House of the Four Winds

The House of the Four Winds stands out with its distinct adobe walls and a steep, shingled roof that slopes down over a wide, covered veranda. Built in the eighteen thirties by Thomas Larkin, the first and only United States consul to Mexican California, it functioned as the town’s first Hall of Records. During the American occupation, local officials stored land titles and government documents here, often keeping them under lock and key while the town transitioned between two different nations.