From its earliest days, settlers of southwestern California have appreciated the practical and aesthetic values of adobe home construction, and today’s adobe aficionados across North San Diego County are eager to grow awareness of the uniqueness of these architecturally significant structures. The tour is a volunteer effort of the San Diego Adobe Heritage Association, whose mission is to inspire the appreciation and understanding of adobe heritage in San Diego County.
The first Adobe Home Tour was held in 2011, and focused on homes in Escondido. The now-annual event – the proceeds from which support the Escondido History Center – had a simple beginning, with a one-page program. Over the years, the tour has expanded to feature homes from Poway to Pauma Valley, with a full-color, detail-rich program and trained docents who provide visitors with historical insights.
The roots of adobe home construction in the Escondido area is traced to Mexican California. In 1835, families from the San Diego Mission moved to San Pasqual Valley to form a Pueblo. The native Kumeyaay constructed homes of hand hued lumber, adobe block and thatched roofs. Nearly a decade later, adobe construction was part of ranching life on Juan Batista Alvarado’s Rancho Rincon Del Diablo. The ranch house and structures consisted of lumber, adobe block, a tile roof and flooring. This Rancho was later acquired by the Escondido Land and Town Company and divided into smaller farms, establishing what would become an agricultural center for many years.
Modern adobe construction was not rare in San Diego’s North County, but it wasn’t popular until a revival in the late 1940s. In the mid-twentieth century, adobe home construction became so popular in the region that today the Escondido area has the highest concentration of adobe homes and structures anywhere in the country outside of New Mexico.
Given the thermal properties of thick adobe wall construction which allow for less use of energy for cooling and heating, adobe builders were building environmentally friendly “green” homes well before there was a call for such a thing. Many of the homes were built with bricks made on site, reducing the need for shipping.
In the early 1980s the state of California made significant changes to building codes – most notably seismic restrictions – which cooled the adobe building boom. As a result, though homes have been built featuring non-structural adobe brick facades, the era of true adobe home construction came to an end.
Because adobe houses will never be built on a large scale again in California, the collection of existing homes across San Diego’s North County is a finite treasure that requires the stewardship of people willing to maintain these now irreplaceable structures. The Adobe Home Tour was established to highlight homes that retain their original integrity by opening their doors to those interested in architecture, history or just beautiful residences.
Proceeds support the Escondido History Center, a 501(c)(3) corporation.
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