Larkin House

---

title: "Larkin House" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["history-of-monterey-county,-california", "history-of-the-monterey-bay-area", "houses-in-monterey-county,-california", "houses-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-california", "houses-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-monterey-county,-california", "historic-american-buildings-survey-in-california", "national-historic-landmarks-in-california", "spanish-colonial-architecture-in-california", "spanish-revival-architecture-in-california", "museums-in-monterey-county,-california", "historic-house-museums-in-california", "buildings-and-structures-in-monterey,-california", "monterey-state-historic-park", "national-register-of-historic-places-in-monterey-county,-california", "individually-listed-contributing-properties-to-historic-districts-on-the-national-register-in-california", "national-historic-landmark-district-contributing-properties"] description: "Historic house in California, United States" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larkin_House" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Historic house in California, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox NRHP"]

Field	Value
name	Larkin House
nrhp_type	nhl
image	Larkin House.jpg
caption	Larkin House
location	510 Calle Principal, Monterey, California
coordinates
locmapin	United States Monterey Peninsula
nocat	yes
map_caption	Location in the Monterey Peninsula
built	1835
architect	Thomas O. Larkin
architecture	Monterey Colonial—Spanish Colonial
designated_other1	California
designated_other1_number	106
designated_other1_date	March 29, 1933
designated_nrhp_type	December 19, 1960
added	October 15, 1966
refnum	66000215
nrhp_type2	nhldcp
designated_nrhp_type2	April 15, 1970
partof	Monterey Old Town Historic District
partof_refnum	70000137
::

| name = Larkin House | nrhp_type = nhl | image = Larkin House.jpg | caption = Larkin House | location = 510 Calle Principal, Monterey, California | coordinates = | locmapin = United States Monterey Peninsula | nocat = yes | map_caption = Location in the Monterey Peninsula | area = | built = 1835 | architect = Thomas O. Larkin | architecture = Monterey Colonial—Spanish Colonial | designated_other1 = California | designated_other1_number = 106 | designated_other1_date = March 29, 1933 | designated_nrhp_type = December 19, 1960 | added = October 15, 1966 | refnum = 66000215 | nrhp_type2 = nhldcp | designated_nrhp_type2 = April 15, 1970 | partof = Monterey Old Town Historic District | partof_refnum = 70000137 The Larkin House is a historic house at 464 Calle Principal in Monterey, California. Built in 1835 by Thomas O. Larkin, it is claimed to be the first two-story house in all of California, with a design combining Spanish Colonial building methods with New England architectural features to create the popular Monterey Colonial style of architecture. The Larkin House is both a National and a California Historical Landmark, and is a featured property of Monterey State Historic Park.

Description

The Larkin House is located in the historic center of Monterey, California, at the southwest corner of Calle Principal and Jefferson Street. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with walls of adobe and a low-pitch hip roof. Three of its four sides are covered by a two-story wood-frame flat-roof veranda. The post-and-beam framing is exposed in the interior, where there is also a fireplace and chimney.

The building was originally part of a large piece of property at Calle Principal in Monterey. It shares a parcel of land with the Sherman Quarters. In William T. Sherman's memoirs, he described the house as "the adobe back of Larkin's. The entrance is located in the gardens of the Larkin House."

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Larkin-house-c1890.jpg" caption="Thomas Larkin House, Monterey, California, circa 1890"] ::

In 1832 Thomas O. Larkin, a native of Massachusetts, joined his half-brother John B. R. Cooper in business in California. Larkin became the most influential American in Monterey, then the capital of Alta California. He served as the only United States consul to Mexico in Monterey. Larkin sought to build a house more typical of his native New England, but local sawmills were unable to supply him with sufficient redwood for the purpose.

Larkin compromised by building a typical New England frame, but then finished its walls in whitewashed adobe. The construction using a wooden frame and mud bricks resulted in a leaner, sturdier adobe building than traditional adobe structures made primarily from mud and straw. The greater stability of Monterey buildingscompared to single-story adobesallowed for a large second-story and long covered porch. The covered second story porch also protected the adobe façade and walls of the house from water damage.

By adapting an east coast building form to available California materials, adobe and redwood, and to California architectural preferences, Larkin created a style that synthesized elements of two very different cultures, that of the Spanish and Mexican colonists and of the Americans moving into California.

The framing made it possible to significantly enlarge the window openings over traditional Spanish Colonial architecture, and the style of this house rapidly spread across California. The house is believed to be the first two-story house in California, and the first to have a chimney.

The Larkin House was designated as a California Historical Landmark in 1933.

References

References

1. {{cite ohp. 106. Larkin House. 2012-10-10
2. "Larkin House". National Park Service.
3. {{NRISref. 2008a
4. Andresen, Anna Geil. (1917). "Historic Landmarks of Monterey, California". Salinas Index Press.
5. Federal Writers' Project. (2013). "The WPA Guide to California". Trinity University Press.
6. "Larkin House---American Latino Heritage: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary".
7. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Larkin House}}, National Park Service and {{NHLS url".

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