Rather than a town of ancient cliff dwellers, El Adobe Village was a shopping center in La Verne. Located at Foothill Boulevard and Wheeler Avenue, it was a unique-looking series of buildings. Let’s let Eric Scherer of the city planning department tell the story. There’s even a personal note to it.

“Originally constructed in several phases between 1977 and 1979, it was designed with Spanish-style architecture, interior courtyards, fountains, smooth plaster, large wooden gates at the entry points, ‘desert’ landscaping (what we would call drought-tolerant today) with the main anchor being a large Carlos O’Brien’s Mexican restaurant that had live entertainment. Some women would complain, however, as the walkways were purposely uneven and it was difficult to walk through the center while wearing heels.

“The building housed many shops, some of which remained within town at different locations after the center closed (Sarcas Ski and Sport, Bob Mastro pharmacy, and JML Haircutting (the only one still open today)).There was a Sgt. Pepper’s restaurant too… although it seems like that was just a sandwich/salad type place with no real theme (imagine the possibilities!). The center also boasted a pet store, a Chinese restaurant and a sweet shop.

“As a kid, being able to run around the interior corridors, play at the fountain and explore the place while my mom was getting her hair done at JML Haircutting was one of my favorite things to do growing up in La Verne.

“Having these interior corridors, however, proved to be the reason why the center was not successful. The development was designed mainly with access to the shops taken from within the courtyard area, with one building being located completely within the center, with absolutely no visibility from Foothill or Wheeler.

“The lack of visibility made it difficult for tenants to keep their doors open. Most people have very fond memories of the center, but apparently didn’t shop there enough. The building was torn down in 1990, the site sat vacant for many years except for the Carl’s Jr. on the corner, until the site was developed with Rite Aid in 1999 and soon after came AutoZone.”

Thank you, Eric. He also notes that the Cattleman’s Wharf/Toppers building, subject of a previous blog post, was next door. The accompanying photos from the planning department’s files give a rough sense of the property and were taken in 1981.

Do you remember El Adobe Village and its shops? Based on the photos, there was an Arthur Treacher’s fish and chips eatery.

* Update: At bottom, a 1980 ULV yearbook ad for El Adobe Village, also contributed by Scherer, had a map. My favorite business name: United Hairlines. (Salons always have the best names.) And note the El Adobe motto, “Like a stroll through Old Mexico…”