Restoration of Land and Culture

Restoration of Land and Culture. . , This property was once the center of Cambria's Chinese community, This "Red House" model shows two additions at the rear. What was once a temple, then a living room, is now a "California Place of Historical Interest.", The Chinese Temple or "Joss House" had both fraternal and religious uses., The temple was the community center for the workers who harvested seaweed and abalone for shipment back to China, or worked in local quicksilver (mercury) mines in the mountains east of town., Here the local Chinese socialized and gambled, prayed and worshiped. Nearby buildings included a bunk house, laundries, and cabins., The Chinese left Cambria about 1916, many moving to San Francisco to join the growing Chinese community there. The Warren family later purchased the property., Given the rarity of the surviving temple and its importance to early Chinese residents, Greenspace acquired the property in 1999 and committed to its preservation. , Sanborn Insurance Company maps from 1886 to 1926 show how the temple's locations, orientations, and labels changed., On the tan-colored 1913 map below, the Red House was mapped for the first time. , The white-colored 1926 map shows that the Red House had been moved and two rooms were added: the temple became a living room, and another structure was brought from Main Street to be a kitchen., The Sanborn Insurance Company, based in New York, created maps like the above in order to write fire insurance policies. The Sanborn Company sent out legions of surveyors and cartographers to map building footprints and details related to fire risk: the outlines of buildings and outbuildings; location of windows and doors; building use and the composition of building materials including framing, flooring, and roofing materials; sprinkler systems; property boundaries; the locations of fire hydrants, water pipes and gas mains; the local fire department's capabilities; street names; natural features; and the names of most public buildings, churches and businesses - including temples and brothels, the homes of prominent individuals, and more ephemeral buildings such as outhouses, barns and stables. , In 1929, the Great Depression caused the Sanborn Company to significantly reduce its publishing output. The white map on the left is the last Sanborn map of Cambria. , Heritage Restored , In 2007, Rick Hawley, Greenspace Executive Director at the time, supervised the relocation and foundation-to-roof restoration of the Chinese temple, guided and executed by experienced professionals., (aside:), A rare artifact of the Chinese era in Cambria , A sign from the Temple was used as a drainboard in the Red House kitchen. Large red characters carved into redwood said "Wu Ti Miao" (Warrior Temple or "temple dedicated to the god of war"). The smaller characters refer to March 1899 on the Western calendar. The sign had disappeared by 1999, but Forrest Warren's tracing of it allowed a Greenspace boardmember to carve a replica.