The city of Long Beach, on behalf of Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site, will receive a $680,000 grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment toward construction of a visitor education center at the publicly operated museum.
The Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation will provide more than $1 million in matching funds for this project as part of its larger campaign to implement Master Plan recommendations at the site. The Foundation recently selected Jean Bixby Smith to chair its capital campaign as the foundation seeks to raise $5 million for site improvements.
Rancho Los Cerritos is Long Beach’s only national, state and local historic landmark. Operated by the city through the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine, the Rancho works in partnership with the Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation to generate revenue from private, corporate and public sources for much needed restoration and improvements. In the late 1990s, the foundation funded a master plan by Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA, now currently the State Historic Preservation officer, and a team of experts including historians, interpreters and landscape architects. The team identified preservation needs, recommended new facilities, and proposed new educational directions in order to enable Rancho to achieve its greatest potential as an educational and cultural asset to the community and surrounding region.
In 2002, the city of Long Beach completed Phase I of the master plan. This included the seismic retrofit of the adobe structure, as well as exterior repairs and improvements for disabled access. The foundation is currently committed to developing Phase II projects, including the visitor education center, a small caretaker residence, entryway improvements and landscaping renovations. These will enhance the visitor experience, open up more of the 1844 adobe for public tours, and augment site security and aesthetics.
The grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment, matched by the foundation, will enable work to begin on the visitor education center within the next year. The center, based on the 1835 Cota family adobe that once stood on the property, will house a small video theater and exhibits for visitor orientation, as well as costume storage and restrooms.
Construction will enable Rancho staff to introduce living history tours on a daily basis, and provide the facilities and resources to ensure that museum visitors understand the Rancho’s place within the broader of context of California and the United States.
The Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site is located at 4600 Virginia Road. For further information visit www.rancholoscerritos.org or call (562) 570-1755.
