A National Historic Landmark built in 1827, the Cooper-Molera Adobe in Monterey, California, recently completed work funded in part by a 2022 National Park Service Save America’s Treasures grant, where funds are awarded from the Historic Preservation Fund. This grant supported restoration work on both the Cooper and Diaz Adobes, both of which are central to the interpretation of the over two-acre site, along with additional improvements.

This National Trust Historic Site sits in the center of Monterey’s historic district and was home to an English merchant, J.B. Cooper, and his wife, Encarnación Vallejo Cooper. The site was both a home and, over time, a commercial enterprise, a legacy that continues today as the historic site is home to an event space, a bakery, and a restaurant.

During the restoration process, the site, garden, and businesses remained open to the public, but on July 31, 2025, after five months of construction, staff from Cooper-Molera and the National Trust marked the completion of the restoration with fanfare.

Explore the Cooper-Molera Adobe, the restoration, and its magnificent garden through this photo essay.

The Restoration of Cooper-Molera Adobe

In 2009, following a condition assessment on Cooper-Molera Adobe's 2.5 acres, a number of high priority projects were identified, including the development of a new strategy around the operations of this historic site.

Starting in the fall of 2014, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in partnership with Foothill Partners, California State Parks, the Monterey State Historic Park Association, and the Alliance of Monterey Area Preservationists, gathered to address some of the recommendations outlined in the 2009 condition assessment. The result was a model "Shared-Use" project, which addressed the most urgent preservation needs of the barn complex and overall landscape. The 2017-2018 restoration included the upgrades required to support compatible commercial uses—all part of a focus on reimagining the traditional house museum model which shares infrastructure, mixing businesses (Alta Bakery, Cella, Restaurant, and The Barns) with the nonprofit historic site.

However, while that model addressed the economic and long-term sustainability of the historic site, the two adobe residences—the historic core of the site—were largely excluded from that effort.

In the years since, the exterior conditions of both structures have continued to deteriorate, and the balcony of the Cooper Adobe has suffered significant damage from wood rot and termite activity. A 2022 assessment underscored the critical necessity of repairing the balcony, and following the award of a Save America’s Treasures grant from the National Park Service, the National Trust assembled a project team to carry out the rehabilitation work.

The work included, but was not limited to, site drainage improvements, waterproofing, the repair of the exterior second floor balcony on the east and north sides of the Cooper adobe to address wood rot, rehabilitation of doors and windows and associated shutters and trip, stucco repair, seismic bracing at the unreinforced brick chimneys on both Cooper and Diaz adobes, and with repainting and finishing. Architectural Resources Group and Hare Construction joined the National Trust as the architectural and engineering teams for the project.

National Trust Graham Gund Architect, Mark Stoner said, “I am very pleased with the work completed on the Cooper and Diaz Adobes, which relied on significant attention to detail from both our architect and our contractors. This project not only restores and enhances the historic character of the original 1820s Cooper-Molera residences, but also ensures their continued preservation for future generations of visitors to learn from and enjoy.”

A Public Space for Community

One of the hallmarks of Cooper-Molera Adobe is its historic gardens, which include an orchard of fruit trees, towering oak trees, a herb garden, and a bouquet of colors in the form of roses, geraniums, and blooms with whimsical names such as Cup of Gold, Mexican Marigold, and Grandmother's Hat. Volunteers from the Historic Garden League of Monterey work to restore and maintain Cooper-Molera's Historic Garden alongside Efrain Zarazua, Cooper-Molera's buildings and grounds technician.

For those who visit Cooper-Molera, the garden is at the heart of the complex, a common portal for visitors to the restaurant, bakery, event space, and historic site, reminding them that a place for gathering is all part of a larger story.

In addition to those who patronize the businesses, Lee-Garcia sees those who work in the City of Monterey come through the garden for moments of respite, students from a nearby high school, and the garden area is used for a range of programming by the site, including Yoga and Tai Chi.

As Karyn Lee-Garcia, executive director of Cooper-Molera Adobe, said in a recent episode of Filoli's Morning in the Garden podcast, "I love to see people's faces when they're wandering through the garden and they realize, one, that they can walk in, that this is a public space for them every day of the week [and two], they're curious and as they start walking through the property they start uncovering more and more about the space."

To further explore the gardens of Cooper-Molera Adobe, immerse yourself in this garden-hopping episode of Morning in the Garden from Filoli, also a National Trust Historic Site. You can hear directly from Lee-Garcia about the history of the site and the role the garden plays in public engagement, Donna Gibson, the president of the Historic Garden League, whose volunteers maintain the space, and Isabella de Sibert from Stuck in the Mud, a California garden consultant, who was point on the most recent revitalization of the garden.