History
The Workman Adobe at 15415 Don Julian Road in the City of Industry, in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, was built in the 1840s by William Workman, an English-born trader who arrived in southern California in 1841 and joined with John Rowland in receiving the Mexican grant of Rancho La Puente. The property became one of the principal rancho headquarters of the eastern Los Angeles basin.
The original adobe was constructed in the vernacular tradition of the late Mexican period. Walls were laid up in sun-dried adobe brick on stone footings, with timber roof framing originally covered in fired clay tile. The plan was a long single-story arrangement with rooms opening to a covered corridor along the principal facade. In the 1870s Workman significantly remodeled and expanded the building under the influence of the English country-house tradition, encasing portions of the original adobe in brick veneer, adding gabled wings, and introducing Gothic and Italianate decorative details. The result was a hybrid structure documenting the rancho-era adobe core and its mid-Victorian American transformation.
The Workman family, joined later by their son-in-law F. P. F. Temple, became central figures in early Los Angeles banking and civic affairs. The collapse of the Temple-Workman bank in the 1870s ended the family's financial dominance, and the rancho holdings were progressively subdivided.
The property was eventually acquired by Walter P. Temple in the early twentieth century and later transferred to public stewardship. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 under reference number 74000519. The site now operates as the Homestead Museum, with extensive interpretation of the Workman, Temple, and broader rancho heritage of the San Gabriel Valley.
Within California's adobe tradition, the Workman Adobe is a particularly clear example of the layered building history common to rancho-era properties, documenting both the original Mexican-period adobe construction and its subsequent transformation under the Victorian-era influences of the American economy.
Common questions
What is the Workman Adobe?
The Workman Adobe is a historic adobe property in Industry, California, listed on the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 74000519. It is a vernacular adobe building representative of early California residential construction in Los Angeles County.
When was the Workman Adobe built?
Construction records for the Workman Adobe are incomplete. It was determined historically significant when added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Where is the Workman Adobe located?
The Workman Adobe is located at 15415 Don Julian Road in the City of Industry, California, in eastern Los Angeles County.
Is the Workman Adobe open to the public?
No, the Workman Adobe is a private residence and is not open for tours. Visitors should respect the privacy of the occupants and view the property only from the public street.
Why is the Workman Adobe historically significant?
The Workman Adobe was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 under reference number 74000519, recognizing its historical and architectural value as a surviving adobe property in eastern Los Angeles County.