| Lugo Adobe | |
|---|---|
 Lugo Adobe | |
| Coordinates | 34°03′23″N118°14′18″W / 34.0562916666667°N 118.238250333333°W /34.0562916666667; -118.238250333333 |
| Built | 1840s |
| Demolished | 1951 |
| Designated | July 12, 1939 |
| Reference no. | 301 |
  Location of Lugo Adobe in the Los Angeles metropolitan area | |
TheLugo Adobe also called theVicente Lugo Adobe orCasa de Don Vicente Lugo was a house in thecity of Los Angeles, located on the east side of theLos Angeles Plaza at 512–524 N.Los Angeles Street.[1]
Don Vicente Lugo of the prominentLugo family of California built the home in what is now called theEl Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument in the 1840s. The Lugo Adobe was designated aCalifornia Historic Landmark (No. 301) on July 12, 1939. Lugo Adobe was one of the very few two-story homes in thePueblo of Los Angeles. In 1867 Don Vicente Lugo donated the Adobe toSt. Vincent's School, that later becameLoyola Marymount University. St. Vincent's School used the building for two years before moving the School. The building became part of what is now calledOld Chinatown, Los Angeles. When Old Chinatown became run down, Los Angeles put into place a redevelopment plan. The California Historic Landmark given to the Lugo Adobe did not save the Adobe from redevelopment. The Lugo Adobe was demolished in 1951, despite significant efforts to save it.[2][3]
The site of the former Lugo Adobe is now Yaanga Park on the east side of theLos Angeles Plaza and the east side of N.Los Angeles Street, just west ofUnion Station and just east of the southern end ofOlvera Street.[4]
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Don Vicente Lugo was born on April 5, 1822. He was the son of Don Antonio Maria De Lugo and Maria Delores Dominga Ruiz Lugo. He married Maria Andrea del Carmen Ballesteros. He had two children: Belen Lugo and Blas Angel Lugo. He died on February 25, 1890.[5] Don Antonio Maria De Lugo was the owner of large land grants in Southern California. His brother wasJosé del Carmen Lugo.
José del Carmen Lugo, in a joint venture with his brothers José María and Don Vicente Lugo and cousinDiego Sepúlveda, began colonizing theSan Bernardino Valley and adjacentYucaipa Valley. The land covered more than 250,000 acres (1,012 km2) in the present dayInland Empire. Their colony charter was approved by the Mexican government in 1839. The valley was plagued by robberies and frequent raids byCalifornia Indians resisting loss of their homeland. Many would-be colonizers would stay for only short periods of time. The Lugo families became strong allies with the Mountain Band ofCahuilla Indians led by ChiefJuan Antonio.[6]
Harris Newmark remarked of Don Vicente that "theBeau Brummel of Los Angeles" in the early 1850s was "Don Vicente Lugo, whose wardrobe was made up exclusively of the fanciest patterns of Mexican type; his home, one of the few two-story houses in the pueblo, was close toYgnacio del Valle's. Lugo, a brother of DonJosé María, was one of the heavy taxpayers of his time; as late as 1860, he had herds of twenty-five hundred head of cattle, or half a thousand more thanPío andAndrés Pico together owned. María Ballestero, Lugo's mother-in-law, lived near him.".[7]
Marker on the site reads:[8]
END OF AN ERA This is the old Lugo House on Los Angeles St., facing the Plaza, mainstay of 19 buildings which will be torn down, beginning today, to clear the area between Union Station and the Plaza. Some say the Lugo House was begun in 1811. Once it was a magnificent dwelling, later it became the center of the pueblo's social life and now, after -years of disrepair, it will die despite efforts of historical societies to save it.