The "Houses on the Corner" in La Paz

A little La Paz history, for the two of you out there who care.

Contrary to what city officials and the local tourist bureau would have us believe, La Paz was not founded in 1535 (Cortez's visit). Although the Bay of La Paz is recognized as the most secure port on this end of the peninsula and was one of the places used by the regional mining district (Santa Ana and, later, San Antonio/El Triunfo) to transfer supplies and their mining output between ships and their installations, until 1811 there was nothing but seasonal fish camps along the shores of the bay. A recurring problem for visiting ships was the acquisition of supplies while they went about their business during their stay in port.

As a solution to this problem, in 1811 the Spanish government awarded a sitio (a measurement of land used for agricultural purposes under Spanish rule) that encompassed what is now the city of La Paz to one Juan Jose Espinoza. Among the requirements that Espinoza had to meet was one that mandated he provide visiting ships with fresh produce.

Even though Espinoza and his family gave it a valiant effort, they were unable to meet the demands of visiting ships, causing many captains to complain to authorities about the lack of provisions. Eventually, the Espinoza family lost their claim due to their inability to fulfill their contractual obligations and other families were allowed to settle at La Paz. Although commerce was also an important factor in the growing community's development, initially La Paz was formed as an agricultural town with port facilities.

The original town site was the arroyo where calle (street) 16 de Septiembre is now located and the mesas on either side. Given it's agricultural beginnings, it made sense that most of the early town's residents were given (or bought) whole blocks on which to establish huertas (orchards) and gardens to produce for ships' crews. The homes that families built on these blocks of land were almost always constructed on the corners of their properties. These huertas were so numerous that La Paz was known as the "Ciudad de los molinos" (city of the wind mills) during the late 1800s and early 1900s

Today, as one walks in the old historic district of La Paz (now loosely defined as the area bordered by Colonia Esterito on the north, Calle Isabel La Catolica on the east and boulevard 5 de Febrero on the south side of the city) it's still possible to see some of these old homes, which represent some of the city's oldest surviving architecture. They are most often made of brick, sometimes are made of rock, but are usually plastered over. Once you get a feel for the architecture of the period, they are quite obvious. The one thing they all have in common is: they sit on a corner.

They represent the most direct link to the city's founding.

Some Houses on the Corner:






The remains of the old well and pila (water holding facility) behind the above house, on Calle Bravo, giving a clue to the home's past.


As a kid, I accompanied a friend to buy/pick green mangoes at this huerta for his mother to make mango candy, while it still functioned as such. Note the sick, old mango tree on the right.


Close up of the sign that identifies the building's origins.


[Edited on 1-25-2012 by Bajatripper]

Thanks

THANKS---really loved reading that and it will make the next visit to La Paz more meaningful.

Please share more history.

Thanks, it all helps...

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Originally posted by morgaine7 Three people. Nice post, Tripper. Most if not all of those landmarks are familiar, and there are several more in El Esterito, where I live. I love reading about the history of the town. Where did you buy the book?

That is one of the nicest things about the "residential tourist invasion;" many foreigners see beauty worth preserving where locals may see an old delapidated building in need of removal. One of my passtimes is to walk about town snapping pictures of old homes, figuring some of them won't be around for much longer as land prices go up and these structures are seen as an impediment to progress.

Fortunately, the local government passed an ordinance some years ago (which isn't always respected) that prohibits the demolishing of such structures--that is the reason why the facade of the old Perla de La Paz building has yet to be torn down. I doubt the Ruffos want to preserve it, so there it sits, waiting for a good hurricane or strong earthquake to do their bidding (just my theory). I suspect that old wooden houses aren't protected by said ordinance, since I see these disappear with frequency.


The facade of the old La Perla de La Paz, at one time the biggest store on the peninsula.



[Edited on 1-25-2012 by Bajatripper]

Perhaps we're related, that was about the time my stepfather began visiting the city, too.

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Originally posted by Bajatripper Quote: Originally posted by rts551 Very nice review of a historical town. We always like visiting La Paz.. My Fathers first visit there was in 1949. Perhaps we're related, that was about the time my stepfather began visiting the city, too.

He did talk about trolling. I mean strolling, on the Malacon

In the '60s my family lived on the same block but around the corner from that house, on the Malecon on the property that now houses the Alamo car rental agency. The building where the Rancho Viejo restaurant now is was a small store (the room on the very corner, with two doors) which was owned and operated by a couple of elder sisters. Our mother (Bajalera), would send us there to buy her beer and cigarettes, among other items needed for daily subsistence ("those were the days!", as she would say). By the way, the Rancho Viejo building has all the markings of a "House on the Corner," although I can't claim to remember any orchards or gardens there, just a bunch of little shacks.



What I remember about the house you ask about : back then, it was just the small brick house at the core of the new brick archwork (you can still make out the original building if you look with care, it's the only thing with a roof). The wall around the property had a white picket fence on top of the lower (rock) half. The pickets have been replaced by cinder blocks on the upper wall.

There must have been an older couple living there, someone without kids, because I never met anyone who lived there, and I knew most of the kids living in those blocks back then.

Sometime in the late 80s-early 90s, when I visited La Paz I noticed that someone was building on--the arches and "new" construction on the front of the old house. They must have run out of money, for it was never finished.

I'll check with my brother, see what he remembers, and with the guy I use to hang with back then, he grew up across the street (in one of the shacks).


By the way, anyone know who owns this little beauty, a couple of blocks from the Santuario in La Paz? Sweeeeeet.




[Edited on 1-26-2012 by Bajatripper]

Blanca, I remembered this image, from Historia de Baja California, Edición crítica y anotada, by Pablo Martinez (the edition I'd recommend). What it shows are the positions of American and Mexican troops during the battle that took place in La Paz in November-December, 1847. Since Mexico lost, American forces occupied our fair city for the duration of the war, and then some (the US troops in BCS were the last to leave Mexico, several months after the end of hostilities).

The "Arroyo" in the drawing is calle 16 de Septiembre as it reaches the beachfront. While there aren't any "Houses on the Corner," one can get an appreciation for the lands under cultivation at that time.

Hope it helps.




Here's another image from the family archives, this one titled
"U.S. Ship Dale lying at La paz--lower (sic) California No 29" from "Sketches of the War in California--Meyers," painted by an American sailor in 1848, or thereabouts.

In the original, one can appreciate what appear to be many trees on the mesas on either side of the arroyo, behind the town. These aren't shown in the schematic above since it doesn't show that part of the town. They would likely be orchards, since cacti were the native vegetation of the region.

Also of interest in this painting is the American flag flying prominently over the town--about mid-picture, on top of the tallest building in La Paz.

Bajatripper,
Thanks for the info and anything else you may be able to find out on this place, what a great piece of real estate and must be some history there.

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Originally posted by UnoMas Bajatripper, Thanks for the info and anything else you may be able to find out on this place, what a great piece of real estate and must be some history there.