{"nrhp_refnum":"11000942","name":"Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo Museum","other_names":["Nellie's"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"67-616 E. Desert View Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Desert Hot Springs","county":"Riverside County","state":"CA","lat":33.95814367350005,"lon":-116.4826475200521,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-02-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 4.77-acre compound at 67-616 East Desert View Avenue, Desert Hot Springs, California, with two Pueblo Revival buildings: the Museum building (built 1941-1944) and Nellie's House, both designed and built by Cabot Abram Yerxa.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the two buildings embody the distinctive characteristics of Pueblo Revival design and possess high artistic values. They are also tied to Desert Hot Springs pioneer Cabot Yerxa, who designed and built them from his own sketches using salvaged materials. The other structures on the site are non-contributing due to lost integrity or later construction.","narrative":"Perched on a steep slope at the foot of a small canyon in Desert Hot Springs, this compound grew from the homestead of Cabot Abram Yerxa, a local pioneer. Construction of the four-level Museum began in 1941, and it opened in 1944 as a trading post, art gallery and residence. Nearby stands Nellie's House, built for Yerxa's mother. Both buildings imitate the stepped, flat-roofed forms of Southwestern pueblos, using wood framing, metal lath and cement plaster, with adobe-style blocks on part of the Museum's first floor and projecting vigas. Yerxa worked from his own sketches without a licensed architect, reusing windows, doors and timber salvaged from abandoned buildings, so no two doors or windows match. The listing recognizes his role in the area's history and the buildings' Pueblo Revival design. Sheds, shade structures, a restroom and a 1978 carved totem on the 4.77-acre site are counted as non-contributing.","period_of_significance":"1941-1944","architect_builder":"Yerxa, Cabot Abram","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals / Pueblo","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"The Museum is in museum use with some former living areas converted to offices; Nellie's House is described as currently vacant.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.738461-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/11000942.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000942/4858a0c4ed-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000942/4858a0c4ed-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Jllm06","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cabots-Pueblo-Museum.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jllm06</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cabots-Pueblo-Museum.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860443","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabot%27s_Pueblo_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5015765"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/riverside-county/cabots-old-indian-pueblo-museum-11000942/"}