Special event - we are invited to sketch at Rancho Los Alamitos before it is open to the general public. Please consider making a donation for their generosity. **Please note: we need to leave the premises by 1pm.
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*Please note the following guidelines from the Rancho:
• Because of toxicity, please dispose of waste water in public restrooms only. Do not pour waste water on plants and lawn.
• Portable stools/foldable chairs and lightweight easels are allowed.
• Please keep pathways and doorways clear and avoid blocking exhibits or entrances.
• Protect surfaces and landscaping; no taping or leaning materials on historic structures.
• Please keep off garden walkways so that other visitors can pass. We should set up on the lawn areas or wider paved roads.
• Please do not sit or climb on the roots of Moreton Bay Fig trees (large trees in front of house), or trample plants.
• Do not enter areas of the site that are roped off.
• Garden furniture, artifacts, or agricultural equipment should not be handled or moved.
• Please do not enter Historic Buildings.
• No smoking or vaping is permitted on site.
• Please do not set up too close to our livestock and do not feed or handle the animals.
• No food or drinks are allowed, except at picnic tables in the parking lot.
• Should you spill any paint or other materials, please clean them up immediately. Please contact a staff member if you need assistance.
• No pets other than service animals are allowed on site.
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**Please take into account that 405 Freeway between 101 and 10 will be reduced to 3 lanes on the weekend between September 5-8:
https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-7/district-7-news/d7-405-extended-weekend-closure-reduce-lanes
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This is a spectacular site with restored buildings, including an adobe house expanded into a 10,00 square foot family home after oil was discovered at Signal Hill, a barn with horses and chickens, and series of garden rooms in different styles, most created between 1920 and 1936, including the Cutting Garden, Native Garden, Secret Garden, Jacaranda Walk, Geranium Walk, Cypress Patio and more.
Let's meet at the picnic tables outside the Visitor Center building at 10:00 am and reconvene there at 12:30 pm to share our work and take a group photo. See driving directions and parking information below. There is a gate at the entrance as you drive up - let the staff know that you are visiting Rancho Alamitos so they can open the gate for you. Parking is free, carpooling is encouraged. Please note that the inside of the Ranch House is only accessible by timed, docent-led tours, with photography permitted in the gardens, but not inside the ranch house. Food can be brought in, but must be consumed at the picnic tables.
According to the website, Rancho Los Alamitos is 7.5-acres, a vestige of the original 300,000-acre Los Coyotes land concession given to Manuel Nieto in 1790 for his service on the Gaspar de Portolá expedition to California under the Spanish Crown. The site is also part of the ancestral village of Povuu’ngna, the traditional place of origin of the native Gabrielino-Tongva people of the Los Angeles Basin, and still is a sacred place. In 1968, the children of Fred and Florence Bixby, the last private owners, donated the ranch to the City of Long Beach. The property is operated by the Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation. Much more history is detailed in the website:
https://www.rancholosalamitos.org
Also check out other Trips & Adventurous Activities in Seal Beach.
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