“It just feels like a step back in time,” Damian Orozco said. He’s the third generation to own and operate his family’s tea house on Los Rios Street in San Juan Capistrano, the smallish south Orange County city. Anywhere else in California, the Orozcos’ 28-year run would be considered an immense success — but it’s just a blip in the timeline of the Los Rios District. On this ultra-historic California street in the state’s oldest continually inhabited residential neighborhood, time just moves differently. [snip] In a state where people readily tear down historically important buildings and architecturally significant homes in the name of progress, the Los Rios District feels particularly special. The tiny neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places, which was originally settled in 1794 by workers building the nearby Mission San Juan Capistrano, is full of centuries-old homes, some of which have been lived in by one family or another since George Washington was president. Old-growth trees and cacti shade Los Rios Street as happy pedestrians stroll through, just as they might have done 230 years ago — when the French Revolution was still very much in swing. Visitors today stop to look at the old carriages on the grounds of the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society, or to watch the animals at the tiny petting zoo. Every so often, a whistle sounds in the distance and a train rolls through, dropping off new visitors and picking up day-trippers who are ready to go home. [snip] “In the ’80s and ’90s,” he explained, “the Los Rios District was nothing like what it’s like today. Really, it was considered the wrong side of the tracks. Both sides of my family are from San Juan Capistrano, and when my mom was riding horses back in the day, they would always tell her not to go through the Los Rios District because it wasn’t a great neighborhood.” All that started to change in 1995, when the city council briefly loosened restrictions on development in the district, and allowed a new restaurant to open, Ramos House Cafe. “They were the first restaurant on the street, or the first shop on the street, that reopened its doors and started the revitalization process,” Orozco said. Even outside Los Rios, San Juan Capistrano is one of the oldest and most historically significant communities in the state. What’s presumed to be California’s oldest residential home, the Pablo Pryor Adobe-Hide House, is believed to have been built in 1790 and sits about 2 miles away, close to Capistrano Beach. And Mission San Juan Capistrano, which turns 250 this year, is just blocks from the historic district and remains one of the best-preserved missions in the state, drawing over 300,000 visitors annually. [snip] Today, it’s a completely different picture. On any given day, the shady, idyllic street is full of people strolling around, taking pictures, eating at Los Rios’ coffee shop and handful of restaurants, or peeking into its few well-curated boutiques. Heavy local regulation keeps the area’s ultra-historic charm intact, including restrictions on which types of businesses can operate within the Los Rios District, and during what times. Even today, Ramos House and the Tea House can only operate during daytime hours, per those laws. With a very few exceptions, business owners are required to live within 75 feet of their establishments; Orozco grew up in Los Rios because his family relocated to start the Tea House, and generations still live on the property today, including his wife and newborn twins. The residential law, Orozco explained, “[is] to keep it more ‘cottage’ commercial. I always like to refer to it as California’s original live/work type of community because back in the day, in the 1700s and 1800s, it was still like that.” [snip] In 1995, Taylor’s parents rescued an additional 1911-era home from the city that was slated for demolition and moved it to their property. “It was in really bad shape,” Taylor said. “The city put it out to the community, and they said, ‘Hey, if you like the house, we will give it to you for free. You just need to pay to move it.’” His father and grandfather spent years restoring it, and now Taylor lives there with his wife and kids. The oldest of the structures on the street have been preserved for centuries, including the Rios Adobe, which dates back to 1794 and is the centerpiece of the neighborhood. It’s currently occupied by the 10th generation of the family; Stephen Rios lives there and runs his law practice out of the house. Once those other historic homes started coming back, the businesses started coming in. “It just started to snowball,” Taylor said. “People were drawn to this historic downtown because you don’t see a lot of that in Orange County.” [snip] Taylor is more than just a longtime local; he’s also director of development and leasing for Almquist, the developer of nearby River Street Marketplace. Part shopping center, part food hall and part community hub, the marketplace opened in 2024 just a few steps from the historic district. Connected to Los Rios by a pedestrian-only walking path, the development added more dining and shopping options and has become an additional tourist draw. Amtrak and Metrolink, Taylor said, have told Almquist that San Juan Capistrano is the busiest stop in Southern California outside of LA and San Diego. (*) Full article: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/californias-oldest-neighborhood-built-when-george-washington-was-in-office/ Post navigation Mamdani Gives Blessing to Imam Publicly Praying for Killing Non-Believers WARNING: The Plan to Replace YOU as a Parent!
