Page 4 - getty1994earthquake_camulos

The 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles vividly
demonstrated once again the destruction that can be
sustained by adobe buildings. One such building, the
Del Valle Adobe at Rancho Camulos, located about 18
miles northwest of the epicenter, was damaged
extensively. Now this adobe has become the first
historic structure to be retrofitted in light of the results
of the GCI's work under GSAP.
The Del Valle Adobe, situated near Piru, California, is a Two views of a section of Rancho
rancho of Mission San Fernando and is considered an Camulos, before and after the
outstanding stylistic example of California's old 1994 Northridge earthquake.
ranchos. Established as a nonprofit organization in Photos: Courtesy Shirley Lorentz.
1994, the 40-acre site, now called the Rancho Camulos
Museum (part of a much larger, functioning 1,400-acre ranch), includes the adobe main
residence, a brick winery, a smaller adobe outbuilding, and the original chapel. Many of
the historic features of the buildings—such as the cocina (kitchen), the Greek Revival
detailing of the fireplaces, chair railings, and corredor posts—remain as exemplars of early
California architecture. The main residence is one of the attractions of the rancho because
it served as the model for the home of the heroine in the well-known romance novel
Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson; the novel is noted for its portrayal of the idyllic pastoral
days of early California.

The earliest portion of the building, constructed in 1841, consists of three rooms that are
one-and-one-half stories in height and a one-story, one-room extension. Over the years,
the building evolved into a u-shaped complex with a central courtyard. The single-story
room, known as Ramona's room, is situated at the southeast corner. During the
earthquake, two walls of Ramona's room collapsed. The gable-end wall at the southeast
corner was severely damaged but did not collapse; the stone walls at the north end of the
west wing suffered severe cracks at the corners.

Crack damage occurred throughout the building, especially at corners and, because of
pounding, at wall intersections. Spalling of interior and exterior plaster was extensive, as
was the collapse of adobe in areas that had been weakened by previous repeated
exposure to water. In many locations, the walls had pulled away from the ceiling joists,
and damage to the walls further reduced their ability to support the joists. The severe
damage to the building probably resulted from a combination of factors: the lack of
structural elements either tying the walls together or tying the roof-ceiling system to the
walls, the presence of pre-existing earthquake-related cracks, and water damage that
weakened the lower sections of the adobe walls and foundation.
As part of GSAP, a team consisting of E. Leroy Tolles, Anthony Crosby, Edna Kimbro, and
Frederick Webster surveyed the extent of Northridge earthquake damage to historic adobe
structures, including Rancho Camulos, immediately after the earthquake (the survey
findings were later published by the GCI). At the request of the Rancho Camulos owners,
a damage assessment was made; emergency shoring and bracing plans were formulated;
and a strategy for obtaining repair financing was developed.
Ultimately, federal funding of $500,000 was obtained through a program administered by
the Historic Preservation Partners for Earthquake Response, a collaborative project of the
National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the California Office of
Historic Preservation, the Los Angeles Conservancy, the California Preservation
Foundation, and the GCI. Additional funding of $250,000 was obtained from the County of
Ventura.

The major part of the funding provided for the
installation of a complete seismic retrofit system using
the technology developed under GSAP. A portion of the
funds was used for repair of the main residence and for
stabilization of the winery and the small adobe
outbuilding. Tolles, who was also principal investigator
for GSAP, led the private design team for the project.
He was joined by Crosby, a historical architect, and
Kimbro, a historian and architectural conservator. The
design team worked with Steade Craigo of the
California State Office of Historic Preservation and with A detail of the east gable during