{"nrhp_refnum":"77000344","name":"Roberto-Sunol Adobe","other_names":["Laura Villa"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"770 Lincoln Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Jose","county":"Santa Clara County","state":"CA","lat":37.31634483000005,"lon":-121.90705496199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-03-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A house complex at 770 Lincoln Avenue in San Jose, California, combining a small one-room adobe built in 1839 with a two-story brick and frame house from the 1850s and a century-old Black Mission fig tree.","why_significant":"The complex illustrates the transition from Hispanic to American cultural dominance in California. It is tied to the ethnic history of California because Rancho Los Coches was one of very few land grants made to an Indian, and it later figured in a landmark land grant case. The adobe is one of two remaining from San Jose's pueblo days, and the house is among the area's earliest surviving American-era residences.","narrative":"Roberto Balermino, a Christianized mission Indian, built a one-room adobe in 1839 on the grounds of Rancho Los Coches, which had been the swine range of Mission Santa Clara. In 1844 he received the rancho as a grant from Governor Micheltorena. Don Antonio Maria Sunol, the first postmaster of San Jose, bought it in 1847 and had a brick house built beside the adobe. Stephan Splivalo, a Dalmatian sea captain, bought the property in 1853 and added a frame second story in 1854, giving the house its final look, with a long veranda and a balcony with wood balusters. The complex also includes a century-old Black Mission fig tree that still bears fruit. It shows the shift from Hispanic to American control in California and reflects Gold Rush era simplicity. Rancho Los Coches was one of very few grants made to an Indian, and it figured in a landmark land grant case. The adobe is one of two remaining from San Jose's pueblo days.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Roberto Balermino (adobe); Antonio Sunol (brick structure); Stephan Splivalo (frame second story)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"At the time of nomination the property was being restored. Plans called for the two-story section to become a professional building and the adobe to become a museum.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.755519-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000344.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000344/873566f294-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000344/873566f294-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Eugene Zelenko","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA-San_Jose-Antonio_Su%C3%B1ol_house-1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Eugene Zelenko</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA-San_Jose-Antonio_Su%C3%B1ol_house-1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861774","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto-Su%C3%B1ol_Adobe","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q89536560"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-clara-county/roberto-sunol-adobe-77000344/"}