Andres Pico Adobe

I highly recommend this place. We had a lovely tour guided by the sweetest person. Her name is Midge; if you can coordinate your visit with her, you won’t regret it. She was very knowledgeable and welcomed questions and dialogue. There are a lot of hidden gems in the SFV and this is one of them. We learned a lot about local history and it was very interesting. It’s like a museum only you get so actually touch stuff!

Awesome piece of LA History. Great place to take your kids for a history lesson. Wonderful original artifacts belonging to the Van Nuys and Lankershim families.

Such a friendly bunch of employees. Unfortunately, we arrived a half hour after they’d officially closed and we were still offered a tour. Very knowledgable and passionate about the history of LA. The guide even wound up the victrola and played some wonderful music for us.

How can you give such an historic location a one-​star rating? It’s one of the oldest homes in the City of Los Angeles and the oldest home in the San Fernando Valley. It’s the former home of Andres Pico. In 1845 he ran a cattle ranch on grounds of the San Fernando Mission and a year later he commanded troops in the Mexican-​American War. He later became the acting Governor of Mexican Alta California and he signed the agreement ending the Mexican American War.
I will happily resuscitate the Andres Pico Adobe from of its one-​star, lifeless, status and give it the 5-​star rating that it deserves. This place is awesome and packed full of history. It’s free and it’s open every Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and every third Sunday. The friendly and knowledgeable docent, who kindly volunteers her time here, gave us a tour of the home. It’s a great place to bring kids because there are a number of authentic antiques items that you can touch and examine while the docent provides education on their use. My favorite item was the antique toaster– I would have never of guessed that’s what it was.
This location has an added bonus– it’s the home of the San Ferrnando Valley Historical Society, which means you also get to view their countless artifacts and exhibits located in the upper level of the home. There are a numerous of dresses from the 1800s, the actual luggage and possessions of Tiburico Vasquez, the notorious bandit that Vasquez Rocks is named after, various Native American artifacts, and much more. We were given small adobe bricks along with the recipe on how to make them at home. I was told that they also let children churn real butter and create adobe tiles.
I felt like I only scratched the surface. I definitely look forward to a return trip. I also recommend also visiting the nearby San Fernando Mission.