Repairs Shore Up Adobe’s Link to Past

The historical Reyes Adobe goes nearly unnoticed most of the time behind a tall, cast-iron fence, a broken-down barn and a large 19th century adobe home that once had a grand view of Ladyface Mountain, uninterrupted by homes to the south.

But recent renovations of the historical building put it that much closer to one day being a public museum and a tangible link to the past, city officials said Thursday.

The city has long planned to welcome visitors and schoolchildren to the site, but could not afford renovations.

The adobe, built sometime between the late 1700s and early 1800s for Don Jose Reyes, was restored to the tune of $158,000 in 1988.

Then, after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, it became the only house in the city declared temporarily uninhabitable.

Using more than $69,000 in federal and state funding, the city was able to complete renovation and earthquake retrofitting work on the building this summer, said Audrey Brown, the city’s community services director.

Brown said future work includes landscaping and decorating of the building to give visitors a sense of what it might have been like as a cattle ranch.

On Thursday, the hardwood floor--not original, but necessary if the adobe is to be open to public wear and tear--and shimmering antique windows gleamed in the white rooms.

Agoura Hills Councilman Ed Corridori, who had not toured the inside of the adobe previously, said he was excited about the prospects for the 4.6-acre site.

“I have no doubt at all that this will get done,” he said. “It’ll just take time and community support. It’s a shame to have something of such historical value and not have it accessible to the public.”