Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz

Nuestra Señora Reina de La Paz, known as La Paz, is a 187-acre property in Keene, in the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains. Its buildings reflect three phases of use. Four buildings date to the 1910s, when a nearby rock quarry operated. From the 1920s to the 1960s the site served as a tuberculosis sanatorium, leaving dormitory, hospital, cafeteria and residential buildings, many with Craftsman or California Bungalow features and board-and-batten or stucco walls. In the 1970s the United Farm Workers of America made La Paz its national headquarters, and Cesar Chavez lived there year-round with other union staff. The union added buildings such as an administration building, manufactured housing units, a water tank and satellite dishes. The district is listed for its association with Chavez and the union between 1970 and 1984. Chavez is buried in a memorial garden on the grounds. The property remains in use, with a visitor center built in 2004 on the foundation of an earlier bunkhouse and infirmary.