BlockBefore
Photograph of Centinela Adobe
Photograph by Los Angeles, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Centinela Adobe

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 16 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1896.

From the record

“The Centinela Adobe, also known as La Casa de la Centinela, is a Spanish Colonial style adobe house in Westchester, Los Angeles, California, built in 1834. It is operated as a house museum by the Historical Society of Centinela Valley, and it is one of the 43 surviving adobes within Los Angeles County, California.”

Wikipedia article Centinela Adobe, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 616 National Register listings published here for Los Angeles County · listed in 1974 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 7634 Midfield Ave., Los Angeles, 90045
  • When was it listed? May 1974
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Los Angeles
  • Architectural style. Spanish Colonial architecture
  • National Register reference number. 74000522 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1896 to 1901

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 5 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Centinela Adobe, surveyed 1901
Topographic sheet covering Centinela Adobe, surveyed 1896

Fires near this property

256 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 256 fires within 5 miles of Centinela Adobe between 2005 and 2020, burning about 109 acres in total. None started naturally. 15 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined177
Smoking34
Arson/incendiarism15
Equipment and vehicle use15
Debris and open burning7
Misuse of fire by a minor7
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
5 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
27 September 2010Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
27 September 2010Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
25 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Centinela Adobe: 9 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Silica, Gold. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Pacific Beach Mining & Dredging CoGoldPast Producer
Gordon Transfer & Trucking Co.SilicaPast Producer
Mcilroy Blasting Sand Co.SilicaPast Producer
Paramount Sand Co.SilicaPast Producer
Walter D. RansomSilicaPast Producer
City Brick Co. PitClayPast Producer
Independent Brick Co. Pit and PlantClayPast Producer
Material YardClayProducer
Simmons Brick Co.-Inglewood PlantClayPast Producer
Standard Brick Co.-Inglewood YardClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this property

8 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Los Angeles, the town this property stands in, in 8 storm reports between 2000 and 2026: 3 flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 high wind, 1 tornado. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
March 2023Tornado (EF1)East Los Angeles1 hurtA weak tornado developed in the community of Montebello. The EF1 tornado impacted the area around the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Maple Avenue. There was substantial damage to the industrial warehouse and commercial business district, including nearly total roof collapse in one building and a total of 17 damaged structures. Numerous vehicles were damaged due to flying debris.
February 2000Thunderstorm WindLos Angeles1 hurtno account filed
February 2026FloodLos Angeles-Heavy rain produced significant roadway flooding on Interstate 110 near West 39th Street.
February 2026Flash FloodLos Angeles-Heavy rainfall generated flash flooding near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 110.
February 2026Thunderstorm WindLos Angeles-Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down several trees in the South Los Angeles area.
March 2002High WindLos Angeles-no account filed
February 2000FloodLos Angeles-no account filed
April 2000FloodLos Angeles-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Los Angeles County

Maps showing this location

16 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Fox Theatre Inglewood1.1 miles2013
Forum1.8 miles2014
Hangar One2.5 miles1992
View Park Historic District2.8 miles2016
Mar Vista Gardens2.8 miles2018
Angelus Mesa Branch3.4 miles1987

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 74000522 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Los Angeles CountyAll 616 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.