Skywatch Friday: Peralta Rancho

What's left of the vast Peralta Rancho, a land grant of originally more than 44,000 acres, is this Italianate House built in 1870.  The previous adobes were successively torn down.   A few adobe bricks associated with a Peralta house can still be found in Dimond Park.  Luis Maria Peralta, with his parents, was a member of the de Anza expedition of 1775 that established Mission San Jose, the Precidio, and Mission Delores.   Ultimately, he was granted a large tract of land in 1820 that covered much of the East Bay from Albany to San Jose.  Although initially a productive and profitable operation, over time the land was subdivided amongst his children.  Eventually much of it was sold, some of it was grabbed by Anglos after the Gold Rush, and eventually the land was reduced to a handful of acres around this 'modern" house.   The home remained neglected for many years until renovated by the city and turned into an education center and museum.  The center educates the public about the rancho period and the part it played in the area's economy and general history.   Linked to Skywatch Friday.