HISTORIC ADOBES

These names are all signposts of Los Angeles’ history, most closely associated today with a school, city, street or shopping center. But for a trip into Los Angeles’ past, here are several adobe structures that still exist:

1. MICHAEL WHITE ADOBE

* 2701 Huntington Drive, San Marino

In 1845, an English seaman named Michael White built his adobe house on a parcel of land he called Rancho Ysidro. The old adobe stands in the middle of the campus of San Marino High School. The San Marino Historical Society can arrange tours. (818) 568-0119

2. EL MOLINO VIEJO

* 1120 Old Mill Road, San Marino

Originally a mission mill, it became the home of James S. Waite, editor of Los Angeles’ first English-language newspaper, the Star, in 1850. It is the home of the Southern California Historical Society. Open to the public. (818) 449-5450

3. ORTEGA-VIGARE ADOBE

* 616 S. Ramona St., San Gabriel

This adobe was built by Don Juan Vigare, a soldier of the mission guard, between 1792 and 1805. In the 1860s the house was used as San Gabriel’s first bakery. Vigare’s great-granddaughter lived here until the 1930s. Today, it is a private residence and not open to the public.

4. RANCHO LAS TUNAS

* 315 Orange St., San Gabriel

Built in 1776, the same year as the San Gabriel Mission church, it housed the padres who supervised the Indians constructing the mission. It is a private residence and not open to the public.

5. LA CASA PRIMERA

* 1569 N. Park Ave., Pomona

Built in 1837 by Ygnacio Palomares, a cattle rancher, this five-room adobe is the oldest home in the Pomona Valley. It is the home of the Historical Society of Pomona Valley. A short distance away stands a second home known as El Adobe de Palomares. Open to the public. (909) 623-2198

6. RANCHO LA PUENTE

* 15415 E. Don Julian Road, City of Industry

Two adobes stand here, the first built in 1842 by William Workman, co-founder of the first banking house in Los Angeles. In 1876, the bank’s failure bankrupted Workman, who shot and killed himself in his office in this building. Workman’s half of the original 48,470-acre Rancho La Puente (Ranch of the Bridge) was reduced to 75 acres because of his financial calamities. In 1920, Workman’s grandson, Walter Temple, built a more modern adobe nearby. Today, the Homestead Museum offers free tours of both homes and the family cemetery. (818) 968-8492

7. SANCHEZ ADOBE MUSEUM

* 946 N. Adobe Ave., Montebello

Dona Casilda Soto de Lobo built the little place on the banks of the Rio Hondo in 1845 to fulfill a condition of ownership of the 2,363-acre Rancho la Merced. But the adobe house carries the name and legends of Juan Matias Sanchez, who took over the property seven years later. He lived rich and died poor, and in the end his family lost the house. Open to the public. (213) 887-4592

8. RANCHO LOS ALAMITOS

* 6400 Bixby Hill Road, Long Beach

Originally built in the early 1800s by retired soldier Juan Jose Nieto, it was renovated in 1842 by Abel Stearns as a home for his 15-year-old bride, Arcadia Bandini. Later the Bixby family bought the 26,000-acre Ranch of the Little Cottonwoods and lived here from 1881 to 1968 . Open to the public. (310) 431-3541

9. RANCHO LOS CERRITOS

* 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach

Jonathan Temple built this adobe and redwood house in 1843 on a bluff overlooking the Los Angeles River. Besides a museum, it houses a research library of California history. Open to the public. (310) 424-9423

10. DOMINGUEZ ADOBE

* 18127 S. Alameda St., Compton

Nearly a dozen cities were carved out of Rancho San Pedro, the 76,000-acre grant given to Juan Jose Dominguez in 1784 by the Spanish crown. His grandnephew, Don Manuel, inherited the ranch and began building the U-shaped, one-story adobe in 1825. Don Manuel and his bride, Maria Engracia Cota, lived here for 55 years and raised 10 children, six of whom survived to inherit more than 40,000 acres. Open to the public. (213) 631-5981

11. VICENTE LUGO ADOBE

* 6360 E. Gage Ave., Bell Gardens

For nearly 200 years, this was the heart of the vast 29,413-acre Rancho San Antonio, and home of Don Antonio Maria Lugo, a Spanish cavalier, his heir, Don Vicente Lugo, and later Henry T. Gage, a former California governor who got the home as part of his wife’s dowry. Open to the public. (310) 927-1235

12. GILMORE ADOBE

* 6301 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles

Shrouded by vegetation in the middle of Farmers Market sits a 166-year-old adobe house. It was once the residence of Antonio Jose Rocha II on part of the Rancho Rincon de Los Bueyes. In 1880, Arthur F. Gilmore bought the property. His son, Earl Gilmore, founded Farmers Market. In 1976, the A.F. Gilmore Co. turned the adobe into its private offices. Not open to the public.

13. AVILA ADOBE

* 10 Olvera St., Los Angeles

Built in 1818 by Francisco Avila, once mayor of the city, this 176-year-old adobe--the oldest in the Los Angeles city limits--was occupied in the 1930s by the indomitable Christine Sterling, the “Mother of Olvera Street.” Open to the public (213) 625-5045

These adobes are temporarily closed because of earthquake damage. Call before visiting:

* Lopez Adobe, 1100 Pico St., San Fernando (818) 365-9990

* La Casa de la Centinela Adobe, 7634 Midfield Ave., Inglewood (310) 649-6272

* Pio Pico Mansion, Pio Pico State Historic Park, 6003 S. Pioneer Blvd., Whittier (310) 695-1217.

* Casa Adobe de San Rafael, 1330 Dorothy Drive, Glendale (818) 242-7447

* Don Vicente de la Osa Adobe, 16756 Moorpark St., Encino (818) 784-4849

* La Casa Vieja de Lopez, 330 S. Santa Anita St., San Gabriel (818) 282-5191 (damaged in the 1987 Whittier quake)

* Leonis Adobe, 23537 Calabasas Road, Calabasas (818) 365-7810

* Andres Pico Adobe, 10940 Sepulveda Blvd., Mission Hills (818) 365-7810