, with the help of the Los Angeles Times, to recognize and save this rich slice of Los Angeles’ history.
 In the 1950s Christine Sterling, founder of Olvera Street, lived in the Avila Adobe. She had her offices there and worked with General Manager Mario Valadez, and Tony Sousa, assistant manager. There had been a beautiful fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Later, Cruz Ledesma, the Olvera Street blacksmith, lived in the back of the house.
In the entrance to the house, there was a small chapel where a few weddings took place, including that of Valdez’s brother-in-law, Humberto Tapia, in June of 1968.
Senator John F. Kennedy came to visit the Adobe House and stepped on the horseshoe at the entrance between the chapel and the kitchen and said “I wish to be President”. After he had lunch, he took a short nap on the sofa belonging to Belle Tapia during his campaign stop. The Avila Adobe was always a place of welcome to dignitaries, movie stars and visitors from around the world.
The Avila Adobe is located at 10 E. Olvera Street, and is open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays, from 10 am to 3 PM and weekends 10 AM to 4:30 PM.
To learn more about the history of Olvera Street, click here!
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