Old Campo Growing Through Excavation

It’s an old historic building, yet new facts keep emerging about Campo de Cahuenga.

The adobe, where historians say an 1848 peace treaty was signed ending the Mexican-American War in California, was larger than thought, stretching at least to the middle of what is now Lankershim Boulevard.

Portions of the foundation were found when the median on Lankershim was being removed for roadwork at the end of April, said John Foster, project archeologist.

“We never anticipated it would be out in the middle of the street,” said Foster, hired by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “It was a big surprise.”

The structure, once thought to be 100 feet long and 30 feet wide, now appears to have been 120 feet long, Foster said.

Prior excavation work had uncovered portions of the foundation under the sidewalk and street on the west side of Lankershim, but no farther east.

Its updated size now ranks Campo de Cahuenga among the largest adobes found in Southern California, said Roberta Greenwood, principal archeologist on the project.

There is also the possibility that the structure extended even farther--to the east sidewalk of Lankershim, perhaps even to the doorstep of Universal Studios across the street.

Archeologists think the original adobe, which no longer stands, may have been built as early as 1795 as part of the Mission San Fernando’s holdings.

Since the southeastern corner of the adobe has not been established, all further work on Lankershim is being carefully monitored, Foster said.

The median that covered the foundation will not be replaced. Instead that section will become a left-turn lane to Universal Terrace Parkway, said Jim Sowell, environmental compliance manager for the MTA.

After the foundation was documented, workers covered it with a layer of slurry, which officials hope will help protect it and spread the load of vehicles passing above.