The Andres Pico Adobe, the oldest existing adobe home in the San Fernando Valley, is thought to have had its original portion built by Mission Indians in 1834 during the Spanish-Mexican period. In 1874 Catarina and Romulo Pico, adopted children of Andres Pico, married, moved into the adobe, modernized it, and added two wings and a second floor. By the 1920s the abandoned adobe stood in disrepair after damage from weather, treasure seekers, and vandals. In 1930 famed archaeologist Mark R. Harrington, then curator of the Southwest Museum, completely restored it. After being saved from bulldozers through the efforts of the San Fernando Valley Historical Society, it was purchased by the City of Los Angeles in 1965. Severely damaged by the January 17, 1994 Northridge Earthquake, with its epicenter in Reseda, the adobe was restored again and opened to the public on June 8, 1997.
