Officials Fear Simi Adobe Might Not Last Long Without New Roof : History: City leaders were asked for funding to help make the building sturdier. The priority is to protect the original walls.

Simi Valley leaders fear that the 2-century-old Simi Adobe, built by some of the first Mexican settlers in what is now east Ventura County, may not last much longer without a new roof.

Councilwoman Sandi Webb, who is a professional building designer, inspected the aged dwelling last month after local history buffs asked for a $21,750 city grant to help make the building sturdier.

Although the adobe must be reinforced to meet state and city earthquake codes, Webb is more concerned about its crumbling wood-shingle roof, which was installed more than two decades ago to protect the original adobe walls.

“Adobe is extremely delicate,” Webb said. “If the roof deteriorates and rainwater leaks down into the walls, it will melt. Adobe is made from mud and straw, and then it is sun-baked. Something has to be done. Let’s just save the building and worry about the reinforcement later.”

But several hurdles stand in the way of that plan.

First, the adobe’s caretakers say that ideally, the old building should be stabilized before a new roof is installed.

But even if the timing issue can be resolved, a more serious problem remains: At the moment, local historians lack the money for either a new roof or the more costly reinforcement work.

Within seven years, the Simi Valley Historical Society, which provides guided tours of the Simi Adobe at Strathearn Historical Park, will have to halt such visits if the site does not comply with earthquake safety codes.

But city historian Patricia Havens fears that just one more harsh winter without a new roof could cause irreparable harm. “I don’t think we want to see damage to those walls that have lasted so long,” she said.

To pay for construction plans to replace the roof and make the adobe more sturdy, the historical society asked the City Council last month for $21,750. The Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, which owns the adobe, has pledged a matching sum.

But those two grants will only cover the design work. The historical society still must come up with about $250,000 to pay for the construction work.

The group is worried that the old wood shingle roof won’t last while the society tries to raise that sum through benefit events and historic preservation grants.

Yet, Jan Smith, president of the historical society, said: “We do not want to put a roof on now and have to take it off again for structural reinforcements. . . . We’re between a rock and a hard place.”

For Smith’s group, the bid to save the adobe took a distressing turn last month when the city staff urged that no grants be awarded to the historical society or any other nonprofit organizations.

The historical society was one of 18 nonprofit groups that had applied for a portion of the $545,774 in federal Community Development Block Grant Funds allocated to Simi Valley.

But Simi Valley staff members urged that all of this money be retained for city programs, mainly to comply with a 1990 federal law that requires the city to make its buildings and services more accessible to people with disabilities.

After reviewing the historical society’s request at their May 24 meeting, council members postponed a decision and told the staff to gather more information, including whether the federal funds could be used to help buy a new roof for the adobe.

The structure is believed to have been built by Santiago de la Cruz Pico, a soldier who received a Spanish colonial land grant in 1795 for El Rancho Simi, encompassing roughly 100,000 acres, mostly in Ventura County.

The adobe was still standing when Robert P. Strathearn bought part of the property and built a new Victorian farmhouse for his own family in the early 1890s. Strathearn attached his new house to the adobe, putting the dining room, kitchen and breakfast room inside the older building.

In 1969, the Strathearn family donated the house to the park district, which made it the centerpiece of a Simi Valley historical park. The house has been recognized as a state and national historic landmark.

On June 14, the City Council is scheduled to decide whether to give the Simi Valley Historical Society a grant and whether that money should go toward a new roof or the reinforcement design work.

But because it will be tough to find money to fully comply with the tough earthquake safety laws, the future of the old adobe remains uncertain, local history buffs said.

“The frustrating part,” said Donald E. Hunt, the park district’s assistant general manager, “is that the building has already stood longer than any building in Simi Valley.”