History
The Soberanes Adobe at 336 Pacific Street in Monterey is one of a group of surviving Mexican-period residences clustered in the historic core of California's first capital. Built in the 1840s for the Soberanes family, prominent members of the Monterey rancho aristocracy, the adobe stands within a few blocks of the Custom House, the Royal Presidio Chapel, and other landmark structures of the Spanish and Mexican eras.
The building was constructed in the local Monterey-style tradition that emerged in the city during the late Mexican period. Walls were laid up in sun-dried adobe brick on stone footings, with a low-pitched gabled roof framed in timber and originally covered in fired clay tile. The two-story plan included a cantilevered wooden balcony along the principal facade, characteristic of the Monterey idiom that combined the Spanish adobe tradition with timber-framed elements introduced by American and English settlers arriving in the 1830s and 1840s. Interior finishes were of whitewashed lime plaster, with plank floors and exposed timber ceiling beams.
After the Soberanes tenure the building passed through successive private owners as Monterey transitioned from Mexican capital to American port town and later to a tourist and fishing center. Like several of its neighbors, it was preserved through the early-twentieth-century revival of interest in Monterey's Spanish and Mexican heritage that culminated in the State Historic Park system.
The Historic American Buildings Survey documented the structure in the mid-twentieth century, producing the photographic record held by the Library of Congress under reference HABS CAL,27-MONT,40-. The adobe remains in private ownership today, integrated into the residential and commercial fabric of historic Monterey.
Within California's adobe tradition, the Soberanes Adobe is part of the irreplaceable concentration of Monterey-style residences that document the formative period of California civic architecture and the distinctive hybrid building idiom of the Mexican-period capital.
Common questions
What is the Soberanes Adobe?
The Soberanes Adobe is a historic two-story adobe building in Monterey, California. It is documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey collection at the Library of Congress, which records its east and west elevations, balcony overhang, interior stairhall, and living room.
How old is the Soberanes Adobe?
No precise construction year for the Soberanes Adobe is preserved in the available records. HABS photographs of the building date to October 1960, indicating the property had been recognized as historically significant by the time of documentation.
Where is the Soberanes Adobe located?
The Soberanes Adobe is located at 336 Pacific Street in Monterey, in Monterey County, California.
Is the Soberanes Adobe open to the public?
No, the Soberanes Adobe is recorded in this entry as a private property and is not open for tours.
What architectural style is the Soberanes Adobe?
The Soberanes Adobe is built in a vernacular adobe style, with a two-story plan, second-story balcony, and east and west elevations documented in HABS photographs.
