Archeologists to Plow New Ground for Old Adobe

Each time the city’s subway diggers carve into the earth at Campo de Cahuenga, the past has a funny way of poking back.

On Thursday, archeologists hired by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will dig into a parking lot to locate portions of a historic adobe’s foundation. Historians say the adobe is where an 1847 peace treaty was signed ending the Mexican-American War in California.

Three years ago, a different section of the foundation was uncovered during construction of the Red Line station in Universal City. That portion will soon be reexamined and documented, MTA officials said.

New research is already shaking up old theories about the adobe. Historians hired by the MTA believe it was probably built by 1795--much earlier than previously believed--as part of Mission San Fernando’s holdings.

If it were still standing, the adobe would be next to Lankershim Boulevard in the shadow of Universal Studios.

For years, it was known as the Don Tomas Feliz Adobe of 1845. But new research indicates Tomas was buried downtown in the 1830s, and the adobe is much older, said Roberta S. Greenwood, an archeologist hired by the MTA to help supervise protection of historic sites during subway construction.

The land was part of Mission San Fernando’s grazing properties and it is thought that the adobe was built for the mission. The adobe is believed to have been a home or ranch quarters, about 33 feet by 100 feet, which is much larger than previously thought.

Research further confirmed that Mexican Gen. Andres Pico and American Lt. Col. John C. Fremont signed the accord ending the U.S. conquest of California at the adobe on Jan. 13, 1847, Greenwood said. The Mexican-American War from 1846-1848 allowed the United States to expand its territory to include what is now California, Nevada, Utah and parts of other states.

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Although archeological work is moving forward, no city funds or plans exist to permanently display the historic adobe foundation. After the site is documented and photographed, plans are to cover it up again, said MTA and city officials.

Another portion of the foundation extends under Lankershim, and a city proposal to widen the street has brought an outcry from preservationists.

“Everything is still up in the air,” said Guy Weddington McCreary, president of the Campo de Cahuenga Historical Memorial Assn. “We want to preserve our history and keep as much of it as intact as possible. But sometimes you can’t, so you have to see how much you can salvage.”

McCreary said his group ultimately wants to see the adobe reconstructed on the foundation with a portion of the original brickwork open to public view.

The building was in ruins by 1880, and only its foundation has been periodically excavated.

“This has gotten very much more interesting as we conducted research over the years,” Greenwood said.

This week’s dig in the parking lot--which the MTA purchased from a business for the subway’s construction--will involve the porch section of the adobe, where the peace treaty was signed, McCreary said.

Jim Sowell, MTA environmental compliance manager of the construction division, said a trench a couple of feet wide and deep will be dug below the pavement. The area will be surveyed, inspected, photographed and studied by Greenwood and other archeologists.

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The MTA will eventually donate the parking lot to the adjacent Campo de Cahuenga park.

The MTA also plans to check on a separate 45-foot section of the foundation that it uncovered in 1996. Part of it is under a sidewalk close to Lankershim and the remainder is under a haul road built by the MTA.

Before the haul road was built on top, some of the foundation’s floor tiles were tested by engineers to determine whether they could be covered with sand and 20 inches of concrete for use as a haul road for subway construction trucks. From summer 1996 through the end of 1997, trucks working on the nearby Universal City subway station rumbled over the covered foundation.

“We believe the road will have done its job to protect the tiles,” Sowell said. “We will look at the condition to check it.”

After the haul road is removed, the foundation will be inspected and then capped with decomposed granite and clay to protect it from the elements. The portion under the sidewalk will also be reopened, examined and then covered.

“We are hoping everything will be in place,” McCreary said of the adobe foundation under the haul road and sidewalk.

Six months ago, a separate proposal by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to widen Lankershim by 16 feet--extending to the MTA’s haul road--was angrily opposed by Campo preservationists.

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Transportation officials, however, said they need to expand Lankershim for two new left-turn lanes to handle increased traffic from the Red Line station.

A possible compromise, albeit an expensive one, would be to build a bridge structure extending over the haul road, said James Okazaki, assistant general manager of the city transportation department.

“We’re still working on trying to find a solution that all of us can embrace,” Okazaki said.

For McCreary and Jim Gulbranson, curator of the historical association, mere mention of a possible compromise bodes well for the future.

They would like to see subway riders from the Universal City station take a short walk to the Campo de Cahuenga park, which is long overdue for its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, they said.

“It’s one of the most historic sites west of the Mississippi,” Gulbranson said.

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Campo de Cahuenga

Archeologists plan to begin excavation Thursday of a parking lot near the construction site of the Red Line subway station in Universal City. They will dig into the parking lot to locate portions of the historic Campo de Cahuenga adobe, where an 1847 peace treaty was signed ending the Mexican-American War in California.

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Source: Metropolitan Transportation Authority