Christmas in the Adobes

Holiday traditions and Monterey history merge in “Christmas in the Adobes,” presented each year by the California State Parks in association with the Old Monterey Preservation Society. Hosts and Hostesses dress in period costumes and welcome visitors to Monterey’s historic buildings lit by luminaries, candlelight and enhanced with period Christmas decorations, musical entertainment, and refreshments. Twenty-one participating adobes clustered in a five-block area are featured each year and all are within walking distance for the self-guided tour.

Volunteering with the NPS OSSC

Each year, the OSSC provides volunteers to act as docents in the Larkin House. Each volunteer is fitted with a period costume and given history, mystery, and tales about the house to share with visitors. Our volunteer docent dates for 2006 are Friday, December 8 and Saturday, December 9. Volunteer shifts run from approximately 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. each night.

In addition to volunteering during the “Christmas In The Adobes” event, the OSSC also helps prepare for the festivities by making old tyme garlands and by decorating the Larkin house. Garland-making is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, December 2 from 10am to 2pm. We will decorate the house Wednesday, December 6 at 10am.

If you would like to join other OSSC volunteers for this year’s “Christmas In The Adobes,” please contact the volunteer coordinator at adobes @ npsossc.org.

About The Larkin House

Without a doubt one of the most beautiful adobes on the tour is the Larkin House, located on Calle Principal at Jefferson Street in downtown Monterey. The Larkin House is a reminder of the influence Thomas Oliver Larkin exerted on California's political history and on secular architecture during the first half of the 19th century. One of the first 2-story houses built in Monterey and one of the earliest examples of Monterey colonial architecture, it was started in 1834 shortly after Larkin came to California as a Yankee merchant.

Larkin became one of the most successful men in Monterey. In 1844 he was appointed U.S. Consul to Alto California under Mexican rule, and for the next five years the adobe served as headquarters and the center of social life on the Capital. In this building, many historic decisions regarding California's future were made.

Thank you to the Monterey County Historical Society for their information regarding the Larkin House. If you would like to find out more about the Larkin House or other historical buildings in the Monterey area, please visit their website by clicking here.