Trujillo Adobe named one of America’s most endangered historic places

One site in Riverside was named by a national organization as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2021.

The Trujillo Adobe, located on West Center Street in the city’s Northside, was constructed in 1862 by the Trujillo family and is the oldest known building in Riverside. Lorenzo Trujillo built the Adobe in what was then Mexico, and led expeditions as a scout across the Old Spanish Trail, enabling immigrants to settle throughout inland California.

Riverside County owns the Trujillo Adobe and is supportive of preservation efforts, as is the city.

In a press release last week, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said the community is called to care for and protect the location.

“Preservation is more than just salvaging a structure. It’s about capturing the stories, the histories and experiences that the structure evokes,” she said in the release.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation lists these sites annually and acts on their behalf in courts and in Congress to save them. The organization also raises and provides millions in grant funding to restore the sites.